Guitar for my son

ezrydr · April 25th, 2008, 07:38 AM

Hi All,
I hope this is OK to post here. Since the question is not specifically telecaster related I didn't know exactly where to post.

I am looking for some feedback - MY 13 year old son wants an electric guitar.
My wife and want to get something decent but we are not prepared to spend a lot of money until we see he is committed to learning the guitar.

I saw this deal today and am thinking this would be a good starter at a good price. Any comments and advice would be appreciated

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupi...&CJPID=1571798

thanks

Steve

goldtopper · April 25th, 2008, 07:41 AM

I posted that link earlier. For $149 you really couldn't go wrong.

ezrydr · April 25th, 2008, 07:44 AM

thanks goldtopper - that's what i was thinking. I value the opinions of others and appreciate the feedback.

Steve

studio1087 · April 25th, 2008, 07:45 AM

I think it would be a great guitar. I have two Squiers (in addition to an assortment of other guitars) and the Squier offering gives great bang for the buck.

Here is an example.......all the guitar and bass parts in this song were played on Squiers (I did this last night)........

Twang Monkey - Song recorded with Squiers only

Buy before they are gone. You should get free shipping with the deal.

Best Regards,

John

ezrydr · April 25th, 2008, 07:50 AM

thanks John - wow, beautiful recording! I'm sold

looks like my boy will be getting a Squier Strat!

TG · April 25th, 2008, 07:50 AM

A squier strat (or a telecaster if he wants one...) is a fine starter guitar. But what would probably be worth your while is taking it to someone who sets up guitars for playing. Guitars don't often come from the factory ideally set for comfortable playing...they certainly don't at that price level...and a good setup can be the difference between a guitar he'll enjoy playing and one he won't.
The guitars players pick up and go 'Gosh, this one is nice...' are generally the ones set up nicely.

And if he doen't 'get the bug' and continue, a well set up guitar will be much easier to sell on.

goldtopper · April 25th, 2008, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TG

A squier strat (or a telecaster if he wants one...) is a fine starter guitar. But what would probably be worth your while is taking it to someone who sets up guitars for playing. Guitars don't often come from the factory ideally set for comfortable playing...they certainly don't at that price level...and a good setup can be the difference between a guitar he'll enjoy playing and one he won't.
The guitars players pick up and go 'Gosh, this one is nice...' are generally the ones set up nicely.

And if he doen't 'get the bug' and continue, a well set up guitar will be much easier to sell on.

What he said too!

ezrydr · April 25th, 2008, 07:56 AM

10-4 on the set up thing guys!

thanks for the help!

Steve

SixStringSlinger · April 25th, 2008, 07:58 AM

This is what I started with. Comes with the guitar, amp, cable, strap, etc.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...Amp?sku=513287

Get the guitar set up right and it's pretty good for a starter.

Just another option.

studio1087 · April 25th, 2008, 08:01 AM

One more thing....just to make you feel good about this. I sold guitars in college (20+ years ago) and we always gave better trade in values to anything that said Fender on the headstock. There are many $150-$250 guitars today but buying something that says "Fender Squier" on the headstock makes for a safer spend. There are tons of guys who would feel very confident buying a used Squier. If your son wants to upgrade some day, you'll find that you spent your money on something that is very safe.

By the way....nice going Dad!

My daughter is 11 and I just bought her a 3/4 acoustic. Good stuff.

Doug Ferguson · April 25th, 2008, 08:02 AM

I have a Squire Affinity tele, and it's become (after some mods) my #1. I'd play one or several before buying it, and buy one you've played. They're excellent modding platforms, and you and he could have some fun taking on future changes to the guitar -- really make it "his".

robt57 · April 25th, 2008, 08:06 AM

Make sure you get an amp with a headphone jack...

Doug Ferguson · April 25th, 2008, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robt57

Make sure you get an amp with a headphone jack...

Good thought, there. A Microcube maybe?

ezrydr · April 25th, 2008, 08:11 AM

great info guys!! thanks so much

Steve

robt57 · April 25th, 2008, 08:17 AM

Oh yea, if he makes friends with a drummer, make sure they play at his house.

FWIW, I got my son a Rondo SX dinky style strat/shreadder for 119.00 shipped.

And a used Line-6 Spider 112, Backup amp I can borrow, if I had to.

