OT: Help! DS12 want to start guitar lessons

[4forMe]

My DS has been begging to take guitar lessons all year. I told him we would consider having him start over the summer as we will have less activities.

He wants to do the electric guitar, of course. I have no problem with him learning to play guitar. I would love to be the house that is having the garage band rehearsals here!

I started pricing things out and it seems you need between $200-$300 for a decent starter set. Is this correct? What brand guitar would you recommend? Any other advice?

Thanks.

 

[Tramp68]

TO make sure she likes it and is going to stick it out I would reccomend a trip to the local swap shop or pawn shop. Otherwise most of the music shops will sell an inexpensive starter set with a small amp.

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

TO make sure she likes it and is going to stick it out I would reccomend a trip to the local swap shop or pawn shop. Otherwise most of the music shops will sell an inexpensive starter set with a small amp.

This, plus we have the ruling with ours (oldest plays flute, guitar and keyboards) that they have to start with an acoustic (can still play the same music- it's just "unplugged" style) then if they can show they're going to pick it up and stick with it, then we buy electric or electro-acoustic for them (electro-acoustic has been a good option here because they play with or without amp that way)

One thing I will say is worth buying if neither of you play (or don't know anyone who does- my BIL tunes by ear, it's fascinating!) is an electric tuner- you clip it onto the top of the neck and pluck and it will tell you if it's the right note you're aiming for.

I don't think make matters hugely until they start playing well, at which point there's going to be alot of stages expense-wise as they improve and want better guitars.

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

ohhh just a secondary thought too- a reason why it might be worth heading in to a shop with him to try them out is at age 12, depending on build and size of your son he might want a full sized guitar or he might be better suited to a 3/4 one.

 

[juliebean]

I think your budget is reasonable and I'd recommend www.musiciansfriend.com for purchases. We have bought things for my son's sax and base guitar through them with good results. Ibanez is a brand that was recommended to us.

I'd also suggest looking for a music camp near your home for lessons over the summer. My son and daughter go to one near us. For the more experienced students - they allow them to do lessons for two instruments, including guitar or base. It ends up that they get 30 hours of instruction for each instrument over the month of July for $225, which is crazy cheap. My son made huge gains in skill last summer with his alto sax and had a good time with the other students and teachers too. They did Fuge (sp?) in G minor by Bach for their final sax ensemble performance and I was blown away by how good it was. If you have a music camp nearby, I'd highly recommend looking at it. Lessons can cost way more than the actual instrument.

 

[melmar136]

Is there anyone you could borrow a guitar from for a little while to make sure ds likes it/wants to stay with it?
My DD decided she wanted to start guitar lessons last Sept, and I was able to borrow one from a coworker for 4 months. I saw that DD liked it, practiced, etc, and got her a great acoustic on Amazon...a Yamaha for $200 for Christmas.
She is going to a music camp this summer for a week, and needs an electric. I found a place that rents them by the month, so that's what we'll be doing.

 

[FormerFF]

An electric is easier to play than is an acoustic, as the strings are much softer on the fingers. If you don't know anything about guitars, it's hard to buy one used from a private party, but there are used instrument shops out there. A 12 year old will use a full sized guitar.

As far as brands go, Ibanez, Epiphone (Gibson), Squier (Fender), Washburn, and Dean are all good choices in the starter guitar market. There are other less known ones as well. If I were you I would try to find one without a tremolo, which is sometimes called a "hardtail". The tremolo can make it hard to keep the guitar in tune and it's just a distraction at first.

On the amplifier side of things, I would spend a little more money and get what's known as a "modeling" amplifier. These have a lot of special effects built in, so you can switch from "clean" (a sweet natural sound) to some Hendrix-playing-the-Star-Spangled-Banner-at-3AM nasty crunchy sounding thing at the twist of a knob. My nine year old daughter has a Peavey Vyper 15, which was $99. Line 6's Spider line of amps are also very popular. Two words of warning: ANY guitar amp is capable of playing way too loud, and you can plug an IPod into them.

One of two things is going to happen: Either you son is going to decide this is not for him, at which time you can sell all of this stuff on Craigslist, or he's going have a lifetime hobby, and the first guitar is special, so I'd not go too cheap if I could avoid it. In any case, the cost of the guitar is nothing compared to what you'll spend on lessons, so make sure he practices.