It's a great time to be a guitar player, and there and some great instrument options out there that punch way above their weight class. As a teacher, I'm always on the lookout for good gear at a good price that will match the needs of my students. Whether you're looking for a beginner or a step-up level instrument, there are TONS of choices out there, and it can be confusing to tell what's good and what's hype. Here are some guitars and amps that I've played and been impressed with, and would recommend for any student. All links are to Sweewater, where I get a lot of my gear. The folks at Sweetwater are great at helping you get the gear you need, and I do my online ordering from them. They will also beat anybody's price, and throw in shipping!
Kids' Acoustic Steel-String
Yamaha makes a great smaller-sized guitar that works well for students under 12. If you need a good, inexpensive guitar for a new student, check out Yamaha's JR1 for under $150. AND it comes with a gig bag (soft case). Several of my students own this, and when they outgrow it, the JR1 makes a great campfire guitar.
Beginner Acoustic Steel-String
Yamaha's FSX800C is a great guitar for the money, and has a built-in pickup for plugging in to play or record, plus it has a built-in tuner. Yamaha guitars are always good for the money, and this model is a slightly smaller and more comfortable guitar, but still a full-size instrument and a great choice for $300.
Beginner Classical Nylon-String
If you're looking for a reasonably-priced classical guitar, definitely consider Cordoba's Protege C1. This is great guitar for the money - less than $200 for a full-sized classical. Perfect for beginning classical students or for new players with tender digits.
For a good smaller body (and portable) acoustic guitar, you can't beat Taylor's GS Mini. It's a smaller-body guitar, but feels and sounds like a full-sized instrument. Very comfortable for new players, and it comes with a nice gig bag for less than $500. Not the cheapest guitar out there, but you will definitely want to keep it as a good practice and campfire guitar. I love this guitar for teaching because it sounds good, it's easy on the fingers, and it's comfortable to play for hours on end without causing shoulder strain. You can also add a pop-in pickup for impromptu open mics or recording sessions.
Step-Up Acoustic Steel-String
Guild has been making some great acoustic guitars and parent company Cordoba is also making some really nice nylon-string classical guitars, and all of their products offer high quality and reasonable prices. The Guild Westerly Collection OM-240CE (above) is a very comfortable size for students. (Full-size dreadnought-style guitars are too big for most students!) It also has a cutaway for playing higher up the neck, and comes equipped with a decent pickup system and a gig bag for about $450.
Step-Up Classical Nylon-String
If you're looking for a nice CE-style classical guitar, try Cordoba's C7-CE Cedar. I just bought one myself for wedding gigs, and it's awesome. Chinese guitar makers have made huge strides in recent years, as demonstrated by the success of brands like Eastman. This guitar looks and sounds as good as a guitar twice the price.The Rosewood back and sides are gorgeous, and it includes a pickup and tuner and a nice gig bag for under $700! Perfect for advancing classical or Brazilian-style jazz and Bossa Nova lovers who need a pickup. If you're looking for a neck with more of a radius, rather than a traditional flat fingerboard, check out Cordoba's comparable Fusion series.
Kids' Electric
Your choices are kind of limited if you're looking for a 3/4 size beginner guitar (recommended for students under 10) for your child, but there are a few good ones out there. The Squier Mini Strat is a good guitar for smaller hands, and the Ibanez RG miKro GRGM21M (above) is a rock machine and available in six classic Ibanez Super Strat finishes (including pink!), sure to get your mini rockstar pumped about practicing. Both rock out for under $150.
Beginner Electric
The Squier Deluxe Strat (at top) is an entry-level strat packs a lot of punch for the price and has a lot of features similar to it's bigger Strat brothers. This is a versatile guitar for lots of different styles with great playability for $300! If you want a harder rock-oriented setup, look for the Humbucker-Single-Single setup (HSS).
Also check out the Vintage Modified series. These instruments are a step up from Squier's Affinity Series but the difference in sound, looks and quality is worth the extra hundred bucks or so.
