Good Guitar for Small Child?

[piper_guitarist]

I’m thinking of getting a guitar for my kindergarten aged nephew for the holidays and was wondering what a good option would be that’s rugged and good quality yet won’t break the bank. If anyone has any experience in this realm please chime in.

[Acousticado]

Hey Lynn. Depending on the size of the child and your actual budget, a GSMini or Academy series Taylor would be good. I wouldn’t get one of those cheap First Act type of guitars.

[Birchtop]

The Yamaha JR1 is a great beginner guitar.

[lfoo6952]

May I suggest 2 options? Either buy a small bodied nylon string guitar or a ukulele. Steel strings might be discouraging for a young child. Ukuleles are cheaper and easier to play.

[jcpharm]

kindergarten? maybe start on a ukulele? most 1/2-sized starter guitars are not very good quality (and have horrible intonation and action) until you go up to Taylor quality ($400+) but that's a lot of money (in my opinion) to spend on a true beginner.

[beatcomber]

How 'bout a Gretsch Jim Dandy?

[bufflehead]

Little Martin. It only has a 20" scale, so it will be pretty soft for little fingers if you use light or extra-light strings. Built of HPL, so it's fairly rugged compared to a wood guitar.

[srbell]

The Yamaha JR1 is a good suggestion. I ended up getting my granddaughter a Luna. It all depends on how much you want to spend. The Luna and Yamaha JR1 are both good on the low end for a small sized guitar for a beginner.

[bmoss02]

little Martin, Baby Taylor, Yamaha fs-8XX, or fender CP-60S parlor

[swarfrat]

Taylor for a 5-6yo? You guys are nuts.

[Luckymud]

For a 5 year old, you might want to try something smaller like a guilele. Yamaha sells one for about $100 and you can also find one by Kala for about $150. These are tuned up A-a (like a ukulele with an additional two lower strings). The necks are obviously smaller, and the nylon strings will be much better suited to small, delicate kid fingers. I'd go with the Kala over the Yamaha, as they make really good ukes for that $100-300 range.

You can also try Loog guitars https://loogguitars.com. They are 3 stringed guitars and come with some fun learning cards. Their mini acoustic states it's designed for ages 3+, and is only $80. We have one in our house, and it's great. Much better than a toy, but also takes a pretty decent beating. Good customer service, too.

[piper_guitarist]

Thanks all for your input. I’ll do some digging and see what I can find.

[UncleJesse]

My dad got my nephew (age 8) a 3/4 size yamaha JR1 that sounds pretty decent for not much money.

[619TF]

Definitely NOT a ukelele. This was a GUITAR suggestion thread. I really don't know why some people consider the uke a miniature guitar. It isn't. May as well get the kid a banjo.

Another vote for the Yamaha. Nice guitar at a great price. Don't sweat the steel strings either. When I first started playing my teacher suggested a nylon string and while it was "easier on the fingers" I quickly realized its' limitations as far as the music I wanted to create/duplicate. Start the kid with a real (but kid sized) guitar and they'll learn the right way from day 1.

[Birchtop]

Originally Posted by lfoo6952

May I suggest 2 options? Either buy a small bodied nylon string guitar or a ukulele. Steel strings might be discouraging for a young child. Ukuleles are cheaper and easier to play.

This is true. On the Yamaha JR1, on occasion we have changed out the steel strings with Martin nylons with ball ends for the young beginner students with tender fingers. Once their fingers have toughened up, we put the steel strings back on.