electric Guitar!!!!

Kenton

Earnie Ball Slinkys (Green packet) are fantastic, long lasting and not too hard on your fingers.

Lita_Ford

Go for 9s and dont buy cheap ones it can be false economy.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Take him to a proper music shop. Ibanez have fantastic warmth of tone and are often used by rock/metal musicians, but Cort are also very good - the two companies are very closely linked and you could get a far higher spec Cort for the same money as an Ibanez. The world rocked to Gibson and Fender for years and there are cheaper versions of the Strat made by Squier (the cheaper Fender brand) for around the amount you are wanting to pay.

A proper music shop will be able to set it up perfectly for him - the same guitar from Argos will not have the same feel to him, and he will have the wonderful experience of choosing his first guitar.

He'll also need a tuner, strap and various other bits and pieces, including a lightweight but robust gig bag to protect it when he takes it to lessons.

I wish I'd had someone like you around when I was a kid!


ETA: BAH! Cross posted!


PPS: Encourage him to take it easy as he starts - his fingers will really feel it at first if he tries to practice too much, but they do leather up fairly quickly.

LuckyBiscuit

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

PPS: Encourage him to take it easy as he starts - his fingers will really feel it at first if he tries to practice too much, but they do leather up fairly quickly.

LOL!!!! he has already started saying his fingers are sore!!!!

citylen

Just my personal experience but I restricted myself to 15 mins practice a day (but every day!) for the first month. After which my fingers had hardened up and I could practice pretty much for as long as I wanted.

Also one thing I have learnt about playing the guitar is that if you keep practising it will happen. All the reasons people give for giving up can be overcome.
My hands aren't big enough - your finger stretch will increase (with practice)
I can't change chords quickly enough - you will (with practice)
I'll never be able to do barre chords - you will (with practice)

The real problems start when you enjoy it so much that you can't stop playing (oh and the constant craving for a new/different guitar and all the extras) Have fun!

adam_john_smith

Yamaha is all you need to know when talking budget guitars. Argos or Tesco. good luck.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

TMVen wrote: »

LOL!!!! he has already started saying his fingers are sore!!!!

citylen wrote: »

Just my personal experience but I restricted myself to 15 mins practice a day (but every day!) for the first month. After which my fingers had hardened up and I could practice pretty much for as long as I wanted.

Also one thing I have learnt about playing the guitar is that if you keep practising it will happen. All the reasons people give for giving up can be overcome.
My hands aren't big enough - your finger stretch will increase (with practice)
I can't change chords quickly enough - you will (with practice)
I'll never be able to do barre chords - you will (with practice)

The real problems start when you enjoy it so much that you can't stop playing (oh and the constant craving for a new/different guitar and all the extras) Have fun!

I think if he is determined to practice as much as possible, tell him to stop when the tips of his fingers feel 'numb'. Also suggest he lifts his hand for the chord changes rather than sliding his fingers up the strings (it's a very bad idea to try it on the top E - trust me). Surgical spirit dabbed on the finger tips once a week with a cotton wool pad can help, but isn't essential.

Obviously, I wouldn't want to encourage the average teenage boy to soap dodge (!) but whilst he's building up the calluses, soaking his hands for a long time isn't going to help him. Plastic gloves for bike repairs, washing up :eek: and the like will help, as will keeping his fingernails clipped nice and neat.

He may even have to start using a glass file to keep his nails from snagging and tearing; nasty tears can make it a real so and so to get a clean tone. Washing his hands in antibacterial gel soap before playing will make the strings last longer and protect his fingers from getting ingrained with dirt as they harden. And handcream on the backs, but not on the tips helps prevent hangnails - which are sooo painful!

Paying attention to good technique now makes it much less likely he will need to change his style later - and this applies to how low slung the guitar is, as it may look cool to him to have it slung so low he looks like a knuckle dragger, but he might feel differently when he gets arthritis in his spine by the age of 30, or needs carpal tunnel surgery, neither of which does much for playing.


Warming his fingers up by little stretches and wiggles and doing the 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' Hand gestures will help him increase his reach and reduce aches (which he will have at first), he will also probably find his hands and his forearms become more muscly - which isn't something to complain about at 14 .

And make sure he NEVER plays too loud. Earplugs are what prolong a playing life and any time he make his ears ring a little bit is stealing a piece of his future music.


Other than that, if he seems reluctant to practice when it starts hurting/gets hard, you could always point out that being a guitarist has just put him up a category or two with the girls - he is potentially in dancer quality territory now! (yes, I know it's shallow, but BIL, who is a professional guitarist, is married to a French dancer, whilst The Bloke, a drummer for fun, is stuck with me - they don't look that much different)

And, if he likes, there is no reason why he can't switch later from rhythm to lead - or, better still, come over to The Dark Side and join the ranks of us bassists, and thus learn how to hold the whole thing together. [ducks from missiles thrown by lead guitar and hides behind drummer]