Okay, not a guitarist, but here's my take as an producer/engineer/drummer.
For a guitar, I would stay beginner classic, Baby Les Paul, Strat or Tele (all the basic models), no need for a $1500 guitar to start, especially with the styles mentioned. Of course a Gibson hollow body (ES-5, ES-335 or ES-175) is probably the best choice, though they are rather large and usually expensive. (You could probably go with the Epiphone version, but I would want a guitarist to take it through the paces in the store prior to purchase, just to check the action, the fret feel, tone, etc. to make sure you didn't pick up a clunker.)
For an amp - Line 6 makes a great tube, with their patented effects built in. Also, a classic Fender tube (Jazz, BLues, Musicmaster or Twin Reverb) would work really well with the styles proposed. Gives that crunchy clean sound of the late 40s early 50s and can be over driven to give that classic fuzz 60s/70s sound.
For effects, go cheap to start, and here's why. I know a lot of really good guitarists, they sound great, but one of the ones I respect the most made a simple statement. "I write everything on an acoustic, because if it doesn't sound good without the effects, then it really doesn't sound good with them." At first I thought, "really", but on reflection, he was right. It's like what I do in the booth, a great sample is easier to change into a phenomenal one than a bad sample into a passable one. So an inexpensive all inclusive foot pedal unit would be better than an expensive single stomp box. That way the kid can experiment with "his" sound instead of someone else's.
Also, buy the kid a tuner and a metronome, because gods knows the times I wished a guitarist was in tune and could keep on beat.
Tfoot