Got the amp with a cracked cabinet for 100.00 with the 4 switch pedal, a few deck screws and some tight bond.... voila...

Headphone jack, and an insanely amount of distortion, the model for that sound is in fact called 'insane', which is not enough for him.

ezrydr · April 25th, 2008, 08:18 AM

I've got a 15watt FirstAct practice amp (Wally World) that he can use for starters. It has a headphone jack!

and BTW it doesn't sound half bad for el-cheapo-walmart stuff, and has (IMO) a pretty nice distortion. If he doesn't like that then I guess I'll let him use my Hughes & Kettner Matrix.

Steve

ezrydr · April 25th, 2008, 08:27 AM

"Oh yea, if he makes friends with a drummer, make sure they play at his house"

LOL! yeah been there done that - man we used to piss off the neighbors back in the day! Mom and dad were cool but we had the cops over more than once.

If he makes friends with a drummer I just hope they let me sit in! Been 10 years since I played with a live drummer. Almost forgot what its like.

I do recall that just about every drummer I ever played with had a tendancy to consume large amounts of alcohol!

Had one in particular that was so bad we considered it a good night if he could still sit on his stooll by the 4th set. He was famous for flying drumsticks. Stuck more than a few into the acoustical tile ceilings of the bars we palyed in. Guy could always keep the beat though.

Derek S · April 25th, 2008, 09:14 AM

I started my onw son on a Squier strat and an Ibanez practice amp. He cut his teeth on that.

2 years later at 16 he has graduated to a Fender Stratocaster and a Marshall 50 watt combo, death metal pedal and a Takimine acoustic. Good luck!

octatonic · April 25th, 2008, 10:18 AM

I bought my little brother one of these:

It is an made in Indonesia Squier Tele with a humbucker in the neck.
It was around the $375 AUD mark.

Excellent guitar, plays great out of the box.

KC · April 25th, 2008, 11:04 AM

that fender will work fine and do swell, great starter guitar. if you're looking for alternatives, though, I just bought my daughter a Daisy Rock like this one

http://www.music123.com/Daisy-Rock-S...48396.Music123

which is an awful lot of guitar for the money. plays great, sounds terrific, not even all that girly-looking in blue. I'm kind of hoping she doesn't take to it (she already sings & plays piano, bass and drums) so Dad can get a turn with it . . .

robt57 · April 25th, 2008, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC

I'm kind of hoping she doesn't take to it (she already sings & plays piano, bass and drums) so Dad can get a turn with it . . .

You dog!

studio1087 · April 25th, 2008, 12:15 PM

By the way....if you need an affordable amp that can do anything (11 amp models and 11 effects build in)...buy a VOX DA5. $129 everywhere brand new & in the box.

I played my liitle DA5 on all the tracks on the little song I posted. Mic'd with a Shure SM57 and into the recorder. I love my little DA5. My nephew has a DA5 in his dorm room. Great little amp. Plenty loud.

VOX DA5 Linky

robt57 · April 25th, 2008, 01:00 PM

In your choice of colors too!

Not to mention the combos with the effects, and not just one effect at a time. Some one had their thinking cap on over there at Vox!!

goldtopper · April 25th, 2008, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by octatonic

I bought my little brother one of these:

It is an made in Indonesia Squier Tele with a humbucker in the neck.
It was around the $375 AUD mark.

Excellent guitar, plays great out of the box.

I really like that tele!!

ezrydr · April 30th, 2008, 10:44 AM

Well I ordered the Stupid Deal of The Day to get that guitar but as luck would have it I didn't order in time to get one. They only had 24 in stock and had 90 some orders placed for it. They could not tell when, or even if, they would get more.

So I whined a little bit and the MusiciansFriend customer service rep made me a deal on one of these

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...tar?sku=510422

They let me have it for $179.99. I ordered the Candy Apple Red w/maple neck. It arrived today and I must say it is a beautiful looking guitat. The finish is flawless.

I think my son willl love it (and if he doesn't then I'll love it!

