Quality under $100 possible?

[TripleB]

Just got through paying some on my daughter's college loan so I'm rethinking how much I can truly spend on a first guitar for my son and a first guitar for me. I'm a Math teacher so I'd love to have them when we get out (June 14th) for our seven week break so we will have time to really work on learning how to play. Right now I still think I'm going to be purchasing two, one for me and one for my 11 year old son (5'2", 140 pounds, going into 7th grade).

Is it possible to purchase a guitar that will be enjoyable to play (ie: not frustrating because of action, frets, strings, etc.), has a good sound quality, will stay in tune, and will hold up until we're able to afford better, for under $100 each ($200 total for 2)?

I know that means I would have about $200 to spend and could just get one better quality guitar, but I'd really love for my son and I to work through the chords and songs together.

I have no idea what I'm looking for that would give an indication of a decent guitar in that price range, but some that have received better than average reviews are:

Rogue Starter Guitar $50 (7/8 size) https://www.guitarcenter.com/Rogue/S...stic-Guitar.gc

Rogue RA-100D $70 https://www.guitarcenter.com/Rogue/R...stic-Guitar.gc

Jasmine S-34 Cutaway $94 https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jasmine...stic-Guitar.gc

Jasmine S-35 $93 https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jasmine...stic-Guitar.gc

I know I could buy one really cheap guitar ($60) and one pretty good guitar ($140), but I thought it would be nice if my son and I had similar quality guitars. I know there are probably decent used guitars under $100 but being a newbie I really have no clue as to what would make a guitar a good buy or a bad buy if it is used.

Thanks for any and all help!

TripleB

* edit: have searched CL for larger cities within a 60 mile radius and find very little of quality under $150

[bluesfreek]

I think it's great that you and your son are learning guitar!

Now that being said. The $50 Rogue guitar is a 7/8 size not full size.

The others seem ok but if you can bump up your budget a bit I'd suggest trying out a Yamaha F325 or F335. New they run about $149 but a used one would be way less. Yamaha make sturdy reliable guitars that will last for year's.

Good luck!

[devellis]

In your price range, playability is going to be the most important thing. Make sure that whatever you get is set up for optimal playability, either by the shop you buy it from or by taking it to an independent guitar tech. Allow enough extra in your budget to have a competent tech adjust the guitar if that isn't a service the seller provides as part of the sales price. Alternatively, play every guitar you can find in your price range and choose ones that feel the best when you fret the strings. It can be helpful to play some more expensive guitars to get a sense of the difference in feel between an instrument that is set up well and one that isn't. If you have a friend who plays, bring him or her along to get a more familiar perspective on playability.

If you want learning to be an enjoyable and successful endeavor, choose guitars for playability above all else. Appearance is the most obvious feature of a new guitar but it's the least important. A plain guitar that plays well will bring a lot more satisfaction than a fancy one that's a struggle to play, believe me.

[JBCROTTY]

With a son about to enter college I can completely relate to your interest in keeping the cost down. 2 decent guitars for $100 is not going to be easy - you must buy used gear to get decent stuff for the lowest possible dollar.

It has been stated here but cannot be stressed enough: if you get poor quality instruments the journey of learning is likely not going to last long. Most of those brands you mention are poor quality - you will be frustrated and that will make it really challenging to push through the inevitable hurdles you will face on your guitar learning journey. You have to find instruments that will play easily - forget every other criteria.

You have a couple of weeks before your June 14 target date - be patient and search hard for decent used stuff. There are deals to be had out there but you need to be patient, thorough, and look every day. Buy used - not new. You will get better quality at good value buying used.

Craiglist is likely your best shot because you can pickup locally with no shipping. Also look at Reverb. Search for Yamaha acoustics in both places. Even the cheapest Yamahas are much better quality than most of the starter junk you will find out there. I've never used Ebay but many people on here swear by it. You might also visit a few local pawn shops - those can be hit or miss but plenty of people have scored good used gear at pawn shops. Also look at Guitar Center used inventory - they will ship from anywhere in the US to your local store (if you have one) and you can pick it up. Some really good deals on used Yamaha FG800's in their used inventory right now.

