Guitar recommendations, please

[BigV]

For SonofV, who wants one from Santa.

He's going on (and on and on) about an electric guitar, he likes AFI, Fawlty Towers and Nintendo. Boy sized hands and no previous musical training whatsoever.

$20 student guitar from Toys-R-Us? Pawnshop speshul? "Oh look, a horse!"?

Help please.

[Undertoad]

Down there at the pawn shop
It's the only way to shop

I'm of the theory that you can buy a lad a full-sized guitar and he can play what he can play. Unless he's, like, five.

Don't buy a toy one -- for both your sake and his. It's too late for the bay, which is the ideal way, or rondomusic.net where you will find some level of "good enough" quality in really amazingly cheap Korean imports.

[Ibby]

I'd say the Squier Bullet Strat. Only 100 bucks, you can probably pick one up at the mall. I know you could in maryland...

[Elspode]

Age and stature would be useful info, but you can't go too far wrong with a Squier as a starter guitar. There are usually packages at Guitar Center and such that have guitar, tiny amp, tuner, strap, picks and such for real cheap prices.

Nothing wrong with a cheap rig for the very young. If he catches on with it, you can get him a suitable model down the road.

[BigV]

Thank you, gentlemen (no offense, Ibram).

He's about 5 feet tall, normal height/weight ratio.

So, that's axe, amp, strap, picks, tuner (?) and *headphones*, right?

[Undertoad]

Yes, and after the first week or two he'll want a cheap multi effects pedal from eBay so he can get a whole slew of tones.

[BigV]

How do I determine what's "quality" if I don't know? I'm certain I can't use $$ as the sole indicator. Are there smaller than fullsize guitars that aren't toys? I'm happy to get him a genuine instrument, student class, instead of the stringed equivalent of Schroder's piano. (Although Schroder could make magic with that little box... )

All questions apply equally to the other parts of the setup, amp, accessories. I guess some things differ only comsetically, like straps and stickers and picks and posters, eh? And what should go with it? I mean in terms of instructional swag? Ernesto/Emilio/Juan "Gitar" Valdez or whatever the infomercial guitar pusher is on the tube... you know. A book? A video? A dvd? How about music? I guess he'll want to play like he likes to listen to. That's cool.

He has a few uncles (one died a while back) who are very talented guitarists. I'll seek their input as well.

Thanks again from Santa's helpers *wink*.

[Undertoad]

There are shorter scale guitars that are proportionally smaller, but if he's 5' tall he will have plenty of reach and can handle it.

Plus, if he likes it for a while but then sets it aside, he still has an instrument he can pick up five years later. When you're an adult and you pick up a short-scale guitar, it feels and looks like a toy.

[monster]

Originally Posted by BigV

He has a few uncles (one died a while back) who are very talented guitarists. I'll seek their input as well.

Will you be using a ouija board?

[Undertoad]

On quality, you can't really tell. Cheaper guitars use cheaper materials and use cheaper labor to put it together. But it's not as bad as it once was: modern computer-controlled machining means that the cheap labor isn't responsible for the measuring and cutting and so forth.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by monster

Will you be using a ouija board?

to hit you over the head with?

[monster]

:p

[lumberjim]

you can get a playable guitar for $150. you can get one that won;t suck for $300. the amp....start with a small practice fender amp $89.

when i first started playing, i got a washburn. my dad plays, and knew what he was looking at, so i had guidance. i think he spent around $250 for the guitar. it was white with a black pick guard, and looked about as generic as it possibly could. i learned to play on it, and after a year, traded it in on an acoustic, and bought a stratocaster.

get a chromatic tuner that has an auto-off feature ($35-$45 well spent)

get a full sized guitar. there are plenty of 5' rock stars. ronnie james dio, flea, the guy from .....holy shit.....who did 'shout at the devil'? edit...motley crue! duh

the big thing, though, is lessons. find him a good teacher, and make him practice.

this is a big money pit if he just wants to look cool with it slung over his shoulder, so stay on top of his commitment to it. start cheap.

i think i'd go acoustic and see if he sticks with it before i started spending big $$ on the gear an electric requires. taylor makes a nice 3/4 scale 'baby taylor' to learn on. ($300-$350) acoustic guitars are considerably harder on your fingertips.....you gotta develop and maintain callouses.

edit: i don;t think i've ever seen a more self contradictory and misdirected post. sorry

dude, you;re fucked. i don't know what to tell you.

[Hoof Hearted]

When Hubby and I lived in WA State we shopped at Columbia River Music in The Dalles, Oregon. Perhaps too far for you to want to drive from the Seattle area...but I would suggest an established local music store and the staff should be knowledgeable about instruments, books, lessons and such.
You could still purchase a nice guitar at a pawn shop (one of our fave places to shop for tools and DVDs, just shop carefully and check items over closely) have the guitar re-strung with fresh strings and purchase the other things at a music store.

I would HIGHLY recommend the earphones! He can listen to himself without subjecting the rest of the household to his noi...I mean, music. Best $ I ever spent for Hubby was on a quality set of headphones. He gets up at 4am and likes to jam before leaving for work...and this prevents him from waking everyone else up long before they need to get up.

I would suggest not spending a whole lot of money, until you know he LIKES this hobby, but do try to get good quality for him to learn on and then you and he can upgrade to better equipment if he appears serious about it.
hh

[Flint]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Cheaper guitars use cheaper materials and use cheaper labor to put it together. But it's not as bad as it once was: modern computer-controlled machining means that the cheap labor isn't responsible for the measuring and cutting and so forth.

Machine-made vs. hand-made means lower $$$ for you, in a more consistent, entry or mid-level instrument. As a drummer, I'd know to say: get a Pacific (PDP) kit, the "import" version of a DW (expensive hand-made) kit. For guitars, I guess the equivalent would be a Squier, as suggested above. You're dealing with an experienced manufacturer, who knows how to build a proper professional instrument, and who can cut just the right corners to put a decent-sounding product at a lower price point. Later on, if the pursuit becomes more serious, you've still got a decent back-up instrument, or one that can be used for odd tunings, or left at a practice studio, or whatever. Or, he could stick it in the attic and give it to his kid someday. Who knows.

I guess I'm saying don't waste your money on a piece of crap of unknown manufacture, because #1 it will be discouraging to try to learn on an ill-tuning guitar, or one with bad action and #2 if he gets past the learning phase very far at all, he'll need something better anyway and you'll have wasted your $$$ on an un-sellable piece of firewood.

That being said my first response was going to be #1 pawn shop or #2 newspaper ad (in both cases, veteran musician lets go of one of his babies in order to earn a little holiday cash, either that or ex-hobbyist unloads expensive rig, or church band liquidating un-needed equipment)