Advice for Guitar for Son

[ray1970]

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.

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.

[def90]

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.

Snobby rich kid? Where does that come from? All of the guitars I listed other than the Charvel are entry to moderate level guitars, if you are a serious player you are looking at the $3000 x $4000 range.

And yes, a stoked kid will quickly figure out how shitty the shitty guitar is after about the third lesson. I?ve been there and done that.

[ray1970]

Snobby rich kid? Where does that come from? All of the guitars I listed other than the Charvel are entry to moderate level guitars, if you are a serious player you are looking at the $3000 x $4000 range.

And yes, a stoked kid will quickly figure out how shitty the shitty guitar is after about the third lesson. I?ve been there and done that.

My apologies. Your recommendation kind of came across that a young, new guitar player needed a very nice guitar.

While I?m no musician I have raised two kids and I know that typically they don?t need top notch stuff to enjoy it or try it to see if they are going to stick with it.

[Mtneer]

How much does small hand size affect choice? My wife has been wanting to learn acoustic and the hints keep getting stronger.

I know nothing about guitars but enjoy watching the "British guitarist analyses" Youtube channel. He reviews some amazing stuff. Old school country pretty much blows everyone away.

[CS1983]

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.

—-

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.

[FoxtArt]

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.

[ray1970]

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

[Colorado Osprey]

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.

[Great-Kazoo]

only this


Stick closer to church-oriented social activities.

[rondog]

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.....