You can setup a feed in Reverb based on specific search criteria - then Reverb delivers a running list of the available inventory that matches your search criteria - brand, cost, condition, used vs. new etc. Its a great way to find items that match your specific criteria without having to sort through thousands of listings that don't make sense. Most sellers on Reverb allow offers - you can offer a price you are willing to pay for the instrument and the seller can choose to accept or reject it. You might get lucky.

Be patient and persistent and I think you will find a couple of instruments that give you a good chance to learn.

[taylorgtr]

Any new guitar (at any price point) is going to include the dealer's profit margin, as well as the builder's - so while there may be some lower priced good guitars out there, you're much better off setting the retail price point a bit higher and going used.

There are a number of really good lower-priced guitars out there these days, and since a lot of people take up the guitar and give it up in a year or two....they go for cheap on Craigslist.

If you start with a retail target of $300 or so....I bet a number of these will hit the used market at $100...just because the seller wants the cash more than they want the guitar....

So...I'd look at lower-end (but well-built) models from:

Eastman
Recording King
Yamaha
Seagull
Simon and Patrick
LaPatrie
Takamine
Sigma

You'll have to work harder to find them, but they're out there.

[JBCROTTY]

A quick search on GC site:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Ya...r-114236690.gc

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Ya...r-114303923.gc

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Ya...stic-Guitar.gc

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Ya...r-114295391.gc

These likely won't win any beauty contests, but they will be playable and are, in my opinion, aggressively priced.

[DM3MD136]

I'm sure they're hit or miss in terms of setup/playability, but there are a ton of used Fender/Yamaha acoustics on the Guitar Center website in the $60-90 range... I bet many are bought as starter guitars and then either traded in for an upgrade or just rarely played as the owner lost interest in learning.

I'd suggest searching to see if any are relatively local to you and then going in person to try them out. Depending on the manager of the day, maybe you can get them to throw in a quick setup and strings to get playability dialed in.

Reverb has a bunch as well, but you have to buy sight unseen and pay for shipping, so you're taking a bit more of a gamble. This open box Fender is on sale for about $110 shipped which seems like a pretty decent one to take a shot on:

https://reverb.com/item/11611597-fen...tural-open-box

[TripleB]

Originally Posted by JBCROTTY

A quick search on GC site.

These likely won't win any beauty contests, but they will be playable and are, in my opinion, aggressively priced.

Do they offer free shipping on used items?

I searched my three closest stores and only found 3 guitars under $120, and one was for a lefty:

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/In...stic-Guitar.gc

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Fe...r-114308604.gc

I appreciate everyone's input, and especially your honesty!!!

TripleB

[JBCROTTY]

GC will transfer any used inventory to your local store for free. You can pick it up in store - no shipping charges - you only pay the listing price. You can search the entire US used inventory and consider it local to your store.

I also think the GC 45 day return period is applicable for used gear - if you decide you don't like the guitar within 45 days of purchase you can return it to the store for free and a refund. CHECK THAT BEFORE YOU BANK ON IT. But I believe that is accurate except for vintage guitars.

[taylorgtr]

If your budget is tight, getting something shipped sight unseen is a big risk (it's a big risk at any budget)....but I'd stick to things you can actually see and touch.

I'd stick to the brands above - not because they're significantly better than others, but because they're usually in good supply (Yamaha being the biggest), and their QC in the factory is decent.

A quick price search in my local Craigslist showed 8 Yamaha F/FG/FS series guitars priced at $100. If you see anything posted up to $150, you might be able to negotiate down to $100. I'd look through my local listings, see what's available in the $100-150 range, and go play a few. If you're not sure what to look for, bring a guitar-playing friend with you.

