Make sure you know what kind of sound the guitar is made for. If you want to play metal don’t go buy something without humbuckers. Know what type of music you want to play and get a guitar that suits your needs.

If you’re starting to learn, don’t buy a gibson or fender, but an epiphone or squier. They’re cheaper versions of the guitars, with cheaper parts. When testing an electric guitar, check it’s tone without it being plugged into an amp before you plug it in. That’s the true test of the tone. Other then that, pick a guitar based on the genre you want to play. Some guitars can be used for numerous genres like the squier telecaster (i have one, and i love it for anything from jazz, to blues, to rock), the epiphone dot, and others. Happy jamming!

That all depends on your spending limit. If your just beginning, don’t go for a high end guitar. Because you’ll wind up spending over $2,000 in equipment that you’d never use if you came to find that playing the guitar isnt right for you. Now, you’d have to be a bit more specific on the type of music your wanting to play. Another thing. If your guitar shop will allow you, browse through some guitars that catch your eye. Pick them up, and get a feel of them. You want to make your first experiences in guitar to be the best it can be. Amps again depend on the type of music your interested in playing. If you want a “tube” sound, your best bet would be to go with a peavy transtube. If you want an amp that has all the effects piled into one, get yourself a Line 6 Spider. Or, if you want to go all out with clarity, then spend hundreds of dollars in pedals, you can go for a Marshall >_> But your best bet would be the Line 6. Atleast for now, untill you improve. . . . . Hope I helped. =)

buy either…
gibson
fender
yamaha, guitars

amps
marshall