[zowie]

My son who is 8 has been asking for a guitar now and then for a while. I'd like nothing more than for him to learn any instrument of his choice (I play a few and it was a very important part of my life when I was younger), but I put it off because I highly doubt he'll keep up with it for more than a couple months, at most. Still, I don't want to foreclose the chance that he'll play.

So does anyone have any recommendations for a small instrument? I want to go as cheap as possible -- if he keeps it up I'll gladly buy him something better -- but it's still got to be playable, not a toy. I'm also thinking nylon rather than steel, but I don't have a really good reason. I have Sam Ash and Guitar Center nearby, but there also a few sellers on ebay selling supposedly real instruments for $30-$60.

 

[MintGreenGoblin]

The "First Act" brand is small and inexpensive. The quality is acceptable. If he really is intrested you can always step up to a better quality instrument, but if he plays it for 3 weeks and then it gets buried in the closet thats money down the drain. You can get them at Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, Sears...ect. Easy to find.

When he gets older you can find a Les Paul JR for under 100 bucks at guitar center. Its pretty small, and is a great, straightforward guitar.

Oh and nylon is gonna be a little bit easier on his fingers. Steel can be rough on a beginner adult, imagine what it does to a child.

 

[kramer5150]

x2 on the first act kids guitars.
Samick and I think cort also make downsized guitars for kids.

Garrett

 

[zowie]

Really? I would have guessed that the First' Acts were not acceptable, but since you guys have tried them that's the way I'll go. Certainly cheap enough.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zowie Really? I would have guessed that the First' Acts were not acceptable, but since you guys have tried them that's the way I'll go. Certainly cheap enough.

My kids got one

Its not the greatest... Bridge is set up all wrong (straight not angled) so intonation is all messed up. But at 3.5 its all about having fun with music, not perfect pitch.

Garrett

 

[MintGreenGoblin]

Yea I used to play around with them all the time when I worked at TRU. They really arent bad..basically quality is on par with or maybe a little better then other cheap kids guitars.

And I will agree, for a first time student, its all about the miracle of being able to actually make music, not about tone quality. If he gets serious theres gonna be plenty of time to stress over that kind of thing

Hope he finds a hobby for life!

 

[zowie]

Many thanks.

 

[jerb]

If you can string them/ tune them just fine than go with Nylon strings.

I recently picked up acoustic guitar and the metal strings are murder on my fingers, the callouses do help when sodlering though

 

[incognitoedleon]

Get this one:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/511192/

I bought one of these to practice on, and it's not too bad. There's a few problems with the finish, but it's solid where it counts. The action is good, frets are level and the tuners keep in tune fairly well. It's a regular sized dreadnaught, so it might be too big for an 8 year old though...

You can buy "silk and steel" strings for steel string guitars. They're really easy on the fingers, though a bit dull sounding.