)

April 25th, 2008, 07:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
ezrydr TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Alton Iowa USA Age: 49 Posts: 77	Guitar for my son Hi All, I hope this is OK to post here. Since the question is not specifically telecaster related I didn't know exactly where to post. I am looking for some feedback - MY 13 year old son wants an electric guitar. My wife and want to get something decent but we are not prepared to spend a lot of money until we see he is committed to learning the guitar. I saw this deal today and am thinking this would be a good starter at a good price. Any comments and advice would be appreciated http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupi...&CJPID=1571798 thanks Steve

April 25th, 2008, 07:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
goldtopper Tele-Holic Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell Posts: 796	I posted that link earlier. For $149 you really couldn't go wrong. __________________ ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

April 25th, 2008, 07:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
studio1087 Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Near Milwaukee Age: 44 Posts: 3,276 33 Photos	I think it would be a great guitar. I have two Squiers (in addition to an assortment of other guitars) and the Squier offering gives great bang for the buck. Here is an example.......all the guitar and bass parts in this song were played on Squiers (I did this last night)........ Twang Monkey - Song recorded with Squiers only Buy before they are gone. You should get free shipping with the deal. Best Regards, John __________________ JLG Carry On

April 25th, 2008, 07:58 AM	#9 (permalink)
SixStringSlinger Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2006 Location: Miami, FL Age: 20 Posts: 1,125	This is what I started with. Comes with the guitar, amp, cable, strap, etc. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...Amp?sku=513287 Get the guitar set up right and it's pretty good for a starter. Just another option. __________________ "Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus, or just a really cool opotamus?" -Mitch Hedberg

April 25th, 2008, 08:01 AM	#10 (permalink)
studio1087 Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Near Milwaukee Age: 44 Posts: 3,276 33 Photos	One more thing....just to make you feel good about this. I sold guitars in college (20+ years ago) and we always gave better trade in values to anything that said Fender on the headstock. There are many $150-$250 guitars today but buying something that says "Fender Squier" on the headstock makes for a safer spend. There are tons of guys who would feel very confident buying a used Squier. If your son wants to upgrade some day, you'll find that you spent your money on something that is very safe. By the way....nice going Dad! My daughter is 11 and I just bought her a 3/4 acoustic. Good stuff. __________________ JLG Carry On

April 25th, 2008, 07:44 AM	#3 (permalink)
ezrydr TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Alton Iowa USA Age: 49 Posts: 77	thanks goldtopper - that's what i was thinking. I value the opinions of others and appreciate the feedback. Steve

April 25th, 2008, 07:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
ezrydr TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Alton Iowa USA Age: 49 Posts: 77	thanks John - wow, beautiful recording! I'm sold looks like my boy will be getting a Squier Strat!

April 25th, 2008, 07:50 AM	#6 (permalink)
TG Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Beside a bog in the west of Ireland Age: 46 Posts: 4,344 7 Photos	A squier strat (or a telecaster if he wants one...) is a fine starter guitar. But what would probably be worth your while is taking it to someone who sets up guitars for playing. Guitars don't often come from the factory ideally set for comfortable playing...they certainly don't at that price level...and a good setup can be the difference between a guitar he'll enjoy playing and one he won't. The guitars players pick up and go 'Gosh, this one is nice...' are generally the ones set up nicely. And if he doen't 'get the bug' and continue, a well set up guitar will be much easier to sell on.

April 25th, 2008, 07:56 AM	#8 (permalink)
ezrydr TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Alton Iowa USA Age: 49 Posts: 77	10-4 on the set up thing guys! thanks for the help! Steve

April 25th, 2008, 08:02 AM	#11 (permalink)
Doug Ferguson Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Indianapolis, IN Age: 55 Posts: 1,176	I have a Squire Affinity tele, and it's become (after some mods) my #1. I'd play one or several before buying it, and buy one you've played. They're excellent modding platforms, and you and he could have some fun taking on future changes to the guitar -- really make it "his". __________________ If you get hung up on just guitar players, you've missed something.... Don't ever get to a point where you just gotta be a guitar player. You hear something, go try to get that note and sound as much like that as you can.-Buddy Guy

April 25th, 2008, 08:06 AM	#12 (permalink)
robt57 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Lost Yankee in Nashville Age: 51 Posts: 2,027 2 Photos	Make sure you get an amp with a headphone jack...

