buyin an acoustic guitar

[Hammer]

My son just started playing and is enjoying it. I would like to get him a guitar but am not sure what I should be shooting for. Its only been a month so I am not ready to buy anything too expensive in case he doesnt want to continue.

any thoughts?

[Moonlight J]

[BuckyBuckner]

That is my favorite Scrubs episode. Collin Hay is great.

[Clams]

how old is he?
what is your budget?
what kind of music is he into?

[Hammer]

he is 14
Trying to stay under $200
May Day Parade- Breathe Carolina- Every Avenue

[Sour Masher]

If you think he'll stick with it, I'd say get an Alvarez. I bought one for my wife a few years ago for about $200. You can get sub $100 from Best Buy or some such place, but if your son really gets into it, that will be wasted money as he will want an upgrade. Alvarez makes great lower end but good sounding acoustic guitars. They should still have a couple of sub $200 models.

[Clams]

Go to Guitar Center or Sam Ash and let him try out some guitars. They'll have a ton of options for under $200. Anything b/w $125-$200 by Fender, Epiphone, Takamine, Alvarez will be comparable and should do him just fine. You can also find great deals on Craigslist. Remember to also buy a gig bag so he can take the guitar to lessons or a friend's house or wherever. You sure he doesn't want an electric? Most kids like them better and they're a lot easier to play and learn on. You can probably find a Squier Strat and a cheap amp for around $200. Or better yet, borrow a guitar from a friend and tell your son you'll buy him his own guitar if he stays with it for 6 months. That way, you can dangle a carrot and not waste any money if he decides he doesn't like it. Plus, your kid will be a much more educated consumer once he's been playing for a while and knows what he's doing. My son's 11 and he's been playing for 3 years now and he's getting pretty good, so feel free to ask any questions.

[Lucky]

The Yamaha FG700S may be the most bang for the buck of any student-level guitar. You can find it for $199 on the internet with free shipping. It has a solid sitka spruce top, a nice rosewood fretboard, and a lifetime guarantee. That's the way I would go.

There are so many options...you can even get a Takamine for under $100 on Amazon. Amazon has several other student beginner kits that include gig bags, etc. In fact, Amazon would be a good place to comparison shop. But, you wouldn't go wrong with that Yamaha FG700S.

[Hammer]

thanks for all the responses guys. I will be checking each one out in the next few days.

[johnnya24]

Another +1 for the Yamaha FG series guitars.

[Hammer]

I bought him a Fender CD60 Acoustic about a month ago. His excitement lasted 10 days then turned to dread as he said it was too hard and got frustrated. He begged me to give it up. Luckily there was a 30 day money back guarantee so I got all my scratch back........



kids.......

[johnnya24]

I would have suggested maybe buying a classical style guitar so his fingers wouldn't hurt so much while he learned. This was a problem for me when I first started playing ... my fingers ripped to shreds because the strings were to far from the fretboard, and I almost gave up.