A little bit about myself...
I am 20 years old. I started playing the acoustic guitar when I was about 7 years old and have been playing guitar ever since. I also play piano and sing from the age of 5, so my musical background is pretty solid.
Lately, I enjoy listening to the blues rock genre and fell in love with John Mayer's style of playing the electric guitar, more accurately, the Fender Stratocaster in his 'Continuum' album. While searching on the internet for a good starter Strat, I found this bundle at Guitar Center and was happy when I found the same bundle at Best Buy. Seeing as I had points accumulated on my account, I purchased it from Best Buy to take advantage of the Reward Zone program.
The first thing I did with this guitar was change the strings to a more expensive set than the ones it comes with. After about a month and a half of playing the guitar every chance I got, I grew impatient with it. It seemed that I was forced to re-tune the guitar every 2-3 minutes of playing. I'm very picky when it comes to music. I searched everywhere to find out what my problem was and found out that some Stratocasters have this problem, at first, at least. I stretched the strings, played without the wammy bar, etc., but I couldn't get it to stay in tune, especially the G string. I returned it after a month and a half from the purchase date and am currently looking for a Fender Telecaster, but in the more expensive $300-$500 'Made in USA' range at Guitar Center.
As for this bundle and its individual components...
The guitar:
The strings provided must be replaced.
The tuning heads are of the lowest quality possible and, if not replaced, must at least be tightened before use.
The guitar feels solid, otherwise, and seems as if it can withstand harsh treatment.
The amp:
Let's face it, it's the cheapest amp you could possibly have, but it's good enough for a beginner. It has an overdrive effect option for those who are more aggressive.
The electronic tuner:
It gets the job done within acceptable boundaries.
Bottom line...
If you or your intended gift receiver is a beginner with none to little experience with a guitar, I recommend this bundle to start out with. As I have told my friends who are interested in learning to play the guitar, "You don't want to spend more than $100-$200 on your first guitar just to find out guitar playing isn't for you. Then you end up with a very expensive wall decoration."
At 7 years of age, my first guitar was a cheap $40 Mexican guitar from the flea-market. When my parents saw that I was progressing and had some talent, they purchased an $800 Fender acoustic/electric (Made in South Korea) which I still have to this day.