Kara-Moon Forum

A question: my daughter is 10 years old now and she's learning to play the guitar (classical).

It's fun to see how she picked up the taste for music and she's really love to play music.
For the moment she's playing only an acoustical guitar.

Now, I was wondering if it would be a good idea to get her an electric guitar?
She certainly has the interest for trying.

Next question: what should I get her?
If I get her something, I don't want to get her a toy, it should be something that needs to last, without breaking the bank...

Some advice ?

Moon

Godin guitars are inexpensive to buy used, because they are not well-known, and are a bargain if you can find one. The older ones are all mahogany (no maple cap), and relatively small, light weight, and comfortable. Their quality construction will last your daughter a very long time.
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinlgp.htm
(the newer ones have a maple cap which looks good, but adds to the weight, and creates sharp corners on the body which make them uncomfortable for a smaller person - avoid them)

Thanks Oren, just watched one in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwqfUMVIB10&feature=related

Looks and sounds great !

OK, it might take some years before she can play like that !  ;)

Moon

P.S.: Is 40 years still a good age to start playing a guitar ? When I see this, it makes me want to play one of this things...

Moon,
for starting out, particularly for a younger person, I feel that this guitar would be most suitable.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/epiphone-les-paul-special-ii-electric-guitar (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/epiphone-les-paul-special-ii-electric-guitar)

First off, it is within a reasonable price range. There are loads of used ones about.  8)
This is my main electric guitar that I use in my studio recordings and I have traded a couple of them recently.
The scale is 'slightly' less than the common 'strat' copies and the body is very light (for a youngster). It will also last for a very long time as the play-ability and sound are first class within this budget range.

I do not want to disagree with my friend Oren, but outside of Canada his Godin guitars are very expensive. Over here in the UK I often watch these critters on Ebay go for really big bucks  :o  I have chased quite a few of them  :'(

Any more questions I would be happy to answer.

 ;)
James

 8)
Just noticed your 'p.s'   :o

No age limit, maestro  ::)

Determination is the key.
You have no idea how many instruments I started to learn when close to 60  :o 8) :P

 ;)
James

I have to admit that the Asian factories do a nice job of their Epiphone guitars, and Squire James makes them sound great. O0
                   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A personal note:
 - I prefer to support my friends and neighbours when making a purchase - for instance, if I lived in the UK, I'd buy those RotoSound   strings - it just seems like good business -

Indeed. I just restarted a year ago after a 40 year break from playing, so you've got a 20 year lead on me :)

Yesterday, I sat together with my daughter so I'm allready on to it... learning my first song 'Sur Le pont d'Avignon' on a classical guitar.

This is fun !  ;D

Moon

Cool! But I'm afraid you just found a whole new area of cool hardware to explore here! ;)

Very true, and delving into it, I discovered there are more guitars to choose from than synths. Same for the pre-amp and amps that go with it. It's an impossible task to choose something... at least... without some help. Oren and James are putting me on the right track here. ;)

Moon

 ::)
Well ... I can advise on guitars, so long as they are 'budget' versions. I've never been able to aspire to the real quality stuff ... but there again ... a good player can make almost anything sound great  8)

What I cannot advise about is amps.
I never use them, being simply a home-recordist. Everything is D/I (direct input) through a Behringer mixer then straight in to the sound-card. Any effects are through software amp-sims.

 ;)
James

Same situation here, I've owned quite few guitar amps - never liked any of them.,, :D
I go direct into the computer through through one of my Digitech processors (they have USB ports).

Moon, I like this recommendation. The slim taper neck will be helpful for young hands. LP type guitars will also be easier to play than the strat style counterparts. I think there is also an epiphone version of Gibson's LP "studio". Studios are a little lighter and cheaper with the same electronics as the reg model, a maple top, and the neck is not a bolt on. I'd take a look at those. The QC is not quite as good on Epiphones as on Gibson's. Playability varies on the same models. But, you can get a good one by playing through the stock on hand. If you know a good guitar player, take him/her with you to the store!

Wow - that's amazing considering the guitar sound you get. Can you tell me what effect chain you are using? Or do you do that in the computer as well?

My own experience is to have the whole signal chain within the VST set-up.
There are some quite magnificent amp-sim suites out there these days.
If I record by d/i and run it through one of these then the initial signal is dry so that the effects can be changed or modified afterwards, if needed.

I recently got the latest free version of AmpliTube but it is far too CPU intensive for my old 'steam powered' computer so I don't use it. On initial testing the sounds are phenomenal.
There is also a very well respected suite from AcmeBarGig although, once again I had issues due to the same problem.  ::)

My 'go to' amp-sim is GreenMachineII with second choice being FreeAmp2.5 (or3).
Between them they seem to cover all sounds that I need.  ;D

 ;)
James

Another one who goes direct into the soundcard (well via a simple mixer actually) and does all the processing in software.