Help a dad out

[5398cane]

My son is 8 and picked up the guitar about a year ago, he has progressed pretty well im in opinion. Anyway he wants to go to an electric which I dont mind doing, but I just have no idea where to truly start. I have taken him to a couple of local shops, and the "sound" he wants does not seem to be there in the smaller body units. (Accept i have little to no idea about this, hence my reason for being here) So far in the first year he has gone "through" two acoustic's and actually still plays both. One was a cheap Yamaha "starter" the other was a "Martinez" we didnt buy the sedond based on anything other than his feel and comfort and sound.

Of everything he has tried so far the one that seems to lead the pack is branded LTD it is a Junior series. ? is this a decent brand ? I dont mind spending, but i dont want to over spend or overbuy, on the same hand i dont want to end up cheap.

Choo

[Double X]

I'd just like to say its really great you are giving him an oppurtunity to explore music at a young age, my parents thought it was a wate of time to buy any instrument no matter how cheap, and I didn't get to start working with music until I was 16. All those wasted years watching tv when I could have been working on my technical skill =/

I wouldn't pay too much for a childs guitar no matter what, I would buy him a bigger guitar by the time he is 10 or 11. I would probably buy a squier mini strat, or an ibanez brand. Ibanez always has great value for its price.

[Freebase Dali]

Ibanez is definitely something to look into.
Realistically, you may want to buy him a full sized guitar if you think he's going to stick with it... it may save you from having to buy another guitar once he outgrows the smaller one.

Ibanez has some very nice selections and their necks are nice and easy. As far as I know, they're more of a rock/metal guitarist's pick, so you should keep that in mind if your son is aiming more for a blues type style, in which case you might be better off getting him a strat.

Check out Musician's Friend - Electric Guitars
(sorted by best selling)
Browse around and see if you and your son are interested in any of the guitars there. The user reviews are invaluable for getting a good basis of user opinion on your options before you go into a shop to audition them.

Good luck.

[mr dave]

Originally Posted by 5398cane

Of everything he has tried so far the one that seems to lead the pack is branded LTD it is a Junior series. ? is this a decent brand ? I dont mind spending, but i dont want to over spend or overbuy, on the same hand i dont want to end up cheap.

Choo

i've been playing an LTD for a few years, they're part of ESP Guitars . there's absolutely nothing wrong with them. quality will obviously vary with price, but if you're getting a 3/4 scale guitar to start out then it's obviously more of a temporary thing and i wouldn't worry too much.

i'm assuming it's the KH-JR, kirk hammett's signature model. probably 'not' going to be the same quite the same quality as the actual M2 he plays but whatever hahaha. i'd call it a great start.


BTW - what's the deal with the acoustics? why did he go through 2? are they different sizes? is he managing to play fine on a full sized acoustic or something?

[CookieMonster]

Your best bet would be a squier. I got a squier telecaster for my first guitar and if you are playing with an amp it can cover mainly all types of music from blues to heavier rock.

[Fletch]

Ibanez 3/4 size???? Ibanez Mikro GRGM21 - 3/4 Ibanez Micro Guitar - Ibanez Mikro Small Guitar - Ibanez Online - 34 Guitar

A Fender Mustang also has a shorter scale neck useful for young fingers... (my son in action..)


The amp is more important, i say. Get a modelling one with a few bells and whistles such as a VoxAD30, many more to choose from BUT don`t get one of those scratchy sounding absolute rock bottom cheapies (e.g. MarshallMG10) you find in "beginner" guitar deals. They will put your son off for life and make your own ears bleed!

[Nicktarist]

I'd say Fender Mustang (or Jaguar if he wants versatillity) could work pretty well, but you can get a great sound from an Ibanez Artcore (hollowbody) for around 3 to 500 bucks. Your 250 or 300 dollar models have little to no features, but they sound really, really good. He might like a solidbody Godin (5 to 700) if he likes the Nels Cline sound (not too close, but it has sort of a noodle sound like Cline).

For an amp, you don't have to spend allot. Most people would tell you to go with a tube amp. I'd agree that tube amps are better than solidstates, but at age 8 and only playing for a year, you can rest on a Fender 202 Frontman. It normally goes for about 2 to 300 bucks and sounds pretty incredible for the price.

It's great that you encourage your kid to play. Try to find those guitars, and if you'd like me to go into more detail. I normally use ProGuitarShop.com to find my guitars and gear as they have demonstration videos and nice descriptions. You can let your son loose on the site, and if there is a specific guitar he wants, we can point you to a cheaper build of the same guitar or point you to ebay.

peace,
-nick

(I'd also like to mention that PGS is the only store I can think of that sells the lovepedal Kanji Eternity Overdrive pedal--greatest overdrive pedal I've ever used, and I could almost guaruntee that your son will like it as well. If he wants a heavier distorted sound, I'd recommend checking out the hotcake, or one of the ZVex distortion pedals.. and I mention this to you because if you buy the frontman, you'll find that the distortion isn't all that impressive sounding).

PPS, I've heard that the Italia line of guitars are pretty good sounding and also have smaller necks than average guitars, but don't take my word for it.