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Post subject: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 2:33 pm
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My son has mentioned he would like a guitar for his birthday. His father and I do not know anything about guitars. A friend told us fender was a good name. We wanted to get him a starter pack. He will be eight next month. We are trying to decide between the FA-130 and FA 125s. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. By the way he is a country music fan if that helps.


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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 4:55 pm
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photog549 wrote:
My son has mentioned he would like a guitar for his birthday. His father and I do not know anything about guitars. A friend told us fender was a good name. We wanted to get him a starter pack. He will be eight next month. We are trying to decide between the FA-130 and FA 125s. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. By the way he is a country music fan if that helps.


Unless he's a very tall 8 year old you might want to get him a smaller scale guitar first.

That said, the Fender starter packs are usually a pretty decent value.

The FA-125 looks a bit better to me (amazon has a good price right now) Black guitars are pretty, but they almost always look dusty five minutes after you clean them<G>

The most important thing is getting a guitar that he doesn't have to fight... you can't expect him to fight a poor guitar and learn at the same time...

Experienced musicians can get some good sounds out of instruments that were be a horrible choice for a beginner...

We've got the skills to make a guitar sound good even with the action too high, wrong strings, and a lot of other problems that would make learning much harder for a beginner...

Good strings on a reasonably good guitar with a well setup action can make a huge difference in his enjoyment.

It will cost more, but a music store that backs their sales, and possibly will be looking to get him in for lessons will have a larger investment in getting him the right guitar and keeping you happy...

Just my two cents worth<G>

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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 5:03 pm
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If I were you I would go into a music store, even with your son, to look at different models and styles of guitar. I agree with tchall in that a full-size acoustic may be a bit big for an 8 year old. Get him to try them out. Take your time to try a few out and see what he is comfortable with.
If you or your husband don't know anything about guitars you could maybe see if you can take someone along who does to help your son whilst trying them out. :wink:

Good luck with the hunt and let us know how you get on. :D

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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 4:56 pm
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My opinion is that starter packs are a complete waste of money. I guantee this, because I did this myself, as soon as your son is able to play at least three songs, he will realize his "starter pack" guitar is not that good. Then he will want to trade in, and the most they could give for a guitar that comes in a starter pack is like $50. If your son just wants to plink around and kindof show off to his friends that can only play guitar zero, then get him the starter pack, if your son is serious, then at least get him a made in Mexico Fender Standard, only like $499 and used usually run for $300- $350. And with this one he can keep for years, unlike the Squiers in the packs. I still have mine, and it's a 1999, my third electric, and my first REAL Fender, (my other two were Squiers). If your son has a burning passion, and he enjoys the task of practicing for hours, do him a HUGE favor and get him a Mexico Standard Fender. I only wish I had this option when I started out. OH AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT BUY A FENDER STARCASTER!!!! AGAIN THAT IS A FENDER STARCASTER!!!!!!!! Please go to a real music store and not Wally World or Best Buy, or Target.

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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:05 pm
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Just wondering what guitar you ended up buying now that its Sept.2011, i have few suggestions for you.


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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:21 pm
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wferguson wrote:
My opinion is that starter packs are a complete waste of money. I guantee this, because I did this myself, as soon as your son is able to play at least three songs, he will realize his "starter pack" guitar is not that good. Then he will want to trade in, and the most they could give for a guitar that comes in a starter pack is like $50. If your son just wants to plink around and kindof show off to his friends that can only learn to play guitar zero, then get him the starter pack, if your son is serious, then at least get him a made in Mexico Fender Standard, only like $499 and used usually run for $300- $350. And with this one he can keep for years, unlike the Squiers in the packs. I still have mine, and it's a 1999, my third electric, and my first REAL Fender, (my other two were Squiers). If your son has a burning passion, and he enjoys the task of practicing for hours, do him a HUGE favor and get him a Mexico Standard Fender. I only wish I had this option when I started out. OH AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT BUY A FENDER STARCASTER!!!! AGAIN THAT IS A FENDER STARCASTER!!!!!!!! Please go to a real music store and not Wally World or Best Buy, or Target.

^ I agree. Don't go for starter packs. When your kid, or any guitar beginner learned how to play at least 5 songs, they will then soon want the real deal of guitar. If no one within your family knows about guitar, then go to a store with your son and ask assistance from the store to choose a guitar. So yeah, what guitar did you buy for him? Did he like it?


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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:48 pm
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IMO, a good musician can make a cheap guitar sound not that bad, and a good guitar sound great.

Anyways, what guitar did your son en up getting? :D


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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:32 pm
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I must chime in about guitar packs. They're NOT a waste of money! Starting to play guitar like any new hobby, it's filled with uncertainty. You don't want to spend 400 bucks on a guitar, 200 on an amp, 25 on a tuner, 25 on a guitar cable, and then have your kid realize that playing guitar is not for him. I bought a Squier pack for 200 bucks and it was worth every penny. I later sold the amp for 30 bucks and the guitar for $110. I kept the tuner, the cable and the stand. Best 200 bucks I've ever spent, I now have a bad case of GAS and play my guitars every single day.

