[Closed] What guitar for an 8 yo?

I bought a 3/4 Fender classical for around £90. Avoid.

IMO starting out the important thing is to get something that she can gel with. all guitar types are available in 3/4 size so that's not a problem. although christmas is the time for surprises i'd try to really give her what she wants so she's excited about it. maybe take a trip into a guitar shop just to see what she likes the look of?

a steel string acoustic - i did have Yamaha JR1 guitar (small size) which was awesome.

a steel string electric (3/4 size squier strat?) or nylon acoustic is easier on the fingers, but really depends what kind of songs she wants to play and how commited she is

good thing about the electric angle is.. you can get headphone amps, and they're a lot quieter when not plugged in

are you planning on lessons or anything like that?

My daugher had both a small electric & amp and nylon string acoustic around that age, personally I'd say start with accoustic. Sorry too long ago to remember exact brand.

Yamaha CS40 3/4 + lessons - Guitar can be picked up second hand as they are a
"std"

can't go wrong with yamaha for classical (nylon) or steel string acoustics IMO.

best other advice, avoid silly colours, pink guitars are hard to shift later on (I bought and sold guitars on the side for a bit..)

She really wanted a violin

not really any motivation to practice a guitar then, i'd get an instrument she actually will have some enthusiasm for

Pick the one you will all enjoy looking at on its stand in the corner

From vast experience this is where it will be in the short medium term

If it were me I'd buy her a nice little violin and leave her to it, 8 is far to early to be making decisions about what you want to play

Does she have the option to play anything else at school and would she be interested?

Probably what rocketdog said.

How enthusiastic is she really about a guitar? OTOH, at least on guitar you can just pick it up and in an hour be playing the opening lines to pretty much anything in the charts. No cool kid ever took a violin to a beach party. So she might stick with it longer term.

Go down to your local guitar shop. It's like an LBS, but sells guitars. You wouldn't tell a new biker to buy a bike they'd not tried for size on the internet. Ditto guitars. And you wouldnt let them set up their own brakes/gears. Guitars need a bit of TLC from time to time, especially after spending 6 weeks in a hot/cold/damp/dry shipping container from China. Better to pay a bit more in a shop and have it playing properly.

They're also a great source of information. do I want high or low tension strings, or what about high tension trebbles and low bass? That kind of inane beginner question.

And find a teacher that teaches what she wants to play. My first teacher (when I was about 7-8) was great, after a few lessons of scales, chrods etc it was straight onto Elvis.

The next one was a stickler for doing things properly, 2 years of tedium and I quit. He was also a bit 'creepy'.

That said I play my dads old guitar. It has a horrible high action, it rattles and buzzes, and goes out of tune if the sun so much as goes behind a cloud. But it has sentimental value.

A violin and lessons.

None !

Forget the guitar, its the quickest route to idleness, ****lessness and drug abuse.

An eight year old ought to be out damming rivers, climbing trees, smashing mill windows and making dens !

The usual mix of STW advice 🙂 Thanks to all.

Sounds like a trip to the music shop is in order.

She isn't getting a violin (for now). Guitar is a cheap and easy way to explore whether or not she's serious about playing an instrument, then we can discuss the violin...

Cheers! 🙂

Get her a ukulele.

Cheaper, easier to learn, more fun.

My 8yo has just started lessons at school too. I bought him this:

http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/eastcoast-c530-3-4-linden-classical-guitar-in-blue

On the basis that it's only £50 so not a massive loss if he changes his mind.

I'm impressed with it for the price and seems about the right size for him.

Don't get steel strings if you can as they're harder on little fingers.

I'd second a Yamaha.

However I'd also say that not taking to one instrument isn't a guide to anything else. I mean I'm playing guitar 35 years later, but I sort of dropped the recorder 🙂

I was teaching an 8 year old lad a few months ago and he's got a 3/4 Aria classical with nylon strings, which cost about £40-£50 and it's perfect for a youngster starting out IMO.

You want a guitar which isn't too big for her and don't get steel strings - most beginner adults find them hard on their fingertips let alone kids.

If she gets into it keep her on an acoustic for a year, so she can build up strength in her hands and then go electric - a bit like hardtail to full sus....

A decent independent music shop will see you right and the ukulele idea is a good shout - a lot cheaper than buying a guitar.

Yeah but cheap ukuleles never stay in tune.

[url= https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/little-martin/lx1e-little-martin/ ]https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/little-martin/lx1e-little-martin/[/url]

Shirley the right answer is the "full Eddie"

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Cheap, but well made nylon stringed acoustic and a metronome. Starting out on a shoddily built guitar can put you off playing. As others have said Yamaha make decent products at a good price. A trip to a decent shop with the young un is the best way forward. Enjoy!