Well, that settles it, get him the David Gilmour Signature model!

C'mon, man! Be a good dad!

steamthief,

I used my BC Rich Warlock (widow headstock/ floyd rose tremelo/the works, he would have loved it) as a trade in for my Fender Stratocaster. BC Rich's are cool guitars, but lack that Strat sound. I have a 16 y/o daughter I bought a guitar for last year. After much debate I finally just let her choose the one she wanted.

She ended up getting a Lace Huntington. It is a Strat look a like. It sounds great and not as heavy as a Strat. (She was worried about having it on her shoulder for long periods of time).

I guess in the end we can hope they want something more contempory in looks and sound, but as long as it gets them playing, I would do the BC Rich. Maybe later down the road he will decide that he wants a Fender, but that has to be his decision. Keep in mind that Fender HSS with the FLoyd Rose Tremelo I spoke about, it might be the one to get him to consider a Fender. Best of luck...keep us posted on what he decides.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Thanks again for all the advice. I may just go with a more "metal" guitar, although the kid likes the Strat - he just doesn't dig bright colors or bursts on it, he does like black. He's also listening a bit more about the downsides of having pointy axes - chips off the points, i.e. He's slowly turning the corner...

If he's just starting out, why would he need an expensive Stratocaster? A quality Standard Fender guitar would be an amazing guitar for a kid to have. I'm 15, use a Standard Telecaster, and couldn't ask for a better guitar.

Like I said earlier, if he wan'ts a different looking guitar than the classic four (Strat, Tele, SG, LP), get him a Mustang! Great sounding. Whammy bar. Hot pickups. 22-Fret Neck.

Its a hell of a lot better than what I started playing on!

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Devon

'08 Standard Telecaster
'80 Gibson Sonex Deluxe
'95 Standard Stratocaster ('63RI)
Hot Rod Deville 212

To me a $550 guitar is not that expensive if he is already playing (intermediate player).

http://prod.samash.com/webapp/wcs/store ... &x=16&y=12

Not as expensive as a 1-2 thousand dollar guitar (i.e. MIA Fender Standard or Gibson LP).

Mustang=$700

http://prod.samash.com/webapp/wcs/store ... &iscached=

Damn for that price I'd buy the Highway 1 Stratocaster for $50 more. Anyways, I do not want to get into a pissing match over this. I was just giving him some suggestions. And I agree that the $400 Fender Stratocaster is a good model as well.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Will you be my daddy too?

DITTO! I made bagels for two months to buy my first (and only!) Strat! (1978)

If you guys or gals out there were my son or daugter, y'all have been playing for a while, and showed great interest/talent in playing, then yes I would buy y'all or at least help y'all buy a $550 guitar if that is what you wanted.

If you were a new beginner, I would pay for a good $150 to $350 dollars for a good starter guitar.

My first guitar I bought on my own (I was 16) was a $435 Squire by Fender Stratocaster HM III. HSS configuration, Rosewood neck, FLoyd Rose Tremelo. A very good guitar to shred on at the time. I worked 2 months straight back then for that guitar.

In today's guitar market...$550 for a good guitar to shred on is relatively cheap compared to the MIA Fenders and Gibsons.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

I would try to convince him first, and if that didn't work I'd buy him a lower end metal-style guitar. That way if he changes his mind (as he should, in my opinion) you haven't thrown $500 down the drain. In my experience, warlocks and similar guitars chip and go out of tune quickly.

Anyways, that's my take on it. Do whatever is right for you. Good luck..

Well, my main concern is getting something of quality - stay in tune, neck won't warp, that kind of thing. I'm pretty sure a MIM Standard would handle that - my MIM classic 60's Jazz is on a par, inho with a MIA instrument. A used Strat on craigslist should run about three bills, a new one at GC probably not much more.

Honestly, I'm not that familiar with the "metal" guitar brands, so I can't make judgment on their long-term quality. I have three Fender basses - Korean "big Fender, little Squier," MIM and MIA, and all are built to last. If it ain't broke, why fix it, right?

I'd love to adopt a few of you and be your daddy, but I've got two more kids coming up, and the 10-year-old wants drums. That won't be cheap!

well, if it's quality you want, you can't lose with a fender strat.

I can't think of a 14-year-old who would argue with any new $400+ guitar, even if it's not exactly what they had in mind. I certainly wouldn't.

The reputable brands are fine for metal guitars. i have a BC Rich Warlock from the '80's and it is still like new. My ibanez even launched out on to the highway(was winter, and icy,) from one of those overhead storage box things and although the paint is totalled,(this was around 15 years ago,) the neck is still excellent, and it still plays well.

all i can say is make sure its something that inspires him to play. If its a guitar he perceives as boring, he won't look forward to playing it and will hurt his passion for playing in general which is the more important priority. It happened to me when i was around that age and luckily my father realized it and i woke up to a les paul one christmas and i've never had that problem again ... I had to save up to buy my fender though...and the one after that...and the one after that...etc etc. ..... the answer may not be a fender...but its a good place to start