Electric Guitar Advice Wanted. Or a Guitar.

[88cs]

Last year I bought an electric guitar for my 11 year old. $100 from a department store.

Since then he's gone to a lesson every week, and can play a number of songs, practices a lot, etc. So I was thinking about getting him a better guitar since he has shown a continued interest and some dedication.

Last night he was playing it and kept having to tune it, the reason was because the (forgive me, I know nothing about guitars) part where the strings are attached at the body of the guitar was breaking off, he discovered that when the thing flew apart. It was held in by plastic dowel pins, it's done.

So, the question is, what kind of guitar should I buy for an 11 year old? New, used? I'd like to keep it less than $1K.

Any advice appreciated, thanks for your time.

[slodave]

It might be wise to make a gift certificate for a guitar not to exceed $1000.- and then you and your son can go to the local guitar stores and let him play a few and see which one he is more comfortable with.

Dave

[frogger]

Off hand, I'd suggest a Fender, either a Telecaster or Stratocaster. But, to be thorough, you should take him to a Guitar Center store or to a well stocked music store in your area to try out a variety of guitars and see what he likes. Use the same amp to play every guitar through in the store. Let us know how it turns out.

[targa911S]

I'm with both the guys above.

[craigster59]

I have a Schecter Classic that I won in a silent auction, only played once. I pretty much play acoustic, so it's just gathering dust. I'd sell it for what I paid ($500, plus shipping) and comes w/ hardshell case. Pic and link to reviews..

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Schecter/C-1+Classic/10/1

[mikester]

Originally Posted by frogger

Off hand, I'd suggest a Fender, either a Telecaster or Stratocaster. But, to be thorough, you should take him to a Guitar Center store or to a well stocked music store in your area to try out a variety of guitars and see what he likes. Use the same amp to play every guitar through in the store. Let us know how it turns out.

+2

A nice Mexican Strat will run you in the neighborhood of $350 last I checked and easily last a lifetime a Telecaster might be a bit more. Steer clear of the Squires, made overseas and of much lower quality. At this point in his life it is doubtful he knows what guitar sound he will want so getting one with an overall good sound and playability I think is wise. Of course I would try to find out his opinion of them to see if he absolutely hates the style or what not. Other options include Ibanez and Epiphone (gibson low end) but I prefer the Fenders myself. I have a Strat and I know I can always pull it out and be successful. Even the american Standard Strats are relatively inexpensive.

The bottom line from this very amateur guitarist of 20 years is that you simply can't go wrong with a Fender Strat/Telecaster (Standard or American Standard). A Standard is made in Mexico, and American Standard is made in Southern California. I've always had a Strat to play and would never give it up. The other option of course which you don't mention is a good acoustic which of course is a much harder choice to make. I do like the idea of a $1000 trip to the Guitar Shop but that doesn't make for a good xmas morning I suppose...Guitar shops aren't typically open on Xmas.

Craig's guitar there sure looks nice...

[sketchers356]

+1 on a strat or tele.

1K is a lot of money for a guitar. You could get almost anything reasonable.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by frogger

Off hand, I'd suggest a Fender, either a Telecaster or Stratocaster. But, to be thorough, you should take him to a Guitar Center store or to a well stocked music store in your area to try out a variety of guitars and see what he likes. Use the same amp to play every guitar through in the store. Let us know how it turns out.

+2.

You really can't go wrong with a Mexican Tele or Strat. It will last a lifetime, and won't break the bank.

[Sonic dB]

A Fender Mexican Strat is a good guitar, cost you about $400-500 or so.
As previously mentioned by Craigster, Schecter makes some really solid guitars too...for reasonable prices.

[Les Paul]

My son started at 8 on a Peavey/Strat copy. It still stays in tune 11 years later. We then got him a pristine used American made strat for 500. It has been his main guitar for 10 years. Fantastic guitar. You might look at Gibson SG's they are lighter than strats and start at about 700. We got him a classic which is their cheapest SG. The tuners were worthless so we replaced them and he uses it quite a bit.

Guitar Centers usually sell guitars on consignment and you can get some good deals there. As someone else stated try a bunch on the same amp to get a feel for them.

[SLO-BOB]

Originally Posted by Les Paul

My son started at 8 on a Peavey/Strat copy. It still stays in tune 11 years later.

Listen to someone who's handle is "Les Paul". I was just visiting my brother who has a Peavy/Tele clone. It hadn't been touched forever and was still, more or less, in tune. It compared nicely to my American Standard Tele which I think is okay, but not great.

Sounds like you are on the right track. Start out cheap. He played it till it broke-gotta love that. Move him up a notch and see where he goes. I agree with a trip to Guitar Center. Let him get touchy/feely with them and give him a price cap - I would say $500. For that he might even score a nice used American Strat or Tele if you get really lucky. I bought my daughter a Squire Bass from there dirt cheap - $189. As noted, you get what you pay for typically, but it has held up well and her bass playing friends have given it the thumbs up.