[gabriel_bc]

Originally Posted by taylorgtr

A quick price search in my local Craigslist showed 8 Yamaha F/FG/FS series guitars priced at $100. If you see anything posted up to $150, you might be able to negotiate down to $100. I'd look through my local listings, see what's available in the $100-150 range, and go play a few. If you're not sure what to look for, bring a guitar-playing friend with you.

This is very good advice - especially the part where you bring a knowledgable player along with you to test drive them for you.

[v32 finish]

I think the last page of posts above, everyone has dialed you in pretty well to what you need to do. My advice wouldn't be much different; for that price, it's going to be a challenge to get quality. Playability is key issue #1, as stated.

Search locally first in Craigslist and Guitar Center, but if you don't really know what to look for that well, it's not going to be a huge hurdle to have one shipped from a different GC. I would look in the $100-120 range, like a couple that he posted links for. The first one I clicked was a FG800 for $119 which IMO is perfect and exactly what you should be looking for. I wouldn't hesitate to call that guitar center and ask to speak with their tech, or their guitar sales associate, and ask them to put that guitar in their hands. It's common practice in this type of community when buying online or sight unseen to have someone inspect the instrument in person while they relay over the phone what they're seeing. In this case, the physical blemishes would be less importance; I would just explain your situation and tell them you really want something cheap and good build quality, whch Yamaha is known for, and ask him to play it and about the playability. On a cheap guitar like this, they might just tell you it's OK, when it's not, but more than likely you'll get an honest answer. I think it's hard to go wrong following the advice so far in this thread.

I can't stress enough... those other brands are tempting with their cheap prices, but you're setting yourself up for disaster (or at best a very frustrating experience that likely won't last) if you buy guitars from any of those brands... Rogue, Jasmine, etc etc etc... I would not trust ANY guitar under 100 new. And in that price point or area, Yamaha is absolutely the only one I'd go near, unless I found a used deal on an Alvarez or other brand people have listed here. Don't be tempted by the price tag, take the time and the extra couple dollars and do it right. I know it's an investment, but maybe you can buy one now, and take a bit of time and buy the other one. Whatever you have to do, I'd make sure that you find a couple used Yamaha's, and I think Guitar Center and craigslist are your best bet, as has been mentioned!!

Sorry.. seems like alot of typing without a lot to add, but if you take away one thing from this post... I would just stress to find a guitar with great *playability* and low action... it doesn't seem like a $60 setup on both guitars is realistically in your pricerange, either, since that costs more than half your guitar budget, so it's even more important you get 'em easy to play right out of the gate. I really do believe they need to be Yamaha, but I do recognize there are other options out there that might work, but in that price range there's gonna be way more with Yamaha on the headstock. Hope this helps!!

Do a search of the GC "Used Gear" database, the one that searches the whole country, not just your local store, and go from there -- find a couple Yamaha FG's or FS's around 100 bucks and call the store. If it checks out, have 'em sent to your store and your on your way.. that's probably gonna be easier than messing around with craigslist and garage sales and pawn shops anyway, and you have a return window. Can't argue that.

Whatever happens, enjoy!! If you haven't already, you can learn a few chords just by watching youtube, even if you don't have a guitar. I think this is important because then when you go to pick them up, you can at least strum something to see how it feels. Let us know if you have any questions and good luck on your journey! Guitar is a very rewarding journey.. one of the best in my life.. but it's not easy in the beginning, so don't give up at the first hurdles!

Scott

[Steadfastly]

Stay away from those Rogues. They are cheap in price and quality.

Look for a used Yamaha. Just make sure the necks are straight and you'll have two pretty nice guitars for your budget.

BTW, a very nice idea for you and your son. Enjoy!

[fazool]

IMO, not really.

If you could go up to 150-200 each you could get two guitars you would be quite happy with. Look for Yamahas or used Ibanez Artwoods

[justonwo]

In my opinion, no.