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My younger ds has been taking drum lessons for 3-4 years and loves it. His drum teacher has taught him a few things on the electric guitar as well and now ds wants to take guitar lessons too.

 

We've been looking around on craigslist and amazon. Are the beginner guitar packages that include the guitar, amp, patch cords, etc are good deal, or are the guitars junk? We bought one for my older ds back when he was 8-9, but he didn't stick with it so we sold it on craigslist. Younger ds will more than likely stick with it - he's just that kind of kid.

 

I'd prefer to get him a guitar that will last him awhile, and I also know that he's going to grow out of a small guitar sooner rather than later.

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I know we ended up picking up a 'starter' Fender guitar for my dsd several years ago off Craigslist; it came with cords and a small amp. I'm pretty sure we ended up spening $80; it was used, but in great shape.

 

She still has that guitar. Little brother broke her amp, :tongue_smilie:, but she still loves the guitar.

 

FWIW. (Keep in mind, I know NOTHING about guitars, but dsd who does had specifically requested this Fender guitar.)

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My husband (professional guitarist) suggested a starter Mexican-made Fender stratocaster. They're good quality guitars but not particularly expensive.

 

He suggested musiciansfriend.com. They check out all of their guitars, so there isn't the risk that you run with Craig's List or Amazon that something is wrong with it (he says cracking isn't uncommon), and shipping is free. He also suggested GuitarCenter.com. All shipping for orders over $99 is free, and he said they're having a sale right now.

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The starter pack guitars aren't total junk, but a kid will likely outgrow those in a year or two if they are serious. Like pp said, a Mexican Strat is a good guitar that would last a while. We are Ibanez fans here, because they make good guitars that are a little cheaper than comparable Fenders or Gibsons. Guitar Center also has a used gear section, and sometimes you can find a great deal there. And you don't run the same risk as buying used off of craigslist or ebay.

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The starter pack guitars aren't total junk, but a kid will likely outgrow those in a year or two if they are serious. Like pp said, a Mexican Strat is a good guitar that would last a while. We are Ibanez fans here, because they make good guitars that are a little cheaper than comparable Fenders or Gibsons. Guitar Center also has a used gear section, and sometimes you can find a great deal there. And you don't run the same risk as buying used off of craigslist or ebay.

 

:iagree: (well...DH agrees).

 

He is sort of guitar-brand agnostic, depending on what he's playing. He has Fender (strat and tele), Gibson, Ibanez, and Schimmel (acoustic), and agrees that any of these are fine. Also, I meant to say that he was talking about the pre-owned section of Guitar Center and Musicians Friend.

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My daughter got her first guitar from the JCP catalog! It was a cheap guitar, but we wanted to make sure she liked to play. She used it for two years, and it's what she learned on. It was really a terrible guitar! It was even warped (we found out later) which is why it never tuned perfectly.

 

Her next one was a step up, used. We got it at Music Go Round. Much nicer.

 

Last year she finally got herself a nice Taylor guitar. She loves it and is very good. She plays semi-professionally.

 

This is just to say that even if you start out with a guitar that's not so great, it won't be the end of the world. :)

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My dd was able to score a used electric guitar at Guitar Center for $45 during their used gear expo. She also bought a Honeytones amp for it for just $20 on amazon. I can't remember if the cord was included with the amp or if she had to buy that separately.

 

So far she has a Yamaha classical acoustic, a Taylor acoustic (REALLY NICE), an Alvarez 12-string, and a Gibson Epiphone electric. She also has a banjo and a mandolin. The Taylor is her sweetheart, but she plays all of them except for the Yamaha. The Yamaha was her first guitar and she doesn't want to let go of it because it was her first.

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