Best Guitar For Kids
Are you looking to find the best guitar for your kids for your budget, but aren’t certain what you’re looking out for? Our team explains exactly what you should be looking for and how much you can expect to pay.
By the time you finish reading through this guide, you’ll know everything there is to know about the best guitar for kids, and have a good understanding of which guitar is right for your child. So keep reading to find out what the guitar stores won’t like you learning about buying guitars.
Choosing Your Child’s Guitar
The first thing to say here is just because they’re our kids, doesn’t mean they’re kids in the classic sense of the word. So let’s define “kid” from the perspective of guitar manufacturers. According to guitar manufacturers, at the age of 12 years, a child with a height of 165+ cms (5 foot or more), should buy an adult guitar.
Just A Quick Guide To Best Guitar Sizes For Kids
Kids guitars come in 4 sizes and these should be used as your guide for a starter.
| Guitar Size | Child’s Height | Child’s Age |
|---|---|---|
| ¼ size | 3 foot 3 to 3 foot 9 inches | 4 to 6 years old |
| ½ size | 3 foot 10 to 4 foot 5 inches | 5 to 8 years old |
| ¾ size | 4 foot 6 to four foot 11 inches | 8 to 11 years old |
| 4/4 (Full Size) | 5 foot and over | 11 and over (to adult) |
So from the age of 12, kids should start to play adult guitars.The next insight you need to know is what type of music does your 12 year old listen to, this will give you an idea of what type of music they’ll be wanting to learn to play. This in turn will give you the best idea of what type of guitar they’re going to need to start learning on.
3 Month Window Of Opportunity
Back in the day the assumption was to start on classical guitar, because the strings are the softest, and easiest to play. Then, once they progress along the classical path for a while they can move on to the type of music they like to listen to. The reality is you have a 3 month window of opportunity, to keep them entertained and interested in learning the guitar, and if it’s not what they want to do, they’ll just stop doing it.
So determine the type of music they like, and buy the guitar accordingly. But what to look for?
Best Guitar For Kids Buyers Guide
If you are going to get your child a guitar teacher, it might be worth getting them to set the guitar up, tuning the strings, checking the neck, the sound quality etc. Even if it costs you the price of a full lesson it’s better for an expert to set it up as you then know there are no problems before your child starts learning.
Also, unless you are an expert yourself, a teacher will be best placed to check all that you should have has arrived complete with your guitar.
Size
As we just discovered, the size of guitar you decide for your child might be wrong. Follow the guide, and also get your kid involved, unless it’s like a surprise present letting your son or daughter get involved with the choosing of their guitar is a massive thing. Plus it will ensure you get the correct size too.
Fretboard
Check the action, it should sound clear, with no burrs, or buzzes. It should also be easy to press the strings and hold them down.
Strings
If the strings are too heavy gauged, they will hurt your kids hands and that will definitely put them off playing. Too light a gauge and they will also cut into the fingertips, the best bet is a light, to medium gauge set of strings.
Price
How Much Is An Acoustic Guitar Going To Cost?
The price you can expect to pay for a guitar for your kid is dependent on the make and model you choose, and the style of music they are into. Assuming you’re buying an adult size guitar, prices range from around £100.00 for a “Branded” acoustic by branded we are talking the likes of :
- Fender
- Ibanez
- Brunswick
- Adam
- Yamaha
- And many more
And rising to around £7,000.00 for a Breedlove Masterclass Concerto Sinker Redwood Cocobolo.
You can of course buy a much cheaper acoustic guitar with prices starting from around £53.00 for a 3rd Avenue full size acoustic guitar pack, which includes a 6-string steel string guitar, gig bag, picks, shoulder strap and replacement strings.
How Much Is An Electric Guitar Going To Cost?
A full size electric guitar starts at around £100.00 for a full size electric 6 steel string Rockjam RJ GO2 a 10 Watt amplifier, 3 pickups, guitar strap, picks,gig bag, and a guitar to amp cable.
More conventional purchases need to add on the cost of an amp. But as for guitars, a Epiphone Les Paul is about £120.00, a Squier Bullet Stratocaster will cost around £125.00, an IbanezGIOSeries GRX40-CA will cost around £160.00
Whilst on the subject of amps, you can buy a cheap and cheerful amp for around £40 to £50.00 with a Fender Frontman 10G Guitar Amp will cost around £60.00, and a Marshall MG 15 GR-15W black and gold Combo Guitar w/Spring reverb will cost around £ 92.00.
Frequently Asked Questions
Realistically speaking, any age can learn to play the guitar so a 7 year old can learn guitar. As long as their hands can reach the strings, there should be nothing to stop any age child from learning to play the guitar.
You can learn to play guitar at any age, even though scientists believe younger people learn faster, that doesn’t mean there is an age limit at when you can or cannot learn to play the guitar.
If you stand up whilst playing the guitar, you can burn up to 200 calories an hour, but if you sit down whilst playing the guitar, you can lose up to 140 calories an hour.
A beginner should practise guitar for at least 15 minutes a day, this will help to increase muscle memory, improve technique and gain more confidence.
