Acoustic Guitars

Fender CD-60 This is a full size acoustic guitar that sounds great and will last for years to come! Available in a variety of finishes and can be purchased new for around $200.

Sometimes our students like to start with a nylon string guitar, especially younger students with developing fingers.
Two we really like:
-Lucida LG-510, comes in full size and half size
–Yamaha CGS103 3/4-Scale

For younger students, check out Loog Guitars.com. These are small scale guitars that are well built and fit the hands of our smaller students.

Electric Guitars

Small Scale: For younger students or those with small hands, Here are two great electric guitars we recommend:
Squire Mini Strat
Epiphone Power Player
Loog Guitars has very small electric guitars as well, for the youngest beginners

Two great full size guitars are the Squire Sonic Series  and the Yamaha Pacifica 112V

Things to Consider

1. Guitars come in many shapes and a lot of kids think the odd shaped guitars are cool. The challenge with the odd shapes is that it is difficult to rest the guitar on your leg while you’re sitting down so you have to always stand up to play. Make sure you try out a guitar sitting and standing before you buy it!

2. The thickness of the neck of the guitar is also important.  If you’re buying it as a surprise, you can measure your child’s hand size and estimate it around the neck. 

Other things you’ll need to go with the new guitar:

1.  For Electric guitars, An Amp

We recommend a solid state amp with about 15 watts. Check out the brand “Line 6” and the model “Spider 3” practice amp. It’s loud enough to practice with and has a lot of effects beginning guitarists will enjoy playing with. 

2.  A tuner.   We recommend clip on tuners – Snark is a great brand and only around $14.

3. Guitar cables.  Cables plug the guitar into the amp.  Monster cables are great quality and have a lifetime guarantee, but feel free to go with other brands too.  

4. A Strap.  The strap needs to fit the child and the guitar.  Make sure it’s not too long if you have a young child!

5. Strings.The guitar will come with strings but you’ll need to buy replacement strings eventually. When strings no longer hold their tune, it’s time to replace them. Like straps and picks, strings come in a lot of different brands and sizes.  We recommend 9 gauge D’Addario strings. Anything heavier will be difficult to play until the muscles in the fingers strengthen and the finger-tips toughen up.

6. Finally you need a guitar case to protect the guitar. You can choose between a soft shell, a semi hard shell or a hard shell.