Guitar Hire and Purchase
You’ve finally decided to start learning an instrument. Exciting, isn’t it?! But there’s still the rather daunting question of which guitar, bass guitar or ukulele to buy, or whether you need to buy one at all…
If you’re going to give your musical journey a fair go, it is paramount you have something to practise on at home. Nonetheless, with beginners’ instruments costing £60-100+, price is certainly a consideration; especially if you have not yet had the chance to take your first lesson and see if you like it! We’re here to help with instruments available to hire from only £2 per week so that you can get started without the risk, inconvenience and cost of purchasing an instrument.
Simply get in touch and we’ll see if we have the right instrument for you.
Choosing the right guitar for you or your child
Type of Guitar
- Acoustic guitar (metal strings)
A bit harsher on the fingers than classical guitar to start with, but more suitable for pop / rock, and looks cooler too! This is the type of guitar you’ll see pop musicians like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran use - Classical guitar (nylon strings)
As nylon strings are softer on the fingers, some students start with this regardless of the style of music they learn. If learning classical guitar, this is the only one to go for. - Electric guitar
We don’t generally recommend starting with an electric guitar. There is no musical reason not to, but as it requires and amp too, it is inherently a lot more expensive and there’s a lot more stuff.
We hire and sell the guitars with or without an amp, though we wouldn’t suggest getting an electric guitar without an amp unless you already have one at home.
Size
The size of the guitar will depend on how tall they are for their age, but we would generally recommend:
- <4 –
Ukulele - 5-6 years old; 1/2 size guitar or guitalele (ukulele body with 6-strings tuned like a guitar)
- 7-12 years old; 3/4 sized guitar. This is the most popular option
- 13+ – full sized. Even with full sized, there are different body sizes. We don’t recommend a dreadnought or bigger for anyone under 6ft.
Cost
Hire fees
Guitar, bass guitar, ukulele and keyboard
| 3/4 Acoustic or Classical Guitar | Electric Guitar | Electric Guitar + Amp | Acoustic Bass Guitar | Ukulele (soprano) | Basic Keyboard | Drum Practice Pad | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Returnable deposit | £70 | £120 | £240 | £270 | £60 | £185 | £14 |
| First 4 weeks hire | £15 | £25 | £30 | £30 | £15 | £30 | £5 |
| Weekly hire after first 4 weeks |
£3 | £3 | £5 | £4 | £2 | £4 | £1 |
Hire fees shown apply to Guitar Teacher Bushey students.
Non-students may hire instruments subject to availability and pay an additional £15 for the first 4 weeks.
What happens after the first four weeks hire?
At this stage, you’ll have three choices.
- Return the instrument and we will refund your deposit minus any outstanding rental fees and deductions for damage where applicable. We understand that the odd bump and knock is to be expected so will not charge for this within reason
- Continue hiring on a rolling basis from £2-5/week – see prices above
- If you’re happy with your hire guitar, you can simply keep it in lieu of your deposit. Just let us know if this is what you’d like to do. If the guitar you hired was not new, we’d be happy to swap it for a new one at no extra cost. This may take up to two weeks if we do not have any in stock.
If you’re ready to buy…
If you’re ready to buy a guitar, we’d be more than happy to help guide you with some tips and advice. We can even organise for a guitar to be ready for your child’s first lesson. We sell Tiger guitars which in our experience (and we’ve seen a lot of different brands!) are the best guitars on the market at this price point for most students. Try out our guitars with help from our team to pick the right size and style for you or your child. Our prices are similar to Amazon (sometimes even cheaper!) at roughly £85 per instrument, but we also supply a better quality case, check the instrument for you and make minor repairs if necessary, tune it up, and recycle the packaging.
If you’d prefer something a little different, we even have a relationship with Stomp Box in Northwood with Guitar Teacher Bushey students receiving £10 off accessories such as a guitar case when purchasing a new instrument.
If your heart is set on an electric guitar, I’d recommend reading our blog on “The best electric guitar for children and beginners.” We may also be able to source you better than internet prices with one of our suppliers, so please get in touch to see how we can help.