Daughter asked to borrow, the guitar that the wife bought me years ago. THink it is a Takamine.. or something. I can't play. I was hoping to buy her another one, so that she could have her own.

Any recommendations of where and how much to spend?

Ye olde pawn shoppe.

Musicians Friend would be a good place to start.

[guitars.musiciansfriend.com]

Rondo Music

Acoustics start @ $40 + Shipping [www.rondomusic.com]

Nice folks to deal with & quality axes good for beginners.

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if you don't play the Takamine, why can't your daughter use it? if she discovers she doesn't like learning the guitar you won't be out any more money. if she does want to continue with lessons for a while the Takamine is a good starting point for her to determine what she wants in an instrument.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2009 09:53PM by graylocks.

Cool that you're helping your daughter with this.

Setup will be all important. If it's not done properly, it could be hard to fret the strings, leading to sore fingers, and she'll quit. If you let her use your old Takamine, you might want to have a luthier do a setup on it. If you buy her a new one, low-end Taylors are a good value, and they tend to have good setups out of the box. Known brand too, so it will be saleable if it doesn't last.

How old and how big is your daughter? This is important because if she's a little kid she should have a kid/student-sized guitar. If she's a teen then she should probably have a full-size guitar.

'Might want to send her to her first lesson with the Takamine and have the teacher make a recommendation. But unless that thing is a junker, don't let her use the Takamine regularly until she's got some experience at changing strings.

Musician's Friend is usually the first place I go to check pricing and reviews, but J&R often has better deals on the same or similar instruments. They've almost always got a sale on Washburns and those are very good guitars for the money.
[www.jr.com]

I agree with graylocks. Takamines are generally very nice guitars...if it's going to waste now, why not let the daughter play it. Absolutely make sure that the guitar is set up well, with a nice low action. That's probably a better place to put your money than into an inexpensive guitar. The easiest way to discourage someone who's trying to learn is to give them a guitar that's hard to play.

I also agree with what lost in space said. A Taylor would be nice, or perhaps you could find a nice used Gibson J-45 or Guild D-25. However, that is going to run over $500 (it's worth it in my book, but non-guitar-players generally have a different economic view). An american guitar would probably be best if you could afford it. My experience using mass-market inexpensive guitars has not been good That said, you could spend less (I'm thinking $400 new) for a decent Yamaha, or Takamine and if it gets worked over by a good luthier could be decent.

As far as places to buy, I've found that Guitar Center always has had the lowest prices and greatest selection, and they are often willing to deal. Your best bet is probably to drag your daughter's guitar teacher down to the store to try out and select a guitar. Pay him/her for his/her time...it'll be well worth it.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2009 01:11AM by davester.

Always worth a check on Craigslist; you might find something nice at a good price.

=wr=

When she gets really hooked on guitar playing may be she will get one of these...

[www.patfosterguitars.com]

I would avoid Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, etc. because it's extremely unlikely any guitar you buy there will be set up properly. Look for a local guitar shop that will do a thorough setup on anything you buy. Seagull, Art & Lutherie, low-end Taylors, Walden, low-end Yamahas, there's lots of good inexpensive guitars out there. But the key is to buy from a dealer who will actually perform a full setup on whatever you buy. A good shop will, even on an inexpensive guitar.

I agree with lost in space, a poor setup will quickly discourage a new player.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2009 09:02AM by Yoyodyne ArtWorks.