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The title pretty much says it all…..I’m looking for my 10 year old grandson’s first guitar!! I’d love to hear inputs regarding this so that he hopefully gets turned on to playing the acoustic guitar!!!
Thanks for your insights,
Cecil
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I would go with anything classical / nylon strings. Yamaha is your bread & butter and have affordable models. My wife's Yamaha survived through high school, college, camping...me.. and still sounds great. I personally like Cordoba guitars. I think, he would need 3/4 scale. P.S. Speaking of Cordoba. They have a line of small (!) guitars. Pobably some guitar players here will hiss at me.. but I highly recommend that to start with... It was a spontaneous buy for me and one of the best guitars I have owned. Check out the demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCEYqOfsMrs Forgot to mention, I believe most of these small Cordobas, have electronics (my does), so you can hook them up to amp to play or record.
Last edited by Rustyspoon#; 01/20/22 11:37 AM.
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Rustyspoon,
I greatly appreciate your insights on this topic…..seems like excellent suggestions!!!
Cecil
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The title pretty much says it all…..I’m looking for my 10 year old grandson’s first guitar!! I’d love to hear inputs regarding this so that he hopefully gets turned on to playing the acoustic guitar!!!
Thanks for your insights,
Cecil I have a question. Is your grandson big enough to handle a full size acoustic guitar? Or will he need a 3/4 size guitar? Note stay away from 1/2 size guitars; I haven't seen one yet that was worth buying. This is from experience as I have seen a number of young/small in size students with them.
When you are at the checkout line and they ask if you found everything say "Why, are you hiding stuff?"
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Yes, MarioD I plan to stay away from 1/2 size guitars!! I was considering the 3/4 size which will likely be about right based on his physical size.
I appreciate your comments on this topic…..thank you so much!!!
Cecil
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If you are going classical guitar I would suggest Rondo Music: https://www.rondomusic.com/Classical_Nylon_String_Acoustics.htmlI have a number of guitars from them, including a classical, and they are all very good instruments. If going classical I also suggest getting folk guitar strings if/when a string breaks: https://www.juststrings.com/daddarioacousticguitarfolk.htmlThey are like classical strings except they have a ball end, thus it is much easier to change strings. Also do not purchase an expensive guitar. Experience has shown me that many young people want to play but do not want to practice and consequently give up. Start with something like Rondo Music and if he is really into playing then get ready to purchase him a better guitar in about a year. One last thought purchase a guitar tuner when you purchase a guitar. Guitars must be kept in tune otherwise the neck may warp and most inexpensive guitars do not have a way to correct that. I have an inexpensive classical guitar from Rondo Music that is about 4 years old and still in perfect playing condition because I kept it in tune. Note of course that humidity and dry air can also cause problems. Good luck
When you are at the checkout line and they ask if you found everything say "Why, are you hiding stuff?"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Thanks for these additional suggestions, MarioD. They are very much appreciated!!!
Cecil
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I have a Mitchell 3/4 scale dreadnaught that I bought used for $10. It’s my travel guitar. I paid more for the case than the guitar. It’s pretty fun to play and sounds bigger than it should.
Mitchell is the store brand of Guitar Center.
Prior to the Mitchell I had the entry level Yamaha 3/4 scale. The Mitchell is significantly better quality.
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What kind of music does he like?
If the kid digs rock and country, don't go with nylon classical. Choose a guitar that he will appreciate.
I always recommend a fairly decent guitar for a few reasons.
1. A good quality guitar will sound good. Sounding good is key to wanting to play it.
2. A good quality guitar will be easier to play. Smaller/thinner neck and low action makes it easier to fret.
3. A good quality guitar will cost more but it tends to hold it's value better. There's a ton of guitars on the market that the person lost interest and the guitar has to be resold. With that in mind.... the second hand market is a good place to shop for a good quality used guitar that will be what he needs at this point.
Good luck
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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#1 concern for me would be whether his first 10 years demonstrate that he is not going to take lessons for 6 weeks and never touch it again. If he is the kind of kid who follows through, that should help set your budget accordingly. Myself, I had the attention span of cabbage when I was young. (And still now, to some extent... Just in typing those first 3 lines my mind has been on 17 other subjects.) I'd probably stay away from the Taylor products until you know he will follow through.
And if you DO buy him a Taylor and he doesn't stay with it, you could send it up here. I'll pay the shipping to Ohio!!
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So, I started with a Harmony, $39 dollar guitar back in 1975 timeframe. It was hard to play but I stuck with it. I just thought this was how guitars were supposed to feel! Now of course I know better. It was what my parents could afford. I stuck with it.
