I recently moved to France (where I'll remain for a year) and I’m looking for a cheap guitar. I play for fun/learning at home, no gigs. Plus there’s a chance that the guitar won’t make the trip back home, so I’m not willing to spend a fortune. However, I would like to get my little money’s worth and get an enjoyable axe.

I’m quite eclectic, so I am looking for something versatile; i.e. a guitar that does decently with metal, but not one of those badass looking guitars which are ONLY good for metal. Two additional conditions:
-Fixed bridge
-At least a humbucker in the bridge

I guess a standard answer would be a low-end model of a rock-oriented brand (Jackson, Ibanez, ESP). Top of my mind, I though about two options:
-ESP LTD MH-10: My sister bought one not so long ago. I played it for a while and seemed pretty solid
- I’ve heard good things about Harley Benton (Thomann’s own brand). They seemed to do cheapos inspired in guitars by popular brands that do quite good for the price. I’ve browse on their webpage and found this one, which seems to be a Ibanez-like rock oriented cheapo: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton ... 9&reload=1

I would like to know your opinion on these two options, as well any additional suggestion you could give me.

Thanks in advance!

Harley Benton is really good for the price. As with all budget brands, the quality varies between different guitars, so order several and send back all but one. You can also look into buying a second hand low budget guitar, as they are often resold. It doesn't really matter what brand, it's more important that you can play it before you buy.

If you’re in or near a big city, check the mediathéques/bibliothéques near you. The yearly pass costs less than $20 and you can rent guitars for up to a month without added costs (or you can go and play at the library itself to your heart’s content).

Many of the cheaper Squier guitars are quite good. If you’ve got a Stars Music close, I recommend you pay them a visit. Their prices match Thomann’s, and you have the advantage of being able to try and pick your axe.

Thank yo so much for your advice!

coupdebleus I didn't know Stars Music. Unfortunately, the closest store is a 2 hour train ride away.

Belastbar, indeed I would prefer to be able to play the guitar before buying but, unfortunately, I don't think it will be feasible. I checked every music shop and second hand store I found in the city and haven't found anything worth.

I think the best option I have is buying something from Thomann and return it if I find any problem (they have a 30-day cashback). The problem with this is that I am not a trained musician and I might overlook some defect, unless it is really obvious. Back in my home town, I would take the axe to some friend who plays guitar and have it checked by him, but here I don't know any musician. The only solution I can think of is taking the guitar to a luthier and asking him to check if there's some defect beyond repair through a routine adjustment. The problem is I don't know how much he might charge me for this routine check; if the price is high it may not be worth to pay it for such a cheap guitar.

Not sure what the resale market is like in France but if you have access to resale or pawn shops then I recommend just trying a lot of different guitars and then pick the cheapest one that feels easiest to play then have a local guitar tech give it a refresh with new strings, action adjustments, pickup replacement or whatever is necessary

Some of the not-too-cheap Epiphones are pretty good quality in my opinion. I use a mid-range Epiphone SG as my backup guitar, and it used to be my main one.
But honestly just go for a used guitar, and remember to try it before you buy it.