Want to buy: Acoustical Guitar

[bczoom]

My daughter plays the flute now (thanks again Murph) but also wants to start playing the guitar.

Anyone have an acoustical guitar they want to sell?

If you don't, but know something about guitars (the good, bad...), please chime in and help me find one for her.

 

[Melensdad]

I guitar challenged. Clueless in fact. But my daughter plays violin. She started with a mini-sized unit but worked her way up to a full size. When she got to the full size violin I learned a lot about them. There are wild differences in quality and even the strings can make a huge difference in the quality of the tone, ability to hold tone, etc.

I guess my point is that if your daughter is the type who will stay with something, and if she is able to use a full size guitar, then consider buying her a decent guitar. Not saying you need to spend the money for a 'good' one, but at least spend the money for something above the bargain units. Ditto the strings.

Also, be wary of buying an ebay special that is priced too good to be true. Our experience when shopping for violins on ebay was not good. Its possible to get a good instrument at a good price but there are a lot of sellers out there claiming to be players and saying the thing has good tonal quality, blah blah blah. . .

ON THE OTHER HAND, if she is just toying with things, then maybe an ebay special is the perfect choice.

 

[Melensdad]

I guitar challenged. Clueless in fact. But my daughter plays violin. She started with a mini-sized unit but worked her way up to a full size. When she got to the full size violin I learned a lot about them. There are wild differences in quality and even the strings can make a huge difference in the quality of the tone, ability to hold tone, etc.

I guess my point is that if your daughter is the type who will stay with something, and if she is able to use a full size guitar, then consider buying her a decent guitar. Not saying you need to spend the money for a 'good' one, but at least spend the money for something above the bargain units. Ditto the strings.

Also, be wary of buying an ebay special that is priced too good to be true. Our experience when shopping for violins on ebay was not good. Its possible to get a good instrument at a good price but there are a lot of sellers out there claiming to be players and saying the thing has good tonal quality, blah blah blah. . .

ON THE OTHER HAND, if she is just toying with things, then maybe an ebay special is the perfect choice.

 

[thcri]

My daughter plays the flute now (thanks again Murph) but also wants to start playing the guitar.

Anyone have an acoustical guitar they want to sell?

If you don't, but know something about guitars (the good, bad...), please chime in and help me find one for her.

I will talk to my other daughter and see if she wants to give up her guitar.

 

[waybomb]

Bear with me as I set the stage...

My kid wanted to learn guitar, so we bought a cheap electric. Waste of money. He was going to give up the instrument playing idea because he hated that guitar so bad. I ended up buying a custom made Jackson off of ebay. I don't recall who it was built for now, but my kid called Jackson and it was made for some famous guy. It was hardly used. After we got him that guitar, he really got into playing it. He practiced for hours at a time and became VERY good at it. So much so I ended up buying some fairly professional sound equipment for him all off of ebay. We did buy a Marshall full stack from a local music shop going out of business.

Anyway, what I learned when learning how to play piano that I hated the upright at school, I hated the Gulbranson piano my dad had at home, and I really like a Steinway a neighbor had. I spent a lot of time playing that Steinway. If it weren't for that Steinway, I would have never gotten past "The Guitar" score.

Back to my kid. I had been bugging him to learn to play an accoustic. He wanted nothing to do with it. So, for a Christmas present I found a mint Martin 12 string on ebay. When I gave it to him, he was not happy. He wanted more effects devices, etc. for his electric. But his curiosity got the better of him and he taught himself how to play that 12 string. It is wonderful. He's taken a liking to the sounds an accoustic can produce.

What's the point of all this? Buy the best instrument you can afford. You want your child to enjoy playing. It should not be work for the kid. A bad instrument will leave the kid sour. Do some research before you buy. If you buy a good instrument used from a private seller, and your kid looses interest, at least you'll be able to sell it for what you bought it for. Buy a cheap POS and you'll end up throwing it away in all cases. If the kid hates it, throw it away; if the kid likes it, you'll have to buy a better one anyway, and then throw the cheap one away.

