Nice But Reasonably Priced Starter Guitar Suggestions?!

[Rafter H BBQ]

Hey all, my son (16) is wanting to get into guitar playing. I know nothing about the playing… One of several regrets in my life is not pursuing some type of musical instrument. I was always fond of guitars.

Those of you that play, could you suggest the above stated? I’d like to know more myself since he is interested.

As always, appreciate your time and feedback.

Thank you!

 

[GatorAGR]

I would start him on electric as they are easier to play. My first guitar was a cheap Laguna with a little amp. Perfect to get started. If he sticks with it you can upgrade from there. Just my two cents. Good luck!

 

[Timber II]

I’m not an electric guy but that is a good suggestion above.

A cheap acoustic guitar that is not set up properly will just cause frustration.

I would look at some used guitars, and I would consider lessons to learn the basics.

I’m basically self taught from YouTube vids but I probably would have learned quicker with lessons.

Maybe you both should get guitars? It helps to have someone else at the same skill level to learn with.

 

[912smoker]

That's awesome Justin and glad he is showing an interest!
As a picker, I would highly recommend the Fender Squire series.
Telecaster for the more of a Classic Nashville look/sound or a Strat for more of a "rock" appeal.
Justin we bought one for our daughter 2 yrs ago with a small Fender amplifier and it is an excellent rig at a very good price.
I'll send you some links in a bit.

Keith

 

[JLinza]

I dont have a musical bone in my body, but that cool he wants to get into that

 

[zwiller]

Was a professional musician since 7th grade, started in 4th. Trained on both drums and guitar. I can talk about this stuff ad nauseam. Youngest daughter just got into it. I went with Squire strat (mini as she is 12) and Line 6 Spider: $200 for the setup. Amp will do pretty much any sound from clean, slight overdrive breakup, to full tilt death metal if you want it. VERY nice setup and will keep you engaged as there is nothing "missing". Effects and reverb in the amp. In the day those sounds took a lot of expensive gear to get. Download a tuner app on your phone.

 

[GatorAGR]

That's the exact amp I had. Great for beginners like you said.

 

[tallbm]

Hey all, my son (16) is wanting to get into guitar playing. I know nothing about the playing… One of several regrets in my life is not pursuing some type of musical instrument. I was always fond of guitars.

Those of you that play, could you suggest the above stated? I’d like to know more myself since he is interested.

As always, appreciate your time and feedback.

Thank you!

I'm an acoustic guy and may be able to lend some decent starter advice.

Yamaha brand is known for it's quality, no need to setup, and ease right out of the gate for a beginner. I believe anything the FG or FS series would be a great no frills starting guitar. Brand new these days I believe they run $200-$275.

I bought a Yamaha FG700S off Facebook Marketplace 2 days ago for $120 to take with me and leave at my girlfriend's parent's house, which is out of the country. It is hard for them to get things like this over there and I wanted something acceptable but also something I wouldn't cry about if it shattered into a million pieces while traveling there lol.

The FS models are smaller than a normal size guitar (the FG models) but not so much that the FS is a mini guitar. The FS are also solid spruce tops (solid wood) instead of laminate so it makes for a better guitar construction generally.

The Yamaha JR models are 3/4 mini guitars that again will have the consistent quality for a starter and I saw those things all over Facebook Marketplace for $100 a pop with the carrying case it comes with. This would be great if you need a smaller guitar depending on the size of the kid. Added bonus is that it travels well and mini guitars do completely fine when out camping or on trips. They aren't going to blow anyone away with their sound but that is not their purpose, they are intended to allow someone to travel easily and still play guitar.

Things to Keep in Mind:

• Guitar picks... I suggest you just go ahead and get these .73mm with grip texture and never look back and avoid fighting with holding a pick while trying to learn how to play:
  Click Here for Guitar Pic on Amazon
  
  
  
  
  
• It is wise (basically mandatory) to have a case that fits the size of guitar you have. Amazon has them $27+ all day long and will allow you to store and carry the guitar keeping it safe.
  
