Acoustic Guitar for 9 year old 16 March 2016 at 9:48PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Music MoneySaving 8 replies 9.9K views

ads2608

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a 3/4 acoustic guitar for a 9 year old for approx. £40-£50 with a teaching dvd.

Does anyone have advice on which ones to go for or avoid?

I also like the look of an Encore, but it is classical rather than acoustic. Is there much difference?

Thanks in advance

zx81

Nylon strung guitars are very different animals from steel string.

I would suggest you go for steel string, as the necks are narrower and more versatile, unless your 9 year old has a particular passion for classical.

At the cheap end of the market, don't worry about the brand. Just look for something that stays in tune and with a lowish action (the height of the strings from the fretboard).

interstellaflyer

zx81 wrote: »

Nylon strung guitars are very different animals from steel string.

I would suggest you go for steel string, as the necks are narrower and more versatile, unless your 9 year old has a particular passion for classical.

At the cheap end of the market, don't worry about the brand. Just look for something that stays in tune and with a lowish action (the height of the strings from the fretboard).

^This, secondhand at that budget may be worth considering, plus, forget the tutorial DVDs that come with cheap guitars, they are useless, plenty of good free lessons on the web, check out justinguitar, Justin Sandercoe is a well respected online teacher.

ads2608

Thanks for your replies, especially re justinguitar.

It's made me think that perhaps an electric would be best for a beginner.

Does this look any good?

http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/3-4-LA-Electric-Guitar-by-Gear4music-Black-Ex-Demo/1615#full-des

interstellaflyer

Not ideal, the tremelo system could and often does give tuning stability problems on low end guitars.

Though I would think about spending a lot more money, something like this would be better.

http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Knoxville-Electric-Guitar-by-Gear4music-Black/8OF

Best to look for a guitar that has a hard tail/fixed bridge, by that I mean no tremolo/whammy bar system.

ads2608

Thanks again.

I increased the budget and managed to get the following:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0002D01IQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailp age_o00_s00

I got the Ebony version through Amazon warehouse instead for £90.

It has good reviews for beginners, so hopefully it will be ok.

SailorSam

Youtube is great for lessonns

interstellaflyer

ads2608 wrote: »

Thanks again.

I increased the budget and managed to get the following:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0002D01IQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailp age_o00_s00

I got the Ebony version through Amazon warehouse instead for £90.

It has good reviews for beginners, so hopefully it will be ok.

That would be better, however, please don't go for the cheapest deal on Amazon, go to a reputable music shop, it may cost more but the staff will offer advice and make sure the guitar is set up properly. Far eastern made guitars, especially at the low end of the market are not always set up well out of the box and apart from hap hazard QC, they have been loaded in to a container and transported halfway across the world so could also have been subjected to changing climatic conditions which wood will respond to, a guitar hanging on a rack in a guitar shop will have been checked and adjusted to make it playable, you generally buy the one you choose from the rack. Point here is, it's pointless saving a few quid buying online if you need to then spend £50 or so to get set up.

rianna8

ads2608 wrote: »

Thanks again.

I increased the budget and managed to get the following:

I got the Ebony version through Amazon warehouse instead for £90.

It has good reviews for beginners, so hopefully it will be ok.

I have one of this, it's a decent guitar, really.