Guitar suggestions for a 5-year-old

[3leggeddog]

My son is turning 5 at the end of the month, and I thought I'd give him something that he can have a little more productive fun with than his currently broken 'soccer ball' guitar.

Now, I know he'll love it, but will take care of it about as well as any 5-year-old would, so I'm not considering this an investment by any means.

But, I want it to be solid, hold a decent tune, and be fairly small. Under $100 would be great too. The pricier axes will come, eventually.

Suggestions? I'm open to both acoustic and electric possibilities...

 

[aquietcabin78]

The Loog is a cool little 3 string guitar that comes as a kit. I was thinking about getting my 5 year old daughter one but opted to build her a mandocaster instead.

 

[XKnight]

I bought a Jay Turser 3/4 size acoustic for my 11 year old and it plays amazingly well and holds tune. It was a $45 scratch and dent floor model. I play it more than he does now. They cost around $99 usually.

 

[Fro68]

My daughter loves her ukulele.

 

[strings777]

I bought my grandson a Squier mini strat for his 6th birthday. It's very easy to play, sounds good, and he loves it. It's only 99.00 with free shipping:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Squier-Mini...k-/261397138036?pt=Guitar&hash=item3cdc7bca74

 

[Teledeluxe77]

I would suggest a Nash T-bone or LSL tele for you....and a squier strat for your son.

 

[markxander]

Having taught kids that were realistically too young, I'm always wary of going with guitars for young kids. It's just not usually rewarding because they aren't strong enough and don't have the attention span.

Ukeleles on the other hand, are light and easy to play, and can be a lot of fun for kids.

 

[buddyboy69]

I know its a little more than you wanted to spend but.......or a uke...

http://www.strumstick.com/html_pages/Alto Strumstick.htm

 

[buddastrat]

'nuther vote for a uke!

 

[KazJY]

I bought my grandson a Squier mini strat for his 6th birthday. It's very easy to play, sounds good, and he loves it. It's only 99.00 with free shipping:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Squier-Mini...k-/261397138036?pt=Guitar&hash=item3cdc7bca74

yeah, +1 on this.

it holds its tune ok, but the scale length is so short, and with a set of 9's, it plays like butter. I found one in NM condition at GC for $50 or something.

You can always tune it to open G or something depending on how good he is too. (sounds better if they are just getting strumming...)

 

[Johnny Alien]

Ukelele is totally the right answer.

 

[3leggeddog]

The mini Squier's were on my radar as a possibility...
Hadn't considered a uke. Might not be a bad idea, though I'm thinking that when I'm playing my guitar and he wants to join in, he's still going to be asking for an actual guitar instead of the uke.

 

[THiwaTT]

Epi LP Jr - normally they are $99 with a case/strap, this is what I learned on (when I was much older than 5) - Very simple, single bridge humbucker, volume, tone, plays very easily. I still have mine


edit: here is the link, looks like MF has raised the price $30, but I am sure I have seen these in local shops for $99
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/epiphone-les-paul-junior-special-electric-guitar

 

[woof*]

I bought a little half scale acoustic of fairly decent quality for my daughter when she was six.
I leveled the frets, put a better bone nut on it with a lighter gauge string set. It was a very easy guitar to play. I think it cost about 60$ plus my work.

 

[brn2run56]

I think I would go with the mini strat.
Might still be a little big for a 5 year old but he should be able to use it for
a few years.

 

[GCDEF]

I'd give him a keyboard. I know there are some 5 year olds that can play a guitar, but that's really too young. A keyboard would give him more instant gratification, and arguably, it's a better instrument to learn about music on anyway.

 

[itstooloudMike]

Ukes are great for small kids. I got my 1st Grade granddaughter one, and she loves it. The nylon strings don't hurt their fingers too much, and there are lots of easy 1 & 2 finger chords.