Guitars - I had been told that Martin is one of the best mass produced guitars, so that's what I bought him. It cost me about 400 bucks when I bought it. It is worth much more than that now, plus, I get free music almost whenever I want. And my kid has learned something he'll hopefully never forget.

 

[RNE228]

Find a reputable music shop first. Make sure they have a good luthier. Aslk what they do to the guitars before sale.

We are fortunate to have a local shop that has some very skilled luthiers. Nick, and his son, can do wonders with stringed instruments. The second a guitar comes out of the box, they give it a complete tune-up. No, not just tuning the strings... verything on the instrument is checked and adjusted as necessary. They check the neck, is it true and straight, and adjusted at the correct alignment to the body. Are the frets dressed and level. Is the bridge fine, too high, or too low. Is the nut correct. They go over everything, wether it is a entry level instrument or a fancy big dollar one.

It is good to try instruments; different people like different sizes, neck widths, thickness, tone etc.

I have seen high grade guitars that were terrible to play, they were so out of adjustment. Have also seen entry level guitars that were amazing to play, mostly becuase they were very well set up and adjusted.

I got my son a basic Stratocaster setup. Fender Strat, amp, etc. It is entry level, but it plays exceptionally well. It is adjusted and set up properly. He loves it

I had a friend who was starting to play, and was pretty good. I let him try one of my guitars; he was amazed how well it played. He brought his guitar over the next time he was in town. It was a nice guitar, but had awful setup. I don't know how he played it, the neck was so out of alighnment. We took it to Nick. He had it on the bench for about an hour of labor. when finished, it was a totally different guitar; it was wonderful to play.

The key is, find one that feels comfortable and has the sound you want. Then make sure it has a good setup/tune-up(it should have this right out of the box).

Nick and his crew are top nothc, and widely recognized http://www.nicholsonmusic.com/Welcome.html

If you can find a shop like this local, you're set

 

[RNE228]

This is along the lines of my post. To enjoy playing, it helps to have a decent, well set up instrument. If not, it is easy to lose interest in playin...

What's the point of all this? Buy the best instrument you can afford. You want your child to enjoy playing. It should not be work for the kid. A bad instrument will leave the kid sour. Do some research before you buy.

 

[bczoom]

Thanks for all the info.

I did a 2-minute browse on e-bay and realized there was several levels of guitars and what appeared to be real cheap ones. I quickly gave up there as I didn't have the knowledge to know the good from the bad.

There's a couple on Craigslist that "appear" to be decent guitars but then found that I need to determine size. There's "full size", "3/4 size"...

My daughter just turned 11 but is growing like a weed. She's only 1" shorter than Mrs. Zoom and will probably be taller by the time she's 12. I'm thinking of going full size but need to find out exactly what the differences are in the sizes.

I also need to check with the school. My daughter eluded to you can start a new instrument 1/2 way through the year. I need to confirm this and also see how she's going to fit it in her schedule.

 

[Ice Queen]

I started on a cheap 6 string acoustic guitar and progressed to an Eko 6 string and then went on to play an Eko 12 string. I then bought an Eko 12 sunburst guitar from a friend who could never tune it, he had imported it from Italy I think. I have an electronic tuner and found it easy to tune, but it was hard on the fingers to play. I took it to a local man who makes string instruments (he had mended two old banjos for me - which, incidentally I thought were passed repair and made a super job of them) . He lowered the action and generally sorted it out and it is now super to play. It is still hard on the fingers if I don't practice enough - which I don't - but it is a great improvement and sounds lovely. Best of luck to your daughter, I do hope she manages to get a good guitar and spends many happy hours with it. Incidentally the difference between a 6 string and a 12 is like the difference between mono and stereo, but a 6 is much easier to start with.

 

[sonicangel]

AAhhh! Playing the guitar. I have many wonderful memories learning to play. I was 14 and it came to me like majic. I guess it was just a gift. I now am a lead and rythm player and singer in a rocknroll band and have made many tax-free dollars doing it. So it has been a blessing. I hope it goes just as well or better for your daughter. ROCKNROLL!!!

