acoustic guitar help ?

[shorty70]

My son wants one for his upcoming birthday and I am musically challenged . I need some recommendations on a decent guitar that should last awhile (if he likes it, you know kids). He'll be 16, if that helps.
Thanks for any help!

 

[Chazzman]

Hey there shorty

OK. There's a bunch of really cheap and nasty ones out there but I would suggest a Yamaha. They're good quality and built well and sound great.
The strings that come on them from the factory are OK but you will want another set and I would say get a medium gauge.

Here's a couple of links to look at from Guitar Center.

Yamaha FG700S Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar and more 6 String Acoustic Guitars at GuitarCenter.com.
Usually $199

Yamaha F 345 Sycamore Top Acoustic Guitar and more 6 String Acoustic Guitars at GuitarCenter.com.

You can get a Yamaha for around $150 too but if you spend the extra $50 you will get a quality product.

Hope that helps

 

[CRK]

I would suggest a Takamine Jasmine, many different price levels and all are built well and sound great.

 

[Pete54]

The two previous posts offer great suggestions. I second them both. The only thing I'd add is to buy the best guitar you can afford. The odds of your son continuing to play greatly increase with an instrument that plays easily and stays in tune. A cheap guitar will only frustrate him.

 

[laborer75]

Also, look at acoustic/electrics. He can use it with a amp and a distortion pedal if he wants to play some rock. Not quite like a real electric but it will work. He can have the best of both worlds that way. Myself, I'm partial to Ibanez. They can take a real beating and still hold a tune no problem.

Ibanez V70CE Acoustic-Electric Guitar and more 6 String Acoustic-Electric Guitars at GuitarCenter.com.

 

[BradSmith]

I am a working musician and I buy and sell guitars for a living as well. It is what I do to support my familly. I sell a ton of guitars each year so I could get super in depth and suggest this or that or the other. However, I will say that buying a great guitar is the way to go for a beginner. The so called beginner guitars are really not so great for anyone starting out. They are harder to tune they don't stay in tune they don't always have the greatest intonation or sound. They are often much harder to play etc etc etc. This is the reason why pro's play quality guitars and it's also the reason why beginners who buy cheap guitars often sit them in the corner and give up. Sore fingers, can't keep the thing in tune and even then it doesn't sound good etc etc etc.

When I play out live I play Seagull guitars and I have played everything from Taylors to Gibsons The Seagull Line is flat out the most bang for your buck hands down. In fact I don't really think you can get a much better guitar no matter what you pay for it.

This is a great guitar and for under three hundred dollars you will get a world class gutiar. The other thing is, worst case senerio he doesn't play it. Well you can always get your money back out of a Seagull. they have only gone up in value provided you take care of them.

Seagull Coastline S6 Spruce-OB2-Customer Return-Surface Crack-Full Warranty-See Pics


I don't sell Seagull guitars and I have nothing to do with this company other than having bought a few Seagulls from them. They shipped fast and have great customer service. For instance, I had them ship a new S6 up to Alaska were I was going to be playing and I wanted a backup in case the airlines lost mine or messed it up. No problem it showed up at my buddies house way before I did.

This price is as low as it is because it has a surface crack. Trust me that is no big deal. The only deal is on the price you get it for.

 

[shorty70]

Well,

I can see this is gonna be confusing...lol. I do agree not to go cheap and want something that tunes well and holds it. I'd hate to get him something awful hard to play with crappy sound. Can you get a good one for $150 or less? Not doin' the ebay thing.

Wish I was a player...Guitar Center here I come. To look only, I have 2 weeks.

Thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming, I don't want to screw up here.

http://www.amazon.com/Takamine-S35-Jasmine-Acoustic-Natural

^^Is this for real or bs?^^

 

[Safira]

For what it's worth,(not a whole lot) I've been learning to play guitar since February, and I have the Yamaha FG700S that Chazzman linked to. I think it's a decent guitar for learning, and hear even the cheeper Yamaha's are decent guitars. (I've only been "playing" a couple of months and haven't tried anything else)

I am finding I don't like the Yamaha strings that came with the guitar. I've only tried one other brand of strings (D'Addario's phosphor bronze) and they feel so much better. I'll be trying other brands of stings because it seems to me they can really make a big difference. Talk to the music store about extra stings, I don't think in the beginning you'll want to mess with changing the sizes.

Go to a couple of different music stores and talk to the people there. If they are good at what they do, they should be able to recommend a really good guitar that doesn't cost thousands of dollars right off the bat. It's like any addiction, you slowly reel them in.

Good luck, take my words with a big old grain of salt. I've only been playing a couple of months compared to some here that have been playing for years and years.

 

[laborer75]

$150 or less?

Go the Yamaha then:

Yamaha FX 335 Acoustic-Electric Guitar and more 6 String Acoustic-Electric Guitars at GuitarCenter.com.

 

[shorty70]

BradSmith,

Nice site, thank you! That helps alot.

 

[laborer75]

Rogue is also a decent brand for the price. My cousin has a Rogue acoustic that plays quite well and holds tune great. Probably one of the lowest prices you'll find for the quality. Anything cheaper, you might as well buy a flea market junker.

