Am a teacher in one of the state universities here in Manila. I have been playing guitar since the 1980s, have gone thru dozens of electric guitars, most of them Ibanez, since then.
I got to talk with one of my 1st year student, he was into electric guitars so some common ground there. Asked if he wants to jam with the band we have at school composed of other faculty members, said yes, then started telling me that he knows how to sweep pick and those other "shred" techniques, he said he was going to buy an Ibanez RG too.
Then it struck, is that all that matters to this young beginning guitarists? I asked my student, do you know how to tune your guitar, he said yes. How about adjusting the intonation, drew a blank on that one. How about adjusting a truss rod for neck relief (if needed) and adjusting the action of the guitar, really drew a blank there. You're gonna buy an RG, probably pick one with a floating bridge. Asked him do you have any idea how to restring it, no answer. That's why when we have band contests in our school, the guitars are always out of tune. But you have shreds galore!!
You might say that, those are kids, don't have any money yet for decent gear or anything. But my point is, adjusting the intonation? I learned that immediately when I purchased my first cheap strat copy guitar. and that was before the internet (yeah, I am that old). So I told my student, when you buy that Ibanez RG guitar, take me with you, so I can explain all the features of that brand of guitar (am really into Ibanez). All the adjustments and everything, even teach him how to re-string the guitar.
I think that would a great help to these beginner guitar players, help them understand the instrument and not have a pissing contest with them.
So, what have you done for other guitar players recently?