Best cheap beginner guitar/amp combo?

[doc]

One of the nurses I work with is planning to buy her 7 year old a guitar and amp for Christmas and has asked my advice. My general advice has been to check the local pawn shops for an old Peavey Rage (USA) or Microcube and a Tele clone - basically the plan is for her to call me if she sees something that looks like what I've recommended and describe it and the price. I've second guessed that advice (to myself) and thought about 3/4 size guitars a bit as well. I also wondered in todays market if there isn't some great deal on new stuff I should know about. They want to stay under $200 total if possible. I know of lots of great deals if the budget was $500 total, but given the above parameters I need your help.

[radiohead]

used PRS SE and Cube

[doc]

Originally Posted by radiohead

used PRS SE and Cube

You know a place to aquire both for $200? You're my new best friend!

[radiohead]

you could wait until one of the SE Ones, which are only $299 at Amazon new right now, come up in the used market.

http://www.amazon.com/PRS-One-Guitar...8081396&sr=8-1

[barryg_nyc]

For a 7-year-old, a full size guitar can be a struggle.
I have a 10-year-old daughter who really wants to learn to play. I've tried to teach her using my Schecter C-1+, but it's too big and too heavy for her to handle. It ends up frustrating her to no end.
The best guitar for a young beginner should be:
1. Manageable in terms of size and weight
2. Reasonably easy to play (at that age, the idea of fighting through until callouses develop is not an easy thing)
3. Something they feel is really, really cool. You want them to want to pick it up every time they walk into the room and to show it off to all their friends. You want to make sure it will get them excited.

My daughter is getting a Daisy Rock Debutante Series for Christmas. Is it the best guitar in the world? No. But, it's decently constructed and will play well (after a setup). But, most importantly, she thinks it's the coolest guitar she's ever seen and it's #1 on her list for Santa:


All that said, I'd take a look at some of the short scale (3/4) guitars at Rondo Music. They've got a good rep for quality guitars for the price and a great return policy.
I'd start with something like this one.
In terms of an amp, you could go with a small roland cube or even the 15W Line6 Spider IV. Either of those will give him a decent clean setting, but if he wants to make "cool sounds", you can add some gain and reverb and he'll have a blast.
Together, those would cost just under $200. Ideally, she should also spring for a setup, just to make sure the frets are clean and the action is right.

I think the goal will be to get him something that takes him through the next 3-4 years. If he really gets into it, you can get him something bigger as he grows. But if you give him something that's too big for him to handle now, it will just end up in the closet and he'll probably never go back.

For my daughter, I'm thinking that if she shows me that she really wants to play, we'll ugprade to a Squier Duo-Sonic or maybe a Mustang in a couple of years.

One last suggestion - don't worry about a gig bag - make sure you get a stand for it. You want it to be the first thing he sees when he goes into his room, which will make him want to play it.

[doc]

Does anybody make a 3/4 size guitar with a fixed bridge? Everything seems to be a "strat" style.

[8mileshigh]

My son has a 3/4 sized plywood Squire with a fixed bridge which can be found for cheap but the tuners are the WORST. I was able to find him a Vox Pathfinder to rock out on for $75.00. A pretty nice amp for the money !

[candid_x]

Should be able to find a $200 package from F or G. Most of the time it's the set up which makes a guitar playable or not. I'd look for parents looking to sell last years guitars to buy something new this Christmas. I think 3/4 size is a great idea if possible, but a reg size is something he/she could grow into, and meanwhile make it just something cool to have around.

During a dire straight period, I bought a cheap Johnson strat and ss amp for under 200 bucks. After a little tlc and pickup exchange, it got me through the storm.