Guitar advice needed

[horacejesse]

A normal strat is fine, it is a great guitar. But as for the Fender Squire, I have to come down real hard against it. I worked in a store that sold what is known as the Stratpack. It is a Squire guitar and a small amp--there might have been something else in the package too.Everytime a student showed up proudly with his new Squire I cringed. That guitar is very poor IMO. The action is way too high at the nut where the student will be doing most of the playing. It is not intonated out of the box and often will not intonate period. The screws at the bridge are not even long enough. Pretty soon you have them screwed out as far as they will go and the guitar is still not intonated.Finally, I had to start recommending against this guitar even though it was one of the big sellers at the store. Well, needless to say I do not work their anymore.This does not mean I have never played a good Squire. I may have--I cannot remember for sure. But I never played a good one out of a Stratpack.

[arkjack]

My dad was a marine Sargent and it rubbed off on me. I say get him a cheap Hohner acoustic and if you can still find any, string it with Black Diamond strings. Then instead of investing in the gear, find the best well-rounded teacher you can find within your area and send him every week for a year. If by next Christmas, he knows at least 20 popular songs, and keeps up with practice, then step up and get him a nice guitar. My thinking here is after a year, you'll know whether he is a serious player or just wants a nice piece of furniture to show off to his friends. And yes, I started at his age with a Hohner and Black Diamonds and played 3 years before I got the nice axe.ArkJack

[hummingbird]

Quote:but is it difficult to play with the floor all slanted like that? Quote:Hi WWV - just thought I'd chime in here and say that I've been playing a Little Martin for 2 years now. It's a great little guitar, with wonderful warm tone, lightweight & easy on the shoulders. I play it because it doesn't seem to exacerbate my carpal tunnel, but I think would be a good 1/2 size guitar for children because it has such good tone. It's easy to travel with as well.cheersHummin'bird

[sgs4u]

That's funny Ark. My Dad was a Drill Sargent as well. He used to give people the same advice, about guitars, complete with the Black Diamond strings. I'm in the middle of choosing a new keyboard for my 8 year old. Many people/teachers have told me that acquiring a real piano is the best choice for learning music, and that's indeed what I learned on. I agreed with that for a long time, but now I feel differently. I think the best advice is: Figure out with your child, what kind of guitar/instrument, is gonna create the vibe/sounds that he/she want to make. Make the choice of instrument, about why your kid wants to learn music. Some kids are destined to become great musicians, and the sooner you get them Hi-Quality instruments, the better. Other kids are interested in the concept of music, and the fun they think they'll have. What can you get for your kid, that's not gonna gather dust, stashed under the bed? My choice for my kid, is gonna be something he can learn to RECORD music with. My kids learn and sing songs, and want to be able to do concerts in the living room. They currently love singing Garth Brooks tunes, but they also love rap & hip-hop, just as much. So our new keyboard will have drum sounds, and maybe record scratching sounds. I now think the best choice of instrument for any kid, is gonna be the one that offers them the style of learning they are attracted to.

[kg]

Try www.daisyrock.com I know it's a "girl" guitar company, but there are men/boys who play them as well. Snoop around the website and see.Take them out and let them play a bunch of guitars in the store. Teach them a couple basic chords and see which guitars it's easy for them to attempt that on, i.e. fingering, size, action, etc... once you get an idea of what style and size fits them, then you can bargain shop or negotiate or do whatever you need to to pick one out. (Maybe a reasonably-priced, better quality used-guitar is a better option than an inexpensive one that doesn't cooperate).

[horacejesse]

I recommend an Oscar Schmidt requinto for any youngeter who will accept an acoustic guitar. It is the best minature classical I know of. They are so good I would play one myself. Traditionally they are tuned up a 4th from a standard guitar. But tuned at normal guitar pitch it still does very well and the strings are not too loose.

[ggalen]

Regarding a cheap guitar and cheap strings, a junk guitar with strings too high to play easily is working against having him enjoy playing and sticking with it.If the Hohner has reasonable action, great. If not, then skip it and buy something reasonable.As I said, the main thing is to get him a decent quality instrument so that it is not extra hard to play because the string action is high.As far as bringing the Marines into it, is this supposed to be fun and rewarding for him, or simply an exercise in discipline and toughness?

[arkjack]

I certainly advocate the child having fun and enjoying it. I'm not a psychologist, but I would think that if the child really takes to it fast, he'll be asking for the better instrument. It is something about earning the next stripe as far as the Marines thing goes. All I can say Goerge, is that I wish I had bought every guitar that my friends from back in the day had when they got rid of them. That would be the blond clear ash Tele thinline from Marco, the mahogany custom SG Mike had, Karen's 12 string martin, and her sister Dana's D-35 with the three piece Brazilian rosewood back, and Steve's ES335. Not that over the years I probably owned 50 guitars that included some of the above. I went out to dinner with friends a few months ago, and Mike joined us. First time I had caught up with him in about 15 years. I asked him if he still had his SG. He didn't have a clue what I was talking about, thought it was a car he never owned.ArkJack

[wheelingwv]

Everyone,Thank you so much for a wealth of great advice!Have decided to buy him a decent but not-too-expensive 3/4 size acoustic and loan him my electric (which I don't really play) until we see how it goes with lessons, etc.WWV