And it's not like my Squier was a piece if crap. Sure the jack was iffy, had bad shielding and it was a bit buzzy, but it played great, the neck was nice and even te fretwork was good with no shrapnel edges. I sold it ecause I bought me a Jackson and wanted an acoustic.

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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:15 pm
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I strongly recommend making your own starter pack!

I've played Strats from starter packs and a Les Paul from Epiphone that's a model used in their starter packs. Out of the box, the Epiphone was abundantly more playable. For an absolute beginner, I'd strongly suggest an Epiphone Les Paul. The Epiphone is humongously easier to setup and was highly playable and thoroughly inspiring to me as compared to the Strats. The strats were nothing but a source of frustration, one short-coming after the next to the point of some Strats being utterly unplayable due to substantial defects and extremely cheap hardware.

You can get a cheap, used Fender Mustang I amp for $50, $60 that will be extremely playable as compared to all starter amps, which are junk.

You can get the rest cheaply...tuner, strap, strings, picks, etc.

You can get all that for less than a starter pack to if you shop around!

Once your son learns a few songs and does his own research on guitars, he'll figure out what works for him! Meanwhile, he'll be able to play the Epiphone and Mustang 1 out of the box without much fuss so he can figure out whether or not he wants to continue on!

A cool starter pack would be a new or used Epiphone Les Paul and a new or used Fender Mustang I. This what I would buy my son if he expressed an interest in playing the guitar when he was younger!

I'd go to a place like Guitar Center so you can return items he dosen't like or are defective (you're taking a huge risk buying used where there's no return policy unless you are very experienced at doing so).

Good luck!


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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:41 pm
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wferguson wrote:
My opinion is that starter packs are a complete waste of money. I guantee this, because I did this myself, as soon as your son is able to play at least three songs, he will realize his "starter pack" guitar is not that good.


Not arguing the point that they don't put Custom Shop guitars in a "Starter Pack"

What do you do; though, when you spend $300 on something that's completely wrong for the player?

A starter pack is just that... Yours taught you what you liked and what you didn't and helped you make a amore experienced choice on your next guitar...

A NAME brand starter pack is going to be a cut above the "Store Brand" gear, and buying one from a reputable MUSIC STORE comes with that store's commitment to their customers... however good or bad that might be...

A STEAL in my opinion is the little Les Paul Jr that comes in the Rocksmith game...

The best part of the value is that playing the game will teach you to play... not just push colored buttons...

My kids were mad at me because I wouldn't put Rockband or any of the other "controller" games in the house...

When I brough home Rocksmith and my youngest plugged in his Harmony (Strat clone he got as a project guitar, you oughta see it now) ALL WAS FORGIVEN...

Most "Starter" amps are trash, but still good enough to use as a headphone amp.

My #1 son got a Strat Squire with money he'd earned/saved and I added a Fender Frontman 25R the next Christmass... It's quality gear with a good sound...

He; however, was a player of a few years experience and got to try everything I own first... he knew what he liked... And I knew that a well made and clean amp would better suit him than adding a bunch of low end effects built in...

His brother's pawn shop guitar came in the house missing parts and looking rough... We'd been reparing guitars together and I thought he'd rather build his own than buy one...

Turned out the single coils have that classic sound and the (slightly) looser windings give it a vintage sound that people go out and pay Big Money to duplicate<G> Gor $75 bucks he got a Honey!


wferguson wrote:
"some Strats being utterly unplayable"


That's why the guys hanging around the music store are there... so that customers have a place to get satisfaction.

Sure the prices reflect keeping the rent paid and lights on... but for folks that don't do their own tech tweaks it's the way to go!

Just to set the record straight, some Very Expensive guitars have shipped wi less than terrific setup... doesn't happen often, that's WHY they are expensive.

Ibanez used to ship it's "Pro" models with the nut left high... so the shop could customize them for the customer... but that was a whle back<G>

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FSR Fender 60 Anniversary Strat HSS MIM, Gibson ES 335, Taylor 555, Ovation Custom Balladeer-12, Baby Taylor, Fender Princeton Chorus (stereo), Fender Champ 600


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Post subject: Re: help buying my son's first fender
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 1:05 am
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Well the original poster doesn't have appear to have reposted with she finally went with. :?

Shame I really was curious to see what she went for.

I would point out that we ended up speaking about electric starter packs when it was acoustic she was looking at.

She is probably sorted now but I tried an entry level Yamaha F310 the other day for a new pupil I have. I really wasn't expecting much as I play a CPX-8M and have had APXs and LLs over the years.

I was absolutely blown away by the tone, setup and playability....... :shock:

This guitar cost less than £100 (she got it 2nd hand for £25 :shock: ) and, bar the fact it isn't electro, I could happily gig this thing!!!!

Plays like a dream, factory set up is amazing and the tone for a smaller dreadnought is full and not lacking at all.

Have to admit, it blew any Fender acoustic I have played right out of the water...........

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