mr dave

those are all perfectly fine packages to learn on. the advice i ALWAYS give when recommending a starter instrument is simple.

***DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE BRAND NAME***

it really doesn't matter for your first instrument. if you're going to keep with it you WILL eventually want to drop the better part of a grand on a serious instrument. if you're not going to stick with it, or just goof around by playing along to mp3s at home then it won't really matter. your fingers and ears won't really be able to tell the difference between a $100 and a $1000 when you're first starting out. once you've put in a few months on a starter guitar you'll have a better understanding of what YOU want in terms of an instrument.

having said that the most substantial thing in those starter packs is the amp. you'll eventually get a better guitar but a little 10-15W practice amp is always nice to have around and fender amps are usually pretty decent. in fact the only difference between the first 2 packs you present are the amps.

the only difference between the guitars in these packs is that the one in the 3rd has the classic pickup setup (3 single coils). the first 2 packs come with the more modern humbucker in the bridge position. the advantage to having a HB in the bridge position is that it allows for a stronger and cleaner treble output (great if you want to play metal solos). the downside to single coil pickups is that they create a noticeable hum in your sound when they're selected individually (selecting two at once eliminates the hum).

the first pack comes with a rather basic amp, the only special feature it has is built in effects.

the 2nd pack has a much snazzier amp, built in tuner, effects, amp emulation, built in beat box and practice loops. i've never actually seen an amp with that many extras before.

the 3rd pack has a classic no nonsense amp. you plug it in and it makes it louder. period. kind of surprising that it's the only pack that includes the headphones and instructional dvd.

depending on how serious you want to get with playing guitar i'd go with either option 2 or 3. if you're just going to play around and have fun the 2nd amp will provide you with way more possibilities. if you think you'll be seriously getting into playing guitar and learning on your own i'd go with the 3rd option. it'll likely be the cheapest also - which will make getting a nicer guitar a little easier on the pocketbook.

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