The Epiphone Gibson clones are really nice too. Maybe he's a Gibson guy. Let him decide.

[Les Paul]

I was the worlds worst dad about buying every conceivable guitar a kid could want. My son told me several years ago to quit buying him guitars. This will be the first Christmas since he was 8 I haven't gotten him some guitar.

Just for grins you might let him try a Les Paul Standard. Some of those guitar centers get kind of nervous about 11 year olds and 1800 dollar guitars but some will still let you try them. They are very nice but pretty heavey. The Epiphone Les Pauls are very nice and are 4-500.

[Christien]

Originally Posted by 88cs

part where the strings are attached at the body of the guitar was breaking off, he discovered that when the thing flew apart. It was held in by plastic dowel pins, it's done.

This is the bridge, and your mention of plastic dowel pins makes me think it's an acoustic, not an electric. The bridge on my acoustic is held in by plastic pins, but they hold properly on mine! But I don't think I've ever seen an electric with a pin bridge.

Anyway, you might want to clarify if you're looking for an acoustic or electric. Either way, though, you can buy very good guitars for well under $1000. If it's electric you're looking for and you're still not sure if he's going to keep up with it, look at a Fender Squire or an Epiphone - these are the Asian-made equivalents to Fender Strats and Gibson Les Pauls. I noticed a package recently at a local music store that included a Squire, small practice amp, patch cord, picks and and instruction book, all for $250.

[88cs]

Thank you for all the replies. The one he has is electric, it has an amp.

It sounds like guitar two should be a Stratocaster, and if I look I can do a lot better than $1K. Unless I follow Les Paul's advice:-) I can call a used one an investment, he'll love that.

Craigster, you have a great looking guitar, but I did have another development last night. A neighbor loaned him a Stratocaster. The whole Christmas list got erased and overwritten by that. I even has a "whammy bar". I'm still not too sure what that is, but he says he'll play it for me tonight. We got home late last night.

Thank you again for all the advice, I'll let you know what he ends up with and how I do it.

[Rick Lee]

If your boy was worried about his guitar going out of tune before, he'll be frustrated by a Strat with a whammy bar. I have a Mexican Strat and love it. But I've never even screwed the whammy bar in. If he's into the whammy bar thing, get him something with a locking nut, preferably one of the Floyd Rose-like double locking tremelos. When I want to be Eddie Van Halen for a day, I play my Ernie Ball Music Man EVH model with the appropriate tremolo. My Strat, Les Paul and ES-335 are for music that doesn't need a whammy bar and they stay in tune fine that way.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by craigster59

I have a Schecter Classic that I won in a silent auction, only played once. I pretty much play acoustic, so it's just gathering dust. I'd sell it for what I paid ($500, plus shipping) and comes w/ hardshell case. Pic and link to reviews..

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Schecter/C-1+Classic/10/1

Tempted.

Lemme go to guitar store tonight and play one and I'll let you know.

[stomachmonkey]

I would recommend trying an Ibanez.

You can get a lot of guitar for the money.

I like the necks on them.

Can be easier to play for a beginner.

[Les Paul]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GSpbuFSr2o

Kind of shows some whammy work. When my son was in 5th grade he played the Star Spangled Banner Hendrix version for the end of school year talent show. It was in front of 300 kids and about 100 parents. He did a very good rendition and used the whammy extensively. After he played the song one of the kids came up to him and asked him if that lever he kept using was what kept the guitar pumped up.

They've been making Strats for 53 years now for a reason.

[craigster59]

If he likes the Strat, that would be the way to go. They're all over Craigslist (no relation), and you can score some good deals for less than $1k. I played the Schecter last night (so now it's only been played twice) and it is a really nice guitar but may be a bit heavy for an 11 y.o. I'll probably keep it, but wanted to give a budding Pelicanite guitarist a deal since it hasn't been getting the attention it deserves.

The main thing is get him a guitar that he likes and pay extra to have it "set up". Nothing worse than a good looking (but frustrating to play) guitar.

[Nathans_Dad]

I just went through this same thing about 2 months ago when I was looking for MY first guitar. Basically I would echo the above, I would look at Mexican Strats/Teles vs Epiphones if he likes the Gibson look/sound. Either of those can be had for well less than $1000 and should last him a while.

I personally bought an American Strat, Highway 1 version with a burst finish (there's a thread on it a couple months back with pics). Great guitar and stays in tune. I don't have a tremolo bar on it and probably won't put one on for a while until I get better. The guitar was $799 at Guitar Center, once I bought an amp and case I think the total bill was around $1100.

Take him to Guitar Center and see what he likes.