I wrote all that to say this, probably need to make sure he wants to play. Based on your post I can't tell if this is something he has asked for or you are getting him a guitar in hopes that he wants to learn. There are plenty of stories of kids getting a guitar, taking a lesson or 2, not practicing, not learning and never touching it again and then there are kids that get it, learn it, fall asleep every night playing it and all stops in between. If you get a better quality guitar it will be "easier" to play, physically speaking and will have some resale value if he just doesn't want to do it.
No harm there. I also believe anyone can learn to play, it is really about practice and muscle memory to a certain extent. Can everyone be Tommy Emmanuel? Probably not, unless you want to put the time and effort into it!
Last edited by etcjoe; 01/23/22 03:38 AM.
My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.
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you tube has a slew of vids showing cheap acoustics being tested...down as low as 50 buks. just google "you tube cheap 6 string acoustic guitar". eg... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMOy6sF2EOYfor sound clip start listening at 2m52secs after explaination. a word of caution. too many youngsters often give up cos they have difficulty getting their fingers around the neck. one solution is (particularly for ones that want to rock out) is to get a smaller scale electric plus say a cheap amp with distortion built in or say a cheap pedal with rock tones plugged into the amp. but a word of caution...gotta make sure everything is electricaly safe in case accidents were to occur. as they sometimes can. plusses and negs to each approach. the plus with the electric approach is they can fret more easily than a big ole acoustic. best om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 01/23/22 04:01 AM.
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If he can handle light steel strings and you have the budget, ($150 US) I would suggest the Taylor 'Swift' Acoustic Electric. It's a small travel guitar and sounds great amplified or as is. Worth a look. If it doesn't work out you have a great guitar. I have one and like it a lot. I bought it for the sound with out realising it had Taylor Swift written on it! 
Last edited by lambada; 01/24/22 03:49 AM.
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Also another thing.... I just remembered this.
Often, kids get discouraged from playing the acoustic guitar because the action is high or the strings are too rigid.
Be sure the strings are low down to the frets and you have good action to start with.
Second part of the equation is the strings. People tend to string acoustic guitars with heavier gauge strings because they sound better. But for a beginner,sounding good isn't generally on the radar quite yet. It's simply about being able to press the strings to the frets to get a clean note or chord. So... there's no harm in replacing the strings that are on the guitar with say a lighter gauge set that bend easier and are easier to fret properly. Ernie Ball Super Slinky .009's are ideal and I ran them on one of my acoustic guitars for a very long time.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Playing off Herb's comments, my first guitars in junior high school (early 80's) were electrics for that reason. Most of the other kids I hung with at the time were the same. Much easier to learn when you're not having to hold those thick strings down..... 
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Playing off Herb's comments, my first guitars in junior high school (early 80's) were electrics for that reason. Most of the other kids I hung with at the time were the same. Much easier to learn when you're not having to hold those thick strings down..... Indeed.... and for many years, all I knew where Black Diamond guitar strings.... those thing were like the steel cables that hold up bridges. The concept of bending one far enough to alter the pitch of the string noticeably was totally foreign. Then, a school chum I was jamming with in his mom's basement, mentioned that he had found a new kind of string at the music store that promised to change everything. It was a brand called Ernie Ball Super Slinky strings..... The bright pink ones starting at .009 and going to .042. My life changed that day.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Once again, thanks to you all for your awesome inputs on this topic!!! It is greatly appreciated……the BIAB community on this forum are an awesome caring group!!!
Cecil
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Playing off Herb's comments, my first guitars in junior high school (early 80's) were electrics for that reason. Most of the other kids I hung with at the time were the same. Much easier to learn when you're not having to hold those thick strings down..... Indeed.... and for many years, all I knew where Black Diamond guitar strings.... those thing were like the steel cables that hold up bridges. The concept of bending one far enough to alter the pitch of the string noticeably was totally foreign. Then, a school chum I was jamming with in his mom's basement, mentioned that he had found a new kind of string at the music store that promised to change everything. It was a brand called Ernie Ball Super Slinky strings..... The bright pink ones starting at .009 and going to .042. My life changed that day. Imagine Chet Atkins stringing his guitar with wires from his screen door, as he talked about years ago! Talk about rough on the fingers!
My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.
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The title pretty much says it all…..I’m looking for my 10 year old grandson’s first guitar!! I’d love to hear inputs regarding this so that he hopefully gets turned on to playing the acoustic guitar!!!
Thanks for your insights,
Cecil Buy your grandson a 10 year old cheap player... his 1st guitar will always be the same age as him, and if he's grateful, and interested, he will keep it forever.
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