  
• It is wise (also basically mandatory) to have a decent stand to put the thing in should you get up and go to the bathroom or want the guitar out of the case and ready to grab and play. I prefer small/short but sturdy ones that can fold and travel well or be put away easily.
  I am trying this one and it should be in today if you would like me to report back on whether it is good to go or trash. I ordered this stand for the new guitar I purchased because a stand is mandatory in my book, because you cant just be laying a guitar around or laying it back in a case and hope you always have space to do so or hope nothing is going to happen to it if you lay it bare on some piece of furniture or lean it against something. It will fall and hit the floor if it is not in a stand or locked up in the case, I guarantee it!
  
  

If he takes to it, or you take to it, then later on you will likely want to get a capo which raises the pitch of the guitar by pressing down all the strings across a whole fret, and also you will want to get a set of better strings than what it came with the guitar.

Conclusion
This is all for entry level guitar stuff, especially in the acoustic world. I spent about $245 total 2 days ago to buy a Yamaha FG700S ($120) beginner guitar, 2 sets of guitar strings, a capo, a guitar stand, and a waterproof'ish soft carrying case (all about $125 on Amazon) so I can take an acceptable guitar to leave out of the country and be able to play when I visit. I already have guitar picks but they aren't going to break the bank either.
I mainly play my Epiphone Dove (made by Gibson) and love it. I picked up 5 years ago and it's a $500 guitar model. I wanted the majority of the build and performance of what I could get out of a Gibson Dove without paying the $3-4.5k price for a Gibson hahaha. It does all I want.
I also have a couple of other acoustic guitars that are not as good and keep them because of the sentimental circumstances that led to how I got them.

No matter whether you go acoustic or electric it is good to know what brand and models will be automatic pick up and play vs needing to replace of modify the plastic nut, plastic saddle, adjust neck tension, etc., etc. People starting out want to learn to play not learn how to modify a guitar so it plays well. Hence me just grabbing a Yamaha as my cheapo guitar.
More expensive guitars will have all this work done to them, but if someone doesn't even know how to play a guitar then getting the most expensive guitar is not a wise step to take. They don't know they will ever stick with it so don't break the bank on the 1st guitar :D

I hope this info helps!

 

[gmc2003]

Sorry I can't help you out. I'm not very musically inclined. I did play the sax in elementary and middle school.

You son is probably to young, but I remember every kid growing up that wanted to play the guitar played the opening rif to Smoke on the Water, or at least they tried to. I hope your son sticks with it.

Chris

 

[tallbm]

So got my stand and stuff in.

So the stand is acceptable as well.
The stand with the guitar on the right is better and it's not my preferred.

My preferred stand is this one and it is AMAZING. They make it in both acoustic and electric formats.

Finally, the inexpensive Cahaya soft carrying case (gig bag) I got is also acceptable but my other Road Runner bag is much better though it's nothing to brag about.

In all I got everything to the quality I was looking for and I would see no issues with this being a solid starter setup for anyone. It is not where you want to be in the end but it is completely functional while giving ideas on where to grow for better stuff :D

 

[912smoker]

I've been a die hard Fender man for 50yrs.
Still gigging 2-3 times a week.
Like zwiller , chose a lightweight amplifier loaded with programmable tones and it sounds great!
Fender Mustang LT25 Digital Guitar Combo Amp | American Musical Supply https://share.google/oC42L8TwqvrZk3z5l

Have used lots of different stands over the yrs but this is the only one I trust with my Fender Jazz bass.

https://www.americanmusical.com/p/hercules-gs415bplus-autogrip-system-guitar-stand

And so easy to learn, IMO, with instructions and guides loaded on YT and other www options.

Keith

 

[yankee2bbq]

Hey all, my son (16) is wanting to get into guitar playing. I know nothing about the playing… One of several regrets in my life is not pursuing some type of musical instrument. I was always fond of guitars.

Those of you that play, could you suggest the above stated? I’d like to know more myself since he is interested.

As always, appreciate your time and feedback.

Thank you!

My professional advice would be “air guitar” or even better the BANJO.
I’ve met a lot of great friends playing the banjo.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

If he wants to go electric I will say these days there are so many ones you can buy for cheap that work very well. Since he is starting he will not need a high dollar one to learn how to play.

