Kids guitar buying advice

[Novafett]

So i have a 6 yo boy and a 9 yo girl who have both taken an interest in guitar since their old man got back into playing several months ago. I'd like to surprise each of them with an electric guitar of their own at Christmas but am feeling a bit stumped at the limited selection out there. I've done some looking on Craigslist and have seen a few acoustics pop up from time to time but not too many electrics.

We visit the local GC here (only 10 min) away quite often and i let them play on the pink & black Fender i think they're called mini or Jr? They are about $100. I'm not well versed in electric guitars as i just purchased a PRS of my own earlier this month but my concern is buying one of these cheap models of a fender is going to be a waste of $. Yes i know buying guitars for two kids is a bit of a gamble in and of itself but i'm more concerned in this from a quality stand point. Will this guitar stay in tune? Will it fall apart?

Anyone on here have any personal experience buying a guitar for a son or daughter and can lend some advice on a decent entry level guitar or should i take the plunge on the fenders?

 

[Chris528]

I bought a one of the mini strats for my 9 year old nephew. Was very disappointed in it honestly. The tuners were completely awful, would not stay in tune. Had the same issue with ibanez mini. Actually gave him my Santana SE when he was 10. He is a small 10 year old and it isn't way too big for him.

 

[Danerada]

In order for the cheap Squier and have it be playable, you will need a good setup and new tuners for sure. I buy them, but I also put $$ into them to make them stable and playable.

 

[John Beef]

My not quite 6 year old plays my Santana SE sometimes. It's a little bit big for her still, but she manages. They're very inexpensive on the used market, require no upgrades to be a good guitar, and will always be much better than a cheapy cheap cheap from Toys R Us.

 

[Whitecat]

I guess it depends on your budget, but I went to a PRS event last year in the UK and saw a lot of kids of various ages who brought PRS SEs for Paul to sign. Might as well start 'em young!

 

[mezzio]

I bought my daughter a little Axl a few years back, and its been a pretty decent guitar. It stays in tune, been pretty durable, and even sounds ok. I paid $100 for it about 6 years ago, she's kinda lost interest in playing though, but still plays around with it once in a while.

 

[CoreyT]

I have to agree on the SE thing.
I wish my first guitar had been an SE, but impossible back in the late 60s
It was a Teisco, and a bear to play.
Had it been an SE Santana, I would have rocked that thing back then.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

The 3/4 scale strats are kinda crappy.

My son is one the small side, and it's actually easier for him to hold the Traveler guitars - even though the necks are full scale, the overall length and body is easier to handle. They are expensive though for the ones that actually look like real guitars, and the string changes seem difficult - though I've never owned one. I just couldn't swallow the price tag.

 

[sleary]

I'd say a used se would be the best possible choice. An older se custom 24 might be an option.

My daughter started playing when she was 6 and I she started out on a department store crap job but she played it until she got some basics down. She them moved to an epi phone acoustic . She now is 15 , in two bands and has $4000 worth of equipment . Next on her list is specing out a prs ps....ya save about princess lol

 

[CoreyT]

Another good small guitar is the Fernandez ZO3 if you can find one.
Here is mine, and it has a built in amp/speaker.

 

[Novafett]

Thanks all for the feed back.. seems i have a few more options

 

[Egads]

There is also the option of going with a PS build for each. That way, if they lose interest, you get a couple guitars you could use.

 

[Boogie]

My youngest son's first guitar was an Epi SG for $200. And, honestly, I have to say that it was a pretty good value. The neck was comfortable, true, and stayed stable until it succumbed to a house fire. Later, we got an SE245 for him and I just gave my oldest son an SE245 for his 24th birthday. If you can find one of those killer deals on a used SE, that's how I would go. But the entry-level Epi stuff was 1000x better than when I started out in 1978.

 

[DHW]

So i have a 6 yo boy and a 9 yo girl who have both taken an interest in guitar since their old man got back into playing several months ago. I'd like to surprise each of them with an electric guitar of their own at Christmas but am feeling a bit stumped at the limited selection out there. I've done some looking on Craigslist and have seen a few acoustics pop up from time to time but not too many electrics.

We visit the local GC here (only 10 min) away quite often and i let them play on the pink & black Fender i think they're called mini or Jr? They are about $100. I'm not well versed in electric guitars as i just purchased a PRS of my own earlier this month but my concern is buying one of these cheap models of a fender is going to be a waste of $. Yes i know buying guitars for two kids is a bit of a gamble in and of itself but i'm more concerned in this from a quality stand point. Will this guitar stay in tune? Will it fall apart?

Anyone on here have any personal experience buying a guitar for a son or daughter and can lend some advice on a decent entry level guitar or should i take the plunge on the fenders?

Something I can really help with!

My 10 year old daughter is quite short and started playing 2 years ago. Her first guitar was a yamaha 3/4 which was decent but a little dead. About 6 months later she moved into a taylor gs-mini which is 7/8. This is an AWESOME guitar with a beautiful sound and lots of volume. I play on it at times myself. When she went into electrics there wasn't a 3/4 on the market I would have paid $10 for. She got herself an epiphone lp pro but that proved to be too heavy for her even though the scale length fit pretty well. Today at 10 she is playing on the SE Single Cut Korina. She can handle it just fine, doesn't develop any lazy habits, and won't have to relearn to play later in life. Do some searching on youtube and check out the little korean and chinese kids playing the hell out of full size guitars. I would go with a 24.5 or 25" scale with a fairly narrow neck with the largest radius you can get.

 

[Novafett]

Thanks DHW. I'm fairly new to guitars. What does a large radius imply? And 24.5 or 25" scale, is that the number of frets?

 

[Suppalak Klabdee]

There is also the option of going with a PS build for each. That way, if they lose interest, you get a couple guitars you could use.

Sounds good to me!

I would recommend the used SEs though, way easier to explain to the wife!