April 25th, 2008, 08:11 AM	#14 (permalink)
ezrydr TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Alton Iowa USA Age: 49 Posts: 77	great info guys!! thanks so much Steve

April 25th, 2008, 08:17 AM	#15 (permalink)
robt57 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Lost Yankee in Nashville Age: 51 Posts: 2,027 2 Photos	Oh yea, if he makes friends with a drummer, make sure they play at his house. FWIW, I got my son a Rondo SX dinky style strat/shreadder for 119.00 shipped. And a used Line-6 Spider 112, Backup amp I can borrow, if I had to. Got the amp with a cracked cabinet for 100.00 with the 4 switch pedal, a few deck screws and some tight bond.... voila... Headphone jack, and an insanely amount of distortion, the model for that sound is in fact called 'insane', which is not enough for him.

April 25th, 2008, 08:18 AM	#16 (permalink)
ezrydr TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Alton Iowa USA Age: 49 Posts: 77	I've got a 15watt FirstAct practice amp (Wally World) that he can use for starters. It has a headphone jack! and BTW it doesn't sound half bad for el-cheapo-walmart stuff, and has (IMO) a pretty nice distortion. If he doesn't like that then I guess I'll let him use my Hughes & Kettner Matrix. Steve

April 25th, 2008, 08:27 AM	#17 (permalink)
ezrydr TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Alton Iowa USA Age: 49 Posts: 77	"Oh yea, if he makes friends with a drummer, make sure they play at his house" LOL! yeah been there done that - man we used to piss off the neighbors back in the day! Mom and dad were cool but we had the cops over more than once. If he makes friends with a drummer I just hope they let me sit in! Been 10 years since I played with a live drummer. Almost forgot what its like. I do recall that just about every drummer I ever played with had a tendancy to consume large amounts of alcohol! Had one in particular that was so bad we considered it a good night if he could still sit on his stooll by the 4th set. He was famous for flying drumsticks. Stuck more than a few into the acoustical tile ceilings of the bars we palyed in. Guy could always keep the beat though.

April 25th, 2008, 09:14 AM	#18 (permalink)
Derek S Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: EL PUEBLO VIEJO Posts: 241	I started my onw son on a Squier strat and an Ibanez practice amp. He cut his teeth on that. 2 years later at 16 he has graduated to a Fender Stratocaster and a Marshall 50 watt combo, death metal pedal and a Takimine acoustic. Good luck!

April 25th, 2008, 11:04 AM	#20 (permalink)
KC Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Missoula, Montana Posts: 1,167 15 Photos	that fender will work fine and do swell, great starter guitar. if you're looking for alternatives, though, I just bought my daughter a Daisy Rock like this one http://www.music123.com/Daisy-Rock-S...48396.Music123 which is an awful lot of guitar for the money. plays great, sounds terrific, not even all that girly-looking in blue. I'm kind of hoping she doesn't take to it (she already sings & plays piano, bass and drums) so Dad can get a turn with it . . .

April 25th, 2008, 12:15 PM	#22 (permalink)
studio1087 Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2003 Location: Near Milwaukee Age: 44 Posts: 3,276 33 Photos	By the way....if you need an affordable amp that can do anything (11 amp models and 11 effects build in)...buy a VOX DA5. $129 everywhere brand new & in the box. I played my liitle DA5 on all the tracks on the little song I posted. Mic'd with a Shure SM57 and into the recorder. I love my little DA5. My nephew has a DA5 in his dorm room. Great little amp. Plenty loud. VOX DA5 Linky __________________ JLG Carry On

April 25th, 2008, 01:00 PM	#23 (permalink)
robt57 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Lost Yankee in Nashville Age: 51 Posts: 2,027 2 Photos	In your choice of colors too! Not to mention the combos with the effects, and not just one effect at a time. Some one had their thinking cap on over there at Vox!!

April 30th, 2008, 10:44 AM	#25 (permalink)
ezrydr TDPRI Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Alton Iowa USA Age: 49 Posts: 77	Well I ordered the Stupid Deal of The Day to get that guitar but as luck would have it I didn't order in time to get one. They only had 24 in stock and had 90 some orders placed for it. They could not tell when, or even if, they would get more. So I whined a little bit and the MusiciansFriend customer service rep made me a deal on one of these http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...tar?sku=510422 They let me have it for $179.99. I ordered the Candy Apple Red w/maple neck. It arrived today and I must say it is a beautiful looking guitat. The finish is flawless. I think my son willl love it (and if he doesn't then I'll love it! )