Through no fault of my own, my 10 year old daughter appears to be a bit of a musical prodigy. She can pick up most instruments and just play something immediately. After mastering the clarinet by age 9, and already being a better drummer than me, she has moved onto the guitar. And this seems to be the one she loves the most.
We got her a decent accoustic and she’s started having lessons at school, and she’s already writing her own songs. But she just asked for an electric guitar for her birthday. And here is where I’m looking for guidance.
She will continue to do lessons on the accoustic, the electric will be for experimenting and jamming in her bedroom, but probably with headphones in the amp most of the time.
My initial research shows that if she keeps up this level of progress, she’ll tire of a basic entry level guitar very quickly. But I also don’t wanna go overboard, because she is a kid, and they can randomly move on from stuff annoyingly quickly.
So, I’ve found this as a compromise. Anyone have feedback on this type of guitar? Is it overkill for where she is at? Not enough?
This is not my field, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Artist is definitely entry level. But those types of beginner packs are excellent value.
Squire (Fender company) and Epiphone (Gibson company) have similar entry level packs with ‘arguably’ better guitars. But any guitar at this level, or any level for that matter will benefit greatly from an initial set up. You don’t want to get her something that is uncomfortable to play and goes outta tune constantly, which poorly set up guitars are prone to do. Particularly entry level ones.
A set up is like a car service for a guitar. Just gets it running smoother and at its best. Most good guitar shops will do it for a little extra cheddar. Just a basic one. Gets the most out of the guitar. Especially brand new ones. There are often set up issues with brand new lower level guitars off the shelf.
We got the Slash replica yellow (I think it’s appetite for destruction branded) guitar and a cool little amp.
Strap was as good as the one from the guitar hero PS3, so replaced that and the strings.
the other option (not sure on quality) is buying on Ali Express. Jnr THT got a nice ‘fender’ jazzmaster for free (supposed to be $300). He ordered it, but the policy is if it doesn’t arrive in 30 days it’s free. It arrived in 31 days.
Squire or epiphone for the guitar.
Positive grid for amp… download the app and it has 100s of different sounds and can play music from YouTube and it analyses the chords so she can jam along with her favourite songs. Amp also works as a good Bluetooth speaker.
So i have just put this 1967 Gibson j50 up for trade, if anyone here has anything feel free to reach out. Would love it to go to someone who would appreciate it . I just prefer my maton for live work.
Yamaha is/was one of the most under-rated guitar brands going.
When I worked in a guitar shop in the mid 2000’s Simon Patterson ( the guy who used to play in the Hey Hey it’s Saturday band) used to bring his Pacificas in to have work done. He was fanatical about them and had quite a collection. He could not understand why they were so inexpensive and used to do a lot of recording with them. They’ll take you well beyond beginner territory.
Yamaha also have the Revstar out now which is enhancing their reputation a lot. A friend bought one recently (the p 90 version) and I absolutely love it. ( not recommending as they are in a much higher price bracket then the Pacifica)