Buy Rogue Dreadnought Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar | 6 String Acoustic-Electric Guitars | Musician's Friend

 

[Stevew443]

My only suggestion is to stay away from the big mega-guitar centers and try to find a good mom and pop music store. You may pay more for a guitar, but you will have a place where you can go to for any kind of professional help you might need.

 

[CRK]

http://www.amazon.com/Takamine-S35-Jasmine-Acoustic-Natural

^^Is this for real or bs?^^

If its the one for under 80.00 yep its real, although you link is not working.

I would take your son to the stores and let him pick the Guitar from the ones you choose after your reaserch.

no mater what you decide get some extra strings in a couple different styles. When one breaks restring with the different brand and find the strings that he likes best. restring them all not just the one that breaks if they are differnet.

This kinda like asking what the best PV is.... lots of reading before buying!

 

[CRK]

Also get a good electric tuner it will make the job much eaiser for him.

Bottom line is to keep in mind that this will be his first, does he already know how to play? If not I would not spend the big bucks if it were me.

stay under 200.00 if this will be his 1st and he can buy the upgrade if he wants to stay with it for more than a year. my 2 cents...

 

[BradSmith]

If you are interested in shopping on-line there are a ton of catalog companies. Like musicians friend, music 123, Music Center of course is also online and others Although the three that I just mentioned are all owned by the same corporation so they really kind of set the standard and kind of have a lock on pricing. (Mit Romney is one of the owners). AMS is also owned by them but thats. American Musical Supply - Musical Instruments and Musical Equipment: Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Guitar Amps and more! I would suggest that once you have narrowed down to a guitar or two that you bounce around these places because usually one will have a deal on the guitar you are looking for. Also if you have music shops in your area it would really help if you had a friend who plays and would go with you. Every guitar sounds and plays different so out of ten guitars that are all the same model one is going to sound and play the best. But it does kind of take a trained player to pick on out. Again there are exceptions like the Seagull. I have never had a bad Seagull Some are mearly great while others are exceptional.


I really don't have a suggestion for a particular accoustic in the $150 dollar range. Although if push came to shove on the ones above I would pick the Yamaha. I really can not stand the pingy sound of the Ibanez or takamine lower end accoustics. In fact I don't much care for the Epiphone or Fenders in that price range either. In fact you would have to spend over a grand on any of those models to get half the sound of the seagull.

 

[BradSmith]

Also get a good electric tuner it will make the job much eaiser for him.

Bottom line is to keep in mind that this will be his first, does he already know how to play? If not I would not spend the big bucks if it were me.

stay under 200.00 if this will be his 1st and he can buy the upgrade if he wants to stay with it for more than a year. my 2 cents...

I will absolutely second the getting a tuner, that is a must have. Although again don't buy an expensive one the cheap ones work just as well if not easier for standard tuning. The more expensive ones are for when you are using alternative tuning, which is not something a begginer is likely to do. the Quick Tune rocks.

 

[BradSmith]

If you want I'll send you a tuner, a dozen fender picks, extra strings, guitar strap, and a couple of begginer DVD's one is made for Fender and the other is kind of the same but made for Epiphone. They just have all the basics of how to take care of your guitars and then basic scales and chords things like that. I would hate for you to go down and blow 50 bucks or more on the extras. This way you can spend a little more on the guitar and get him a better guitar and have the extras too.

 

[laborer75]

BradSmith is the man!!!! Thats an awesome thing to do. Pat yourself on the back!!!

 

[El Dee]

I'll second that...Brad you are the man...I try and help the kids along this road all I can also and have taught more than a few. I've also helped maintain their guitars/amps and tried to point them in the right direction. It feels really good to run into them later on and they show you what they have learned to do. Kudos to ya Brad and thanks for the Seagull info. I've been thinking of getting an acoustic and will def give them a look.

 

[BradSmith]

I'll second that...Brad you are the man...I try and help the kids along this road all I can also and have taught more than a few. I've also helped maintain their guitars/amps and tried to point them in the right direction. It feels really good to run into them later on and they show you what they have learned to do. Kudos to ya Brad and thanks for the Seagull info. I've been thinking of getting an acoustic and will def give them a look.

Yah, it's super cool when they come back a few years later and blow your doors off.

The kids are the next generation of music if we don't support them who will be rocking our socks off when we are too old to pick up an axe? I teach drums too, and WOW I can't believe how fast they can get better than me.

ps, It's a steal on that Seagull if the OP doesn't want it I would grab it before it's gone. It won't last long but then again there is always another deal around the corner if you pay attention. Also the tric hardshell case is the bomb. It's super light and indestructible. It works like a thermos. It's made out of the stuff in the dashboard of a car. The light foam stuff, if you know what I mean. In Northern Michigan it is such a pain. It's either blazing hot or freezing cold. Well this case keeps the guitar insulated and protected and doesn't weigh diddly. I played out last night and my guitar was the only one that was still dead nuts on when we tuned up.

When I was younger I had roadies, now that I'm older and need the help, I'm the one unloading the van. ARGGGHHHH!!!! That's what happens when you leave CA for MI.