I am old and learned on an acoustic many years ago but forgot everything. I wanted to re-learn since retirement and found a cheap set. It did not work out of the box so I made it a wall hanger.

Recently I was searching for something better but at a reasonable price but through the searches I was able to fix my original one and am ready to start playing, or at least pretend to.

There are so many good ones at a low price, some from big names. I bought a Donner brand but it has good reviews on youtube.

from what I have watched if I were to buy today these are the best to start with.

Jackson JS Series Dinky JS11​

I like the JS22 more but it is more expensive.

 

[zwiller]

That's the exact amp I had. Great for beginners like you said.

Astoundingly good for what it does for the price!

Real quick generalization of music gear: the expensive stuff is like 10%-20% better for all that extra dough. Not 100%, not 50%. That being said, when you do get to point where your skill level is decent, this 10-20% becomes sorta magic as it typically makes the instrument easier to play and that makes it sound better. On a guitar, especially an acoustic, the sound is more balanced across the range of a nicer instrument. Cheaper stuff will tend to have certain areas/notes that are louder than average and certain notes that or softer than average.

Both my daughters assumed they would magically pick up my chops for some reason, like it was genetic. LOL Not so! Truthfully, it took a LOT of work to get there. IMO you need a minimum of an hour per day to get decent. There's a certain discipline or commitment to the craft that is not talked about. I think a lot people expect it be easier when they start but it's not at first. If you can get through that time and get a handle on the basics it's gets REALLY cool after that.

 

[Timber II]

In the aspects of playing zwiller has it spot on. In my case, I owned a guitar for 30+ years, but never really knew how to play it until I retired. Then I started a dedicating 1, 2 even three hours a day to playing and now I can fumble my way through a ton of songs just by memory, and you’ll still hear some mistakes but all the practice has payed off, without that practice time I would never have got there but I didn’t have that time until I retired.

 

[tallbm]

Astoundingly good for what it does for the price!

Real quick generalization of music gear: the expensive stuff is like 10%-20% better for all that extra dough. Not 100%, not 50%. That being said, when you do get to point where your skill level is decent, this 10-20% becomes sorta magic as it typically makes the instrument easier to play and that makes it sound better. On a guitar, especially an acoustic, the sound is more balanced across the range of a nicer instrument. Cheaper stuff will tend to have certain areas/notes that are louder than average and certain notes that or softer than average.

Both my daughters assumed they would magically pick up my chops for some reason, like it was genetic. LOL Not so! Truthfully, it took a LOT of work to get there. IMO you need a minimum of an hour per day to get decent. There's a certain discipline or commitment to the craft that is not talked about. I think a lot people expect it be easier when they start but it's not at first. If you can get through that time and get a handle on the basics it's gets REALLY cool after that.

This sooooo correct.
I think to pick up a guitar (or anything of discipline) you have to have some sort of strong perseverance drive or well commanded stubbornness hahaha. It takes time and dedication (or stubbornness). A
I picked it up on my own in the early 2000's using chordfind.com and countrytabs.com. The 1st site showed a computer generated image of where to press down on a guitar for chords. You look up the chord it shows you the images where to press... but not HOW to press so I hold some chords incorrectly but with no issue hahaha.

The 2nd site allowed me to look up songs with lyrics and chords mostly positioned where they would change in the song. This allowed me to play along with songs and be able to play a song.

Once you learn the chords to a song and how to switch and do this for various songs to be able t play most of the normal chords you are making great progress.... then if you want to sing.... back to the drawing board of difficulty and learning hahaha.

Playing along with a song or playing the music so you easily recognize it's a specific song is one thing. Playing AND singing together is a whole other ballgame.
I'm not saying this to discourage you but to prepare you.

The easiest song I know of that is fun is Sublime's song "What I Got" the minus the solo, the whole song is just 2 chords. D and G over and over with no change in order. Just D to G and back to D to G. Very simple and fun and a great song!

It is a good song to learn to play and enjoy while beginning and if you want to sing and play it is also a great song since the music is simple. This allows you to focus on matching vocals/words along with music since words and notes land at specific points so you can keep it all in rhythm and switch without anything sounding off. It is amazing once you pick it up!