Recommmed a beginner guitar for a 9 year old!
Discussion
Hi all.
Hoping the collective PH wisdom can help.
My lad (9, nearly 10) has taken up guitar lessons. He seems to enjoy the lessons, 3 months in. We currently borrow a 3/4 one from the school (well, rent rather than borrow).
I'd like to get him his own guitar, but without a musical bone in my body I've no idea where to start.
Do different guitars stay in tune longer than others? (Sorry for the noddy question).
I'd assumed a price in the region of £75....
Anyone have any recommendations you could share?
Thanks!
Hoping the collective PH wisdom can help.
My lad (9, nearly 10) has taken up guitar lessons. He seems to enjoy the lessons, 3 months in. We currently borrow a 3/4 one from the school (well, rent rather than borrow).
I'd like to get him his own guitar, but without a musical bone in my body I've no idea where to start.
Do different guitars stay in tune longer than others? (Sorry for the noddy question).
I'd assumed a price in the region of £75....
Anyone have any recommendations you could share?
Thanks!
If you've any local music shops take him along to try what's comfortable. My son was a similar age to yours when he started. We bought him a 3/4 classical and within 3 months or so he was blasting Metallica riffs on it. Now at 11 he's got that, an electric, keyboards, drum kit and plays in all sorts of things.
Just been through this with our grandson.
TL;DR… best by quite a margin was the Gear4Music 3/4 size strat. Well set up out of the box, sounds good, cheap for what it is (IMO).
Grandson (10yo), after becoming fairly proficient on the piano, wanted to try guitar. Despite my hints about buying him one (I’ve played guitar for almost 60 years, and was in a band for 10 so I know my my way round….), A.N. Other last Christmas bought him an ebay crap acoustic which even I found difficult to play. Despite that, he managed to get some tunes out of it but I promised him something better for his birthday in October.
After trying many 3/4 sized guitars I chose the Gear4Music small strat copy as the easiest to play and the best set up ‘out of the box’. Cracking bit of kit, and much better than the mainstream Squier which was much more expensive.
After trying (and loving) Grandad’s Vox Amplug headphone amplifier, he is now getting one of his own for Christmas.
TL;DR… best by quite a margin was the Gear4Music 3/4 size strat. Well set up out of the box, sounds good, cheap for what it is (IMO).
Grandson (10yo), after becoming fairly proficient on the piano, wanted to try guitar. Despite my hints about buying him one (I’ve played guitar for almost 60 years, and was in a band for 10 so I know my my way round….), A.N. Other last Christmas bought him an ebay crap acoustic which even I found difficult to play. Despite that, he managed to get some tunes out of it but I promised him something better for his birthday in October.
After trying many 3/4 sized guitars I chose the Gear4Music small strat copy as the easiest to play and the best set up ‘out of the box’. Cracking bit of kit, and much better than the mainstream Squier which was much more expensive.
After trying (and loving) Grandad’s Vox Amplug headphone amplifier, he is now getting one of his own for Christmas.
I think littleredrooster makes a lot of sense there.
A 3/4 size guitar is probably what you need, but what sort of music do they want to play and (very much related) do they want an acoustic or electric?
A classical (nylon string) acoustic would be preferred for classical music. Typically have nylon strings and fairly wide, flat fretboards that suit finger-style playing. This type of thing:
https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Deluxe-...
A steel strung acoustic would be more of an all rounder, good for more popular music. Typically have smaller (narrower) necks with more rounded fretboards and are easier to play chords etc. on. This type of thing:
https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Parlour...
An electric guitar is obviously the choice for pop/rock/metal. Typically the easiest to play (have the thinnest strings so easy to press down on, narrower and rounded necks) but you'll also need an amp etc. in order to hear it at any sensible volume. Wide variety of designs, but the two most common are Stratocaster style (think Eric Clapton) and Les Paul style (think Slash); doesn't really matter which you pick although personally I find Strat style a bit easier to play. Some come with tremolos (whammy bars) which I would avoid, as they tend to make tuning stability more of an issue, especially on cheaper guitars. This is a typical cheap non-tremolo ('hardtail') Stratocaster style electric:
https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/3-4-LA-...
Popular brands include Squier (Fender's budget range), Epiphone (Gibson's budget range), Ibanez (more rock/metal focussed), Yamaha (typically very well made). Also worth a look on Thomann's website (their house brand Harley benton is normally very good value) and Reverb if you are happy buying secondhand.
A 3/4 size guitar is probably what you need, but what sort of music do they want to play and (very much related) do they want an acoustic or electric?
A classical (nylon string) acoustic would be preferred for classical music. Typically have nylon strings and fairly wide, flat fretboards that suit finger-style playing. This type of thing:
https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Deluxe-...
A steel strung acoustic would be more of an all rounder, good for more popular music. Typically have smaller (narrower) necks with more rounded fretboards and are easier to play chords etc. on. This type of thing:
https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Parlour...
An electric guitar is obviously the choice for pop/rock/metal. Typically the easiest to play (have the thinnest strings so easy to press down on, narrower and rounded necks) but you'll also need an amp etc. in order to hear it at any sensible volume. Wide variety of designs, but the two most common are Stratocaster style (think Eric Clapton) and Les Paul style (think Slash); doesn't really matter which you pick although personally I find Strat style a bit easier to play. Some come with tremolos (whammy bars) which I would avoid, as they tend to make tuning stability more of an issue, especially on cheaper guitars. This is a typical cheap non-tremolo ('hardtail') Stratocaster style electric:
https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/3-4-LA-...
Popular brands include Squier (Fender's budget range), Epiphone (Gibson's budget range), Ibanez (more rock/metal focussed), Yamaha (typically very well made). Also worth a look on Thomann's website (their house brand Harley benton is normally very good value) and Reverb if you are happy buying secondhand.
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