My son wants a guitar and...

[Eyehategod]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

Try used gear - ebay sucks, its all overpriced and if the f*@k you over, you can't take the guitar and reciept back and complain.

[PowerTube]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

Okay, guys, flame away if you will, but here goes: Hit the pawn shops and find a Kramer Focus from the 80's. It doesn't matter what model. They have the original Floyd Rose(r), one-piece maple neck, thick bodies, and great tone, These usually sell in the $140-200.00 range. Just my opinion, of course.
[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[SkateAxis]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

He probably wants a Strat just because there so popular, or because thats what he's seen his friends /some famous players play. Trust me I was just like him. When I first decided I wanted to play guitar I wanted a Strat [img]graemlins/refuse.gif[/img] , but then after I researched guitars for two years (yes, I researched guiars for two years before I got one!!!) I realized that there mass produced crap. Take him into a music shop, take every fu*king guitar of the wall and let him just play even if he cant. Ask him what fells the best, which ones strings are easier to press down (action), And which sound he likes the best (Plug those suckers into a nice Marshal combo). Then after all that get on the internet and get him the one he liked the most for half the price. I highly recomend the Charvel [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] model sereis! If he is stuck on that Strat look get him an '86 model 3, Model 3's came with pickguards for that one year. Good luck, and wahtever you do dont get him a Squier at least buy a used MEXI Fender!

[img]graemlins/sleep.gif[/img] Wow it took a while to type that!!

[ November 29, 2002, 11:37 PM: Message edited by: Wow ]

[JACKSONFREAK]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

There is a Squire Standard Fat Strat with a humbuckwer in the bridge. So if your son has too have a Strat get him one of those. They are nice guitars and play pretty well, and they stay in tune better than the affinity series. Or if you want him to have a Jackson go for the JS1(DX1.
Both about the same price but the Squire has three pickups for more versatility. Both warrenties are one year and covers all the same stuff. The Jacksonneck is a little but wider and a touch thinner than the Squier but thats about it.
JMTCW
Gil

[XXX]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

id go with one of the old model 1 or 4 , you can score them cheap on e bay and great gtrs to boot!

[Dross]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

I would suggest some old charvels, they are the best value for the money, everyone knows that, for a couple bills you get a player that smokes the sH(( out of the of these newer turds aimed at the beginners market.

Im guessing the poster of this topic plays, so the floyd shouldnt be a problem, have Dad change the strings and teach you how.

Believe me in my opinion you want a floyd, if you get him anything with a bar, he will find he makes it go out of tune, and the floyd would eliminate that.

A floyd isnt itimidating once you get into it.

I recomed an old charvel/Jackson fusion. I bought a fusion with transparent finish, humbucker and 2 single spaced hums for 147.94 off of ebay, no case but hell toss in a gig bag and for under 2 bills ( hell a case will run you abotu 55$ for a decent one) you will have a great player for the price of a new hunk o crap.

Yeah you may feel wierd buying a used guitar for him to start on, but this way he isnt so worried about nicking it or scratching it.

Aria Pro, they have some nice starter stuff. The jackson JS stuff, im not big on, the necks are a little buckier, then again they still played good.

Anyway the reason i recomend a fusion, you can get them cheap, and the 24 and 3/4 inch scale may help a beginner out a little more.

[JACKSONFREAK]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

I don't know how many times a beginer comes back with a guitar with a floyd style trem and says. "how do I restring this" I don't recommend a floyd rose style guitar for a begginer. If a person is going to learn to play guitar he should be able to resting it too. Yeah Ill show them how to do it the first time. But Three times later that person just doesnt want to learn how to do it because its too complicated for them. Go with a strat or a JS1. Yeah you can find some great deals on Model seires Charvels but all but the model 1 have a Floyd style trem or a Kahler.
which is easier to restring then a floyd but still a bit more complicated than the trdaitional style trem of a strat.
Gil

[SARJ]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

I don't know how well this will go over, but if you are looking at Squire guitars the new Tom Delong Model Squire is pretty darn good for the price. It has a fixed bridge, one pickup to ease the confusion a little and a volume knob. I played one and love it. I just might get one. I believe they are like around $180 or so. With simplicity like that, all the little guy can do is focus on playing and not pickup switches and knobs and crap. I recomend it.

[toejam]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

I'd also agree with John about the simplicity of the Tom Delonge Strat. I've never played one, but I've heard many great reviews about them, they just look so cool, plus they have the hardtail bridge. That guitar should be perfect for a beginner.

[MetalHead]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

What a lot of good advice from many different sides of the coin. That's why I brought it here. I was having a h3ll of time with this one. My son currently plays violin, and he understands the relationship and sound of notes down the string and up the string as well as from string to string. He's only been playing for a few months so he's definately a newcomer. I have a feeling he'll want to stick with it though since this is the second go-round and this time he didn't just ask. He's been looking through my mag's and had his mom take him to a music store 30 miles away, {that would have been a major accomplishement too). Cool thing is he's young, 9, so his guitar hero is still me, and he's been heavily influenced by the music I like. So he's not looking at Strat style because BAND X plays them, he just likes them.

He also asked me to teach him to play. I personally think that might be a mistake. Sure I can teach him the cords and stuff but I also know I have a few bad habits. I've never had lessons so I'm not sure how to go about teaching someone else. It also seems everytime I read another technique article in GP they're telling me I do something else wrong. I think It would be better if he got professional lessons for the first couple years.

If anyone else has something to add go for it. I'm reading everything here. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[slayer]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

I played a Tom Delonge regular Strat , not the Squire version, and it rocked [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img] , flawless and sounded and played killer and looked awsome in black. I also read that the Squire version is solid Alder and for $180, even I may pick up one of those. The only real difference between the 2 are the pickups(Invader versus Duncan Designed Detonater) and the Pickgaurd, white versus Pearloid). Even if that Squire TD is half of what the more expensive one is, they rock, I highly suggest them, I will be getting a (Squire TD) shortly and will update!! Jack. [img]graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

[Accept2]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

For the lessons get Metal Method...........

[Eyehategod]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

you should make sure he's not gay before you buy him a Tom Delong - he's real popular with young gay boys (no offense). just kidding. there are a lot of nice guitars for cheap. make sure you know to low ball the dealers.

[777SteveVai777]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

Get him a Charvel Model series with a standard trem. Outplays any lower end guitar I've ever layed my hands on, and you can get LOW action which will help him not quit because it's so easy to play on.

[SkateAxis]

Re: My son wants a guitar and...

Word said it, Action and souund are probally the two most important aspects of starting guitar. If those string are really hard to press down for him he'll say, " My fingers hurt! ", or, " It's to hard to play! ". Then he'll get all discouraged and never want to play again! I like this what I started out on was a piece of juk homemade plywod guitar that I bought from him for 5 bucks. The bridge didn't even have saddles (Try to picture a strat style bridge with no sadles) so I had to just string straightt through the little holes in the bottom to straight up the neck! The action was about a 1/4 inch [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] , but I stuck with it (But ther were times when I would not pick it up for two weeks because I just was so sick of it.) Thats what I learned to play on. I was always beter than my friends though, because when I pick up there guitars my fingers flew across there fretboards. The reason was I was so used to my high action that my fingers were much stronger than theres......

Wait I'm getting WAY off topic get him a guitar with easy action because he won't get discouraged like I used to all the time. I still recomend a Model 3 w/Kahler. Honestly a Kahler bridge is about as easy to use as a Strat trem, just teach him not to mess with the intonation screws same thing youd do with a Strat, right?