Guitar for 13 year old?

[norbs]

My mate in Brissy wants to buy his son, who is recovering from leukemia, a guitar.

Any advice I can send on to him?

Electric/acoustic? Full size or smaller?

[Dr. Pain]

There's plenty of starter packs around such as the following...

http://www.musoscorner.com.au/site/inde ... storepid=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.musoscorner.com.au/site/inde ... storepid=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Acoustic is a good starting point as you don't need an amp so the cost is less. Especially good if they lose interest after a while and you haven't spent a fortune on gear. Also it's not as much noise. For a kid a 3/4 size guitar is good.

[petey]

While that is true, acoustic is always the hardest to play - need finger strength. Ofcourse it is the best choice if you are thinking long term however the electric is a far easier option - physically.

[matticooper]

While that is true, acoustic is always the hardest to play - need finger strength. Ofcourse it is the best choice if you are thinking long term however the electric is a far easier option - physically.

+1

Acoustics are bigger than the electric (or electrics are slimmer and "sit in your lap easier") and most of the time electric guitars have skinnier necks to get those chords etc.

You can't go wrong with something like this:

where you plug the game and the guitar into the PS3/Xbox360 (and I think there's a PC version as well) and the sound comes out thru the tele. Teaches the kid/adult to play, plus you get a guitar out of it. $249. The guitar is an Epiphone - not a cheap and nasty. JB Hi-Fi would be able to possibly order one in.

A Queensland music store is Ellaways which has a Fender copy with a 10W amp for $259. Guitar World is also in QLD (somewhere) and they have packages starting from $399 with Fender Squires (admittedly the cheapest Fender you can get - but it's a Fender).

[richo]

Electric is definitely easier to play but a kids sized nylon string don't have massive string pressures either . For my daughter i gave her an acoustic but strung with 9's electric strings there not as loud but that isn't a bad thing...

[Crowella]

Nylon Acoustic or "classical guitar". For one, you can easily get the 3/4 size which means kids should be able to play it a bit more comfortably. Secondly, the strings will be easier on their fingers to begin with than steel strings. Also saves on having to get an amp, plug in and the possible loud noise that others will hate which comes with learning guitar.

I would go with something like Dr Pain suggests. I would probably avoid Ashton though, even for a beginner, their product quality is dubious. Yamaha make great instruments for beginners and sell for around a little bit more, if not the same price.

[petey]

True, the small classical acoustics with nylon strings don't fair too bad either. However I found kids don't respond well to the sound they make. Doesn't keep their interest.

[Dr. Pain]

I know myself I have no interest in acoustics as I love distortion. My first guitar was a 3/4 electric although I had been playing bass for 2 years before I got it. It felt like a toy after playing a Fender Precision bass copy.

[ysu]

I totally agree with what's said.
To sum it up:

- most kid will probably be more interested in electric (not necessarily, though, I've started out with a classic and love it since - never been a big fan of electric)
- indeed a steel stringed acoustic will be a bit harder to play on
- an 3/4 acoustic with nylon strings is the 'best' choice (play anywhere, easy on the fingers, good size and weight) but if the kid does not like it, it's a waste

can you ask the kid what he prefers?

[norbs]

Thanks gents. I just emailed him all the posts. I will let him sort it out.