Step-up Electric
You can't go wrong with a Fender Standard Stratocaster HSS. I'm a big fan of Strats, and the HSS setup in particular. It gives you a massive range of tones in one guitar, including hard rock, and Fender guitars are priced aggressively compared to other brands. If you want a more vintage setup, go for the three single-coil setup, both for around six bills. Several of my students own these guitars, and they are a great bang for the buck, and the Mexican-made guitars are a great deal if you don't want to pop double for the US-made models.
Fender's Deluxe Strat (above) adds locking tuners, an American bridge, Fender's Noiseless Pickups, and some cool colors to the MIM Strat for less than $800, and it ships with a gig bag. This is a great guitar for a student looking for high end features and heavy lifting without the hefty price. I bought one of these recently and immediately used it on several recordings, including the Jazz Martyr's new release, Along Similar Lines. The Noiseless pickups work great for recording, and the guitar played perfectly right out of the box.
If you're a rocker and a Strat just isn't your bag, or you just have to have a dual-humbucker and Floyd Rose beast, definitely consider the EVH Wolfgang Standard, which is a steal at under $549. I would pop the extra fifty bucks and get the Wolfgang Standard Quilt Top. This setup will have you itching to learn "Eruption" and practice your dive-bombs and pinch harmonics. EVH is a subsidiary of Fender, so you know it's a quality instrument and will sound great and play like butter.
Also, don't overlook the PRS SE Standard 24. Based on the two-thousand plus dollar USA model, this guitar packs a lot of tone and features into a great-playing axe for under $499, and is a good alternative to an Epiphone or similar double humbucker setup. These guitars just keep getting better, and a couple of my students have them. Very playable and good tone for the money, even though the standard choice of colors (Tobacco Sunburst, Trans Blue, and Vintage Cherry - yawn!) aren't that exciting. It's funny that a company that prides itself on gorgeous finishes and "10 Tops" doesn't offer more excitement in the paint department, but the hardware, tones, and playability are tough to beat.
Beginner Amp
There are a ton of good entry-level modeling amps out there that digitally copy lots of high dollar amps and deliver it all in a small practice amp package. I recently went to a shop and played everything I could find for under $300 and two amps really stood out. I loved Blackstar's ID:Core series and the Blackstar's ID:Core10 V2 (10 watt) comes in at $99! The other amps in the series offer more power, but have all of the same effects and amp models. Plus, it has USB and headphone outs for recording and silent practice. You're welcome, parents! The ID:Core line goes all the way up to rock band volume with the ID:Core 150 at 150 watts, so they're a lot of tones for your bones as a beginner or practice amp or a step up stage amp should you need the extra wattage.
Fender's Mustang I V2 is a good modeling amp for beginning players and for a grab-and-go jam amp. It's less intuitive than some others in the price range, but may offer some more pleasing tones for the clean tone and not-so-metal-camp. Look for it around $120. General consensus says the Blackstar reigns on the higher gain tones and the Fender has more vintage clean and blues tones, but I found some great tones on both. The Fender is a little trickier to grasp on the panel and the ID:Core is more obvious, and these are my two favorites in the $100-$150 range.
Step-up Amp
The Boss Katana 50 (above) amp picks up where parent company Roland's acclaimed Cube series left off. This is a great-sounding amp for all but the heaviest metal, and comes with USB and Direct Recording/Headphone outs, software editing for custom tones, and footswitch compatibility for changing sounds on the fly. I just bought one for my studio, and it's awesome - and has enough power for band rehearsal and small gigs, all for under $200! The 100 watt models (1x12" and 2x12") kick up the price tag a bit to $329 and $499 respectively, should you need more power for jamming with a heavy-hitter drummer buddy or for upsetting your neighbors.
For the more gig-oriented student, Fender's Hot Rod Deluxe is the classic choice for guitarists on the road and at rehearsal studios. Great Fender clean tones with reverb for days, and with a couple of pedals, you can squeeze out all but the most Marshall and metal tones. Like all tube amps, this amp is made to be LOUD, so you'll want to have a good practice amp for home practice in your living room. Classic Fender tube tone at an affordable price!
There are a lot of other great guitars and amps out there! Leave a comment for more recommendations or with your own suggestions!