"No matter what I did, I just couldn’t convince her to spend her loose change on a 108-pipe steam calliope. My musical dreams were shattered."
Dear Mel,
My grandson, Aldo, wants to play guitar. As a toddler, his favorite toy was a plastic guitar with a singing cowboy painted on the top. Aldo dragged that guitar everywhere, twanging on the strings and yodeling his little heart out. Now that Aldo is 8 years old, I want to get him a real guitar. Does anyone make kid-sized guitars that sound as good as regular guitars?
Signed, Doting Grandma
Dear Doting Granny,
Aldo’s a lucky lad. Not only has he found a passion at a tender age, but he has a patron of the arts to help him on his way. Few of us are so fortunate. When I was a tyke, I too desperately wanted a special musical instrument of my own. I pestered my grandma for months, begging her, doing chores around her house, walking her dog every morning, all to no avail. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t convince her to spend her loose change on a 108-pipe steam calliope. My musical dreams were shattered.
Where was I? Right, guitars for kids. You and Aldo will be happy to learn that a few companies do indeed make guitars scaled down to fit younger kids. This is important because trying to stretch little fingers around a full-size guitar neck is difficult, hugely discouraging, and may even lead to strains and sprains. Also it’s almost impossible for a small kid to get an arm around a regular guitar body to pick the strings.
Start out by making sure you buy the right type of guitar for the sort of music Aldo wants to play. If he dreams of being the next Marty Stuart, he’ll likely want an acoustic guitar. But if Slash is his guitar hero, he’d be better off with a solid-body electric and a practice amp. Piccolo’s Music carries both types of guitar in kid sizes. The Yamaha JR mini folk guitar is three-quarter size, but actually closer to half size, with a shorter (21-3/4-inch) scale and slightly narrower neck
for smaller hands. For $129.99, this guitar comes with a gig bag (Editor's note: Currently out of stock but there's more on the way!). A Little Martin or Baby Taylor ($299 each) also works well as a kid’s guitar. For kids with bigger hands, consider the “Ami” ($279) made in Canada by Art & Lutherie. This small-bodied, 12-fret acoustic guitar features a solid cedar top and “big guitar” tone and projection. The Ami is a lot of guitar for the money. The neck is standard size, though, so maybe let Aldo try one before buying.
If you’re looking for an electric guitar, any kid will love to rock out on the Mini Squier Strat ($129.95). The three-quarter scale neck and body are easy to handle, and the axe’s three single-coil pickups and hard-tail bridge deliver big rock tone and sustain. Don’t forget an amp. Decent practice amps start at about $80, but for just $20 more, you might want to spring for a Peavy Vypyr 15. Your budding rock star won’t soon run out of sonic territory to explore with this amp’s 24 different amp models and 11 awesome effects.
(Oh, and Granny, if you’re reading this, all I have to say is, no, the cheap harmonica you gave me did not satiate my desire for a calliope. And while we’re at it, old Boomer didn’t run away that day I came back without him. I sold him to a long-haul driver at the truck stop.)
Signed, Mel
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