Guitar players, please enlighten me!

[Perilscope]

I hope that there are some guitar players here?
Well the story is simple; my 9 year old son wants to learn the guitar (classic).

His music teacher at school said that inexpensive guitars are harder to tune, harder to play and the students tend to lose interest because their success is hampered. Is this true?

What does a cheap guitar consist of?
What's a good price to start with?

Do you guys have a model in mind, I made some surfing before I hit the shops, and I think the Ibanez GA5W would be good for him, what do you guys think?

Any help would be appreciative, thanks in advance!

Dam! Couldn't he have chosen to play drums instead, :damn: at least there I would have had something to say, I played for several years.

[ASWnut101]

you should get him one of those 4-arm guitars that shoot fire out of each end :arrgh!::rock:

[WutWuzDat]

Well, I play Classical Guitar and Piano, and I started guitar when I was 9.

The first question is, is your child wanting to keep playing guitar for the rest of his life. I'm guessing that a full sized guitar is going to be too big for him right now. Now my brother also takes lessons, and his is 10. Right now he a has a very good used Guild (? spelling) 3/4 size that looks very nice and sounds good. My Dad paid $200 for it.

I have a 2003 Takamine EC132C (http://www.takamine.com/?fa=detail&mid=154&sid=68)that I paid $700 (including tax) for. It lists for over $1,200 now. I LOVE it! I would recomend a Takamine for a full size. They have built in pre-amp and a tuner. Mine also has a cut-away, and that is very nice.

A friend of might bought a 2001 model just like mine for $500 off eBay about a month ago.

You can get a cheap one, but most of the time you get what you pay for. Expect to shovel out around $200 - 300 for a good 3/4 size.

Now this is Classical... You can get a "Western" or Steel string guitar for a bit less. But I don't know much about those.

And I don't have a clue what prices will run in Montréal.

[Onkel Neal]

I hope that there are some guitar players here?
Well the story is simple; my 9 year old son wants to learn the guitar (classic).

His music teacher at school said that inexpensive guitars are harder to tune, harder to play and the students tend to lose interest because their success is hampered. Is this true?

What does a cheap guitar consist of?
What's a good price to start with?

Do you guys have a model in mind, I made some surfing before I hit the shops, and I think the Ibanez GA5W would be good for him, what do you guys think?

Any help would be appreciative, thanks in advance!

Dam! Couldn't he have chosen to play drums instead, :damn: at least there I would have had something to say, I played for several years.

The Ibanez would make a great first guitar. I play an Ibanez. I don't think the Ibanez would be "harder to play, tune, etc" at all. Students lose interest because they don't have the real desire to learn and play. Great guitarists have learned on much worse instruments.

I would put a picture of me in my rock days but ... it would never go away.

[Perilscope]

Right now he a has a very good used Guild (? spelling) 3/4 size that looks very nice and sounds good. My Dad paid $200 for it.
The problem is that you said your father paid 200$US, "used". How much would that Guild be if new, seems a bit expensive.
Now that you mentioned, 3/4 guitar would be perfect for my son, the full size would be too big for a 9 year old kid.

The Ibanez would make a great first guitar.
Undeniably, but the problem is that I can't find an Ibanez in our price range. Even the Ibanez GA5W that I pointed out above comes out to about 300$ here in Canada.

I am afraid that my son will lose interest after a year, and spend 300$ for a kid, it's risky.

Unless, I make my son try different models in stores, and than buy what he likes used on eBay. Brand new these descend guitars are quite expensive.

I hate these kinds of decision, I would give him the world, but neither I want to throw money away just to please his needs.:hmm:

[Onkel Neal]

It's your kid, you have to do it! Cheapskate ;)

[Kresge]

Check with your local music stores since some rent out instruments to people learning to play. They may also have a selection of used guitars for sale. Many musicians trade in their old instruments when they upgrade and you may be able to find a much nicer guitar for the price. The renting route will help with the problem of not knowing if he'll stick with it in the long run and can also give him the prospect of having a new guitar as something to work towards.
:up:

[jumpy]

I know it's early days yet, but one of the most important things in choosing the 'right' guitar is the fit- if it's not comfortable to hold or easy to reach all of the frettboard etc. Try before you buy as it were. How big is your son? Perhaps a 3/4 size classical would be good? The neck on a classical tends to be much wider than a conventional accousic steel strung instrument- in this aspect my other half had to have the accoustic because her hands are too small to stretch accross the frettboard on a nylon strung classical guitar. I ended up getting her a Yamaha 1/2 or 3/4 size accoustic (I forget which), it was about £130.00 new. Though it's relatively inexpensive compared to my guitars, it holds its intonation well and has a nice tone to it.

