Choosing the best affordable guitar for your child is a bit like buying a pair of shoes. Whilst some guitars are objectively better than others in terms of build quality or price, to a large degree it will be a personal preference for look, feel and sound. Because of this, we would always recommend going into a music shop and trying some guitars out where possible. In my experience, the shop assistants usually give helpful advice and will be happy to answer your questions. As different music shops stock different brands of guitar, going into at least two different shops will give you a better idea of what’s available at different price points.
For our students at Guitar Teacher Bushey, we recommend two local music shops:
• Stompbox Ltd in Northwood
• Wembley Music Centre
If you’re more local to London, you may also want to check out the range of guitar shops in Denmark Street, near the Tottenham Court Road tube station.
Not only do you need to consider what size guitar would be the best for you child, you also need to think about they style of music they will be learning and getting the right balance between affordability and longevity.
Having taught guitar to hundreds of students over the past 12 years, I have a seen a lot of different brands. In fact, it’s astonishing how many guitar manufacturers there are now. Short of naming and shaming specific brands to avoid (yes, there are makers that make me wince when I see new students walk in with one of their guitars) I would prefer to give a couple of pointers:
- Price is important. Please avoid anything under £60. You’d be amazed on average just how much worse a £40 guitar is than a £60 one. Our pick of the best affordable guitar for beginners (which we’ll reveal later in the article) is only a little bit more money and will give years more use. The £40 ones often don’t stay in tune, sound terrible and are easily broken. I’ve seen guitar starts to fall apart, cracks form, holes punched and even necks breaking off. Of course, this happens with more expensive guitars too but they are far more resilient as they are made of better quality materials and better made
- Style may or may not be important. If your child specially wants to learn metal guitar, for example, an electric guitar is a must. In this case, you may like to read our blog on the best electric guitar for children and beginners in 2020. Otherwise, for the most part, a general acoustic or classical guitar is generally the best and cheapest way to start. The electric guitar, if desired, can always come later. It could even serve as an incentive, such as a reward for passing their first grade.
So what guitar do you suggest we start with?
If you have a guitar, any guitar, we would recommend you start with that! Within reason, almost anything is acceptable for the first few lessons providing it has 6 strings and can stay in tune. If you don’t have a guitar, we’d recommend borrowing from a friend if you can. At Guitar Teacher Bushey, we offer a guitar hire service to help students get started. After the first few lessons, once you know your child is serious about lessons, your guitar teacher will be able to give you some personalised tips on the most suitable instrument moving forward.
Which guitar should we buy for our child to start guitar lessons?
If you’re ready to buy, there’s one guitar that we almost always recommend our young students start with…
The Jose Ferrer 3/4 size classical guitar.
For beginner students learning classical guitar, this is a no brainer. Whilst a classical guitar is not as suited to popular music as a steel string acoustic or electric guitar would be, the Jose Ferrer is nonetheless a lot more affordable than their equivalent acoustic or electric counterparts and, in our experience, a perfectly fine way to start for most.
The Jose Ferrer is not a professional standard instrument by any stretch of the imagination. However, at around £70, it is the cheapest guitar that is good enough to get started with and to take the first few guitar exams. After that, you can always upgrade to a higher quality instrument that better suits your child’s playing style and tastes.
We’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
What guitar did your child get started with and were you happy with it?