Advice for Guitar for Son

Jdhndhdh

Mtneer- I have Donald trump sized hands and have no problems. John 5 has commented on his own small hands and is a very accomplished player.

A thinner (back to front) helps.

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OP - I 2nd def90. Go to guitar center.

As far as acoustic vs electric, acoustic is going to be more versatile for traveling. But a cheap acoustic with medium to heavy strings is going to be hard to learn on. Especially a cheaper guitar. There are some acoustic electrics that are more of an electric feel than acoustic, but I’m not a fan of their acoustic sound.

Here’s what I’d say: figure max budget. Give him a coupon on Christmas morning. Go with him and have him talk with a salesman about budget, musical goals, and all that goes into selecting an instrument. If you notice the salesman is shifting him toward something without hearing him out, get another or steer the salesman back to what’s good for the kid and not just what the salesman likes.

If he’s in to rock, punk, metal etc., he still needs to learn guitar. Those skills come into play in ANY style, and most rock guitarists of any note can bust out blues, jazz, and country licks with no problem.

Check out John 5’s versatility. Now imagine only thinking of him playing some repetitive Marilyn Manson riff and thinking that’s playing guitar and only learning that. Bad. Be versatile.


https://youtu.be/EedGF36YcGI

If anything, small hands is an asset. It's difficult to get clear and correct vibration when first starting out (precision in finger placement is key), if you have sausage hands then you'll sound like crap for ages because you have almost no clearance between your fingers and the adjacent strings.

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Originally Posted by def90

Nothing worse than killing a kids excitement about playing guitar than buying them a cheap POS guitar with a shitty neck that has such a horrible shape and action height that it actually makes it hard to play on top of the fact that it will have zero sustain and will sound like shit.

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Not every young person is a snobby rich kid that wouldn?t be happy unless they had the best of the best.

If I was young and wanted a guitar and my parents bought me one I?d be stoked no matter how crappy it was.

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Originally Posted by ray1970

Are the new Squire models scaled down or something? The one I had in the 1980?s was a full sized guitar.

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There may be multiple flavors and sizes. The one I got my son is supposed to be 3/4 the size of a regular guitar. It is called the Squier Mini Strat. 'Squier' being their spelling.


https://www.johnnyego.com/photograph...2018xmas23.JPG

I've got no particular experience with guitars or any other instruments, so I don't know first-hand if it is better or worse than anything else out there. But he plays it well and is very happy with it. One of the advantages of being an old parent of a more-or-less only child is that discretionary income is not really that much of an obstacle for kid-attainable desires; he gets private individual lessons weekly, and his instructor hasn't voiced any concern over the Squier at all. In point of fact, our only issue is that nobody made a strap for it that could be sucked in tight enough to hold it in the proper position on his lap, so I ended up having to break out the sewing awl and stitch it shorter myself.

Whether or not one considers the Squier 'cheap' aside, it is sized right for my kid and brings him much joy. I recommend it.

Thanks. Mine was red with a white pick guard too. Just like his.

The old squier were hand made and a crap shoot if you got a good one. The current mass produced CNC squires are all ok for a beginner guitar- come with a crappy amp though.
Have you looked at the Sterling Music Man guitars? They are the mass produced CNC Ernie Ball based guitars. Better quality than a squier. They are changed every couple of years so even these become collectors. The John Petrucci Collection versions will only need to be replaced when your youngster starts to play stadiums. https://sterlingbymusicman.com/ My son has been playing his JP160 since elementary school and now plays semi-professionally. He was turned on to this guitar through multiple instructors and musicians. They are about 6-7 bills on amazon Some of the others start about the same as the Squier.

only this


Stick closer to church-oriented social activities. ;)

I have a lot of regrets in my life, but probably the biggest is never learning to play guitar. Such a big hole in my soul.....

If he wants an acoustic, get him a Taylor mini....small body with good sound and respectable action out of the gate.

Kids don't often stick with an impulse hobby or interest. I hope he stays with it and actually learns music along with learning to play it.

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Originally Posted by OtterbatHellcat

If he wants an acoustic, get him a Taylor mini....small body with good sound and respectable action out of the gate.

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I?m guessing a full sized model is likely more fitting for a high school age kid. I was pretty much a full sized person by the time I was in high school.