http://www.yamaha.com/guitars/acoustics/0,,CTID%253D600013%2526CNTYP%253DPRODUCT,00.html
http://www.yamaha.com/guitars/student/0,,CTID%253D600026,00.html

Secondhand might be the way to go, but watch out for repairs etc. As far as the music teacher talking about cheapo guitars not holding tune... that depends; I have a secondhand classical 3/4 size that came from a 'junk shop' and cost about 15 quid- one new set of strings and a good clean and a small bit of wood glue later (to hold one of the internal body struts in place to stop vibration) and I have a decent little guitar that lives downstairs. It's not up to the quality of my Seagull, but for what it cost I cannot complain. One thing I will say: DO NOT buy an instrument from one of those household mailorder warehouses like Argos (in the UK), even if it is cheap. Propper music shop is the way to go.
As a beginner having an instrument that is comfortable to hold and fits the student is of more importance than having the advantages of Uber muso 'it never goes out of tune' expensive guitars, and it will help him learn how to tune the thing propperly- this imho is waaaay more important and ability/skill (though you can cheat by using an electric tuning device - cost about 20 quid) for a beginner to grasp.

Shop around with your son. Any music shop worth its salt will do their best to get you what's right as opposed to making a sales target.

[Perilscope]

It's your kid, you have to do it! Cheapskate ;)
I know I look like a cheapskate, but remember I have 3 kids to feed everyday, and they all want something significant every month or so, if you add up, that is a lot of money. :yep:
Check with your local music stores since some rent out instruments to people learning to play.
I called several shops this morning for an approximation on how much it would cost to rent a 3 3/4 guitar, it ranges between 20$ to 30$ dollars a month. Let's say we rent the one at 20$, after only 6 months, I have paid 120$. Plus the guitar lessons, as you said, I am better off buying used.
How big is your son? Perhaps a 3/4 size classical would be good?
My son is 57 inches tall (145cm). He is on the right end in the picture below:
http://www.nettouring.com/mm/images/public/My3Kids.jpg
As you can see, he as long harms and fingers for it, no doubt about it. I guess it’s a question of going out there and let the kid try those guitars, and stop being a cheapskate as Neal said.:D
I am confident that he will like it, after all it's him who approach me, I never said nothing to him to play guitar, it could be a good sign.:hmm:

[WutWuzDat]

As you can see, he as long harms and fingers for it, no doubt about it. I guess it’s a question of going out there and let the kid try those guitars, and stop being a cheapskate as Neal said.:D
I am confident that he will like it, after all it's him who approach me, I never said nothing to him to play guitar, it could be a good sign.:hmm:

He may beable to use a full size. Take him down to the shop and try some out.

Does he REALLY want to play CLASSICAL? The guitars are different. The Classical has a wider neck and nylon strings among other things. It's not the kind of style you play in a band or group.

Also, the classical lessons are going to be more expensive.

You can go to walmart and buy a cheap first act or something for $75 or so. If they don't have classicals, you can get a steel and put nylons on it (it will be okay while he is small) untill he desides if he really wants to keep going and move up into a full size.

It will be hard going for the first year, but once things get going, he will love it. I really enjoy playing Classical.

PS - I'm not sure if Guild is still in buissness.

[Perilscope]

Does he REALLY want to play CLASSICAL?
I know, I asked him the same question, "why classic", he answered me: "because it's the right thing to do, after ill play electric".
I do not know if he heard that somewhere, but I think he is right.:D

PS - I'm not sure if Guild is still in buissness.
Well yesterday, when I went on the Guild website, I read at the bottom the copyright, and it says:
©2006 Fender® Musical Instruments Corporation
So maybe they will hang on a few more years, since Fender backs them up, who knows?:hmm:

[Dan D]

"Accoustic" guitar, good choice. Just look what Johnny Cash made out of Nine Inch Nail`s "Hurt"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA35aFWRoJU

He will have to practise hard though, like this guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiKUQG8Tgx0


I would put a picture of me in my rock days but ... it would never go away. Lol, if you post yours, I will post mine:arrgh!:.

I am only a bass guitar player. I played up to 3-5 hours each day when I was a school boy. Now with 2 kids I seldom play, because whenever I want to play, the kids hijack the bass, Ack. I need a band again:).

[XabbaRus]

Reminds me that I need to start learning to play my guitar again.

By the way cute kids...can you say that nowadays?

Look old enough to me to be put out to work. :D

Hey there's your answer. He gets the lessons, gets decent and then you put him out to busk....:rotfl:

Just kidding. IMy guitar cost £100 12 years ago from a decent music store. Can't remember the make right now but my bro, whose **** hot lieks it.