 

[Dargo]

One of my past jobs was (no, not playing a guitar!) doing software for pawn shops. So, I have spent many hours in pawn shops and have gotten a lot of great deals from them. I've seen some take in excellent guitars that have a listed value over a thousand dollars for about a hundred bucks. If you do some research about them, you can get a great deal. I'd love to play the guitar but have never had the time for lessons. I do well to play the radio. :mullet:

However, my last business partner in the computer business who bought out my half still plays lead guitar in a band on weekends. He has been an excellent player specializing in 'classic rock' for almost 30 years. But, strangely enough, he claims that some of John Denver's acoustical pieces are much harder to play than most rock. Anyway, he claims he can tell a decent axe (what he sometimes calls them) from a bad one even if he's blindfolded. If you find one that looks like a great deal and want to know a professional's viewpoint, just let me know and I can call him. His two favorite guitars are ones I got for him from pawn shops for what he calls 'pennies on the dollar'.

*edit*
Or, of course, you could just ask "sonicangel" who posted while I was writing this post.

 

[thcri]

AAhhh! Playing the guitar. I have many wonderful memories learning to play. I was 14 and it came to me like majic. I guess it was just a gift. I now am a lead and rythm player and singer in a rocknroll band and have made many tax-free dollars doing it. So it has been a blessing. I hope it goes just as well or better for your daughter. ROCKNROLL!!!

So Sonicangel with all of that guitar experience do you not have any recommendations for BC??

 

[Galvatron]

my son started playing Guitar late march this year he is 15....he has an Uncle that plays semi pro and just loved the idea of playing himself so we got him an acoustic for his birthday and man he never puts it down.
His uncle recommended a Encore W255OFT due to its great sound and cheap price and we have never looked back....we paid local for his one £60....its a 6 string and he has it in the color blue....link provided..

http://www.jhs.co.uk/encoreacoustic.html

With just 7 months playing under his belt he is excelling fast maybe having an Uncle giving him pointers is helping....and now he also has a new baby he invested in with his own money....an electric Ibanez GAX30 in black...this cost him £130 and again his Uncle pointed him to this...man he loves his Guitars.

http://www.ibanez.com/eg/guitar.aspx?m=GAX30

and here is a link for the all important Guitar tuning....install the software on your PC and tune using a microphone(easy to use). http://www.aptuner.com/cgi-bin/aptuner/apmain.html

Both were bought brand new.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

My advice is go to a good music shop, try a bunch of them out and find one she's comfortable with. My first acoustic guitar was a pain in the a$$ to play. The bridge was set too high making the strings sit too high from the fretboard. Which in turn made pressing on the strings very hard and painful. Try a bunch of them out. They all have their own "personality" if you'd call it that. Each acoustic guitar has its own sound. A guy I used to jam with back in high school had an expensive Takamene. Nice guitar but I just didn't like the "bassy" sound to it. This is why I settled on the Montana acoustic guitar I have now. Mine has the electric pickup built into it which is a nice feature if you plan on ever plugging into an amp.

If it's an electric guitar you're looking for, a low-end fender is always a good buy. Again, each electric guitar has their own feel to it. Some hich end guitars I find are really heavy and uncomfortable to play. For a beginner learning to play the electric, I'd stay away from anything with a floating bridge. They are a royal pain in the a$$ to tune. I had one before and it ended up baically sitting in its case for two years as I hated taking a half hour to tune the thing each time I wanted to play. I've gone through about 12 different guitars till I found one's I like. Here's what I finally settle with years ago... First pic is me&my montana acoustic. Second and thrid pics is my Hamer Standard electric.

 

[Fret Fodder]

Guitars are like anything in that you typically get what you pay for, and everything is over priced.

+1 on trying out as many as you can before you buy.

I suggest lining up a few high quality music stores in your area and spend a day with your daughter visiting each one to find what she likes. I would advise against surprising her with one, or providing her with otherwise “limited choices” if you do indeed want her to continue playing. Invest this one day because at this point it's just as much about finding a specific voice as it is which instrument is actually better than another. (Not to go all "Dr. Phil")

Be prepared for her "specific voice" to start about $500 and go up depending on how much she's already been looking.