1/2 size for 6 year old?

[vroom]

Anyone have young'uns with 1/2 size acoustics?

My niece is getting one for Christmas, and one was ordered for her and came in already, but after seeing it I said I'd help find a better one. The thing looked horrible. $99 for something with paint drips on the side of the neck, NO tone whatsoever, and horrible tuning issues. I'll be hitting up the music stores tomorrow, but I thought I'd ask here first in case we end up ordering online again.

So, do you guys have recommendations?

[jcground]

I can't recommend any brands specifically. I think most stuff that size is going to be cheap, mass-produced and nothing special compared to a bigger and better guitar. (I may be wrong - if there are others who know of a good name in 1/2 size, please chime in. 3/4 size is a bit easier to find better quality. Something like a Taylor Baby comes to mind.)

In spite of my feeling about overall quality, I have played some lil' 1/2 size guitars that belonged to the kids of friends, and some have actually been fun to play. Obviously, no cannons, but I've had a good time fingerpicking nylon strings on those little frets. I've heard people say that they didn't think a toy guitar could make real music, but they can.

My advice would be to try before you buy, if possible. If you find one that's fun to play, I'd say it's a keeper. Remember, it'll get played by a kid. If it's fun, it's more likely to get used. I'd worry more about tone if they stick with it and want to move up to a bigger nicer instrument.

[KazJY]

I posted on this forum about Baby Taylors, but I think Carlo Robelli had a half-size acoustic at Sam Ash for $99 last year - not sure if they are doing it again - it actually wasn't bad at all!

[wichita]

What brand was the awful one by the way?

[RichSZ]

I bought my son (who's 5) one of those mini Squier strats from guitar center. After some minor setup work with the nut & truss rod adjustment, the guitar stays in tune and plays pretty decent.

In fact, I've plugged it in a few times and it sounds like a strat.

It's a good size for small hands. He can make a D, A, & E open chord, The C, G, and barre chords are still quite a stretch for him but he gets excited about playing it. And it's bright red too! :dude

-Rich

[dewman]

I can recommend the single cutaway acoustics from Daisy Rock. They make either a 1/2 or 3/4 size, I can't remember which size exactly, but the quality wasn't too bad and it sounded decent. I am in the market for a guitar for my 5 year old too, so keep the suggestions coming. Maybe the baby taylor!

[tone4days]

when my son was ~5 or 6, i got him a 1/2 size nylon string classic ... played very nicely ... was a czech import, i forget the name ...

[vroom]

What brand was the awful one by the way?

http://store.musicforlittlepeople.com/bebopguitar.html

I'd worry more about tone if they stick with it and want to move up to a bigger nicer instrument.

This one was dead. No articulation whatsoever--just flabby bass. My electrics have more acoustic properties than this one. :jo

[kimock]

Anyone have young'uns with 1/2 size acoustics?

My niece is getting one for Christmas, and one was ordered for her and came in already, but after seeing it I said I'd help find a better one. The thing looked horrible. $99 for something with paint drips on the side of the neck, NO tone whatsoever, and horrible tuning issues. I'll be hitting up the music stores tomorrow, but I thought I'd ask here first in case we end up ordering online again.

So, do you guys have recommendations?

My kids love the ukulele. :)

[gkoelling]

Take a look at the Tennessee Traveler, Greg Bennett Guitars from Samick. This is a nice guitar.

* 36"

* Solid Spruce Top

* Grover Tuners

* Nice, padded tweed gig bag

I've played one of these and it's a real guitar, not a POS kids toy.

You should be able to find one at around $200.00.

Good Luck

EDIT: It also has a limited lifetime warranty

[Ted James]

I was planning on going and getting a couple of those 1/2 size flying v's Gibsons Maestro brand sells today for my boys.

[John Benz]

Don't mean to be a killjoy here, but in my mind, unless it's got floppy little nylon strings and a picture of Mickey Mouse on it, save your money. 99.99% of 5 and 6 year olds won't be ready to even hold anything resembling a real guitar for another 3 or 4 years. Sure, it's fun and cute to buy babys' first guitar, but make sure it's a toy that they can jump on if they want to. There's plenty of time isn't there?

[vroom]

Don't mean to be a killjoy here, but in my mind, unless it's got floppy little nylon strings and a picture of Mickey Mouse on it, save your money. 99.99% of 5 and 6 year olds won't be ready to even hold anything resembling a real guitar for another 3 or 4 years. Sure, it's fun and cute to buy babys' first guitar, but make sure it's a toy that they can jump on if they want to. There's plenty of time isn't there?

I agree. My place in the matter is to help make the best of it. You'll be glad to know that the replacement isn't a pink one like the first. :rolleyes:

We got a Montana 5/8 size acoustic instead. It looks/plays/sounds better, and was $20 cheaper. The other one is being shipped back for a refund.

[clemduolian]

+1 for a uke. Easy to hold, to play and to have fun with.

[morlll]

My daughter's first guitar was a 1/2 size classical that was cheap and worked ok. It sounded like a 6 string uke, but played fine.

We moved to a 3/4 Kamouraska (Godin) that was a very nice guitar for the money. Also a classical.

[Figher53]

Baby Taylor. Doubles as a nice campfire guitar and if not she can resell it when your she grows up cos it'll hold some value. My guess is that she won't though.

[vroom]

Baby Taylor. Doubles as a nice campfire guitar and if not she can resell it when your she grows up cos it'll hold some value. My guess is that she won't though.

I tried these out. VERY nice for the size. A bit pricey for this purpose, however.

[Figher53]

Buy it used off ebay. If she takes good care of it, she can probably resell it for at least 75% of what was paid for it. Better in the long run than buying a $99 guitar that she's probably going to throw away after that.

Plus you get a GREAT sounding, easy playing guitar that'll just encourage her to practice more.

[mmcquain]

My daughter's first guitar was a 1/2 size classical that was cheap and worked ok...

I got one of these at the local GC for my son (7 years old and taking weekly lessons since Oct.) Can't remember what I paid since I actually got it over a year ago (but it was pretty cheap). I do recommend you get a canvas gig bag to carry it in if they're taking lessons outside of the house (he takes his to school and leaves it in the corner until his grandmother picks him up and takes him to his lesson each week - the bag helps protect the guitar and gives 'em a place to keep their picks, strap, music, etc.) You can see it below (this is him hamming it up going into his first lesson) :rolleyes:

http://www.mcquain.com/jacob/GuitarLessons/1st_Guitar_Lesson2.jpg

p.s. I just picked up one of the mini Strats (from Fender's Squier line) and its not bad (after a decent setup). It seems to fit his hands well and stays in tune better than the nylon string guitar.

http://www.mcquain.com/lespaul/Miscellaneous/Mini_Strat.jpg

[62Tele]

We tried the Baby Taylor for our girls and it fit them great - my three year old son is now messing with it. Later, small electric guitars however got them a lot more fired up and a little Johnson Strat worked really well - similar to the Squires. The electrics are a LOT tougher (did I mention I have to fix a cracked top on the Taylor?).

I have to agree about the age thing though - most teachers feel that kids are not able to get into guitar until they're about 9. My girls started to play more at that age, prior to that not much.

[dewman]

FatSound did a great setup on a 1/2 size Squire Hello Kitty strat for me- now the guitar sounds great after the setup and a new set of 11s. Yeah my little girl will be playing 11s!! Now I have to find a cheapo amp for her! Any suggestions??

[Fantom1]

Tacoma used to make a killer little guitar called the "Papoose" if I'm remembering right. I'd try to find one of those.