Newbie guitar...

[Venkat]

Hi all,

 

I'm looking to buy a guitar for myself and

my 9yr-old kid, both novices. After some

research, I have settled on these 2 guitars

as a potential buy:

. Washburn G40CE Acoustic/Electric ($180)

. Ibanez TCY10 acoustic/electric ($200)

I favor the Washburn but fear that the action

is slightly higher/more-difficult for the kid.

 

I have no access to these at local stores.

Could someone provide some pros/cons on these

guitars. Thanks much.

 

Regards

/venkat

[Tedster]

9 year olds vary in size. Some can hardly get their right arm across a dreadnought size acoustic.

 

I take it you're looking at a catalog, like Musician's Friend...take your young'un into a local music store and plop a dreadnought in his/her lap. If that's too big, you might want to consider a smaller size acoustic...one with a shorter neck possibly. There's nothing wrong with having them start out on a beginner/student guitar, as long as the neck isn't bad and the action high. I'd always take someone who knows guitars with you. For the 9 year old, I'd even possibly consider stringing the student acoustic with light guage electric strings (like a .009...your dealer will know what I'm talking about) to make it easier on the young'un's fingers. It won't sound fabulous, but it won't discourage them from playing by having blisters all over their fingers until they callus up.

 

Things to look for in a "student" guitar...

 

Neck that's straight...not bowed so the strings are far off the neck. Hopefully an adjustable neck (with an accessible, adjustable truss rod) so you can fix it if it bows. Many cheapies say "steel reinforced neck" but have no means of adjusting it. That's useless.

 

Does it play in tune reasonably well? In other words, if you play an A chord and it sounds great, does it sound out of tune when you play a D or an E? Playing in tune up the neck is usually a consideration for folks that have been playing longer.

 

Frets that don't buzz. Usually not a problem, because if a "student" grade guitar has a neck problem, it's the other way.

 

If you want to spend the money, look at a Baby Taylor or Takoma Papoose. You won't have to worry about the above problems.

[Guitar Geezer]

For what it's worth:

You might also check out the Takamine Mini-Jumbo (about $199). Not real big, freat sound and a nice small neck. Mine is now on permanent loan to my nephew.