Hi all:
Long story short: looking for a good (probably used) guitar for my 13-year-old son to play in rock band at school.
Would like to keep the price at $250 or under if doable. My first thought is buy used.
Number one importance is going to be play-ability and little to no intonation issues. So a guitar that can be set up by your average dad without having to spend an extra $100 at the local music store to have it setup.
I think a 24.7" scale is better. I say that because right now, he has a Squier Bullet (25.5" scale) and he picked up my AS-93 and he said, "Wow! Your guitar is so much easier to play than mine!"
And he's right. His Squier Bullet isn't really that great. And getting it setup is frustrating. So now of course I feel guilty about buying him a $120 guitar.
Of course, I don't know if it is the slightly shorter scale or the better action of the neck width or ??? that makes him think my AS-93 is so much better to play than his Squier Bullet.
So playability for a 13-year-old boy who is slightly smaller in stature is most important. I would just give him my AS-93 but they are kind of big body wise and it's not a really cool looking guitar for teenagers. Maybe there is something with a thinner neck, too? He struggles with Barre Chords no matter which guitar he plays.
Next on the list would probably be looks. He isn't into a specific music style yet. He is learning Seven Nation Army and Summer of 69, so that kind of tells you what his musical tastes are. He is also learning Cars, by Gary Numan, and astute observers will note that their isn't actually a guitar part in Cars. So a guitar with flexibility would be better than a guitar that excels at one thing.
Probably last would be "tone" really because we can always upgrade pickups later. We will likely get a used Boss Katana so just any guitar that sounds pretty good through a Boss Katana is fine.
Anyway, thanks in advance for suggestions. I've looked at some other brands but Ibanez does have a reputation for having good playability for their lower-level / mid-level guitars. Maybe there are a few great deals out there on overlooked guitars???
Long story short: looking for a good (probably used) guitar for my 13-year-old son to play in rock band at school.
Would like to keep the price at $250 or under if doable. My first thought is buy used.
Number one importance is going to be play-ability and little to no intonation issues. So a guitar that can be set up by your average dad without having to spend an extra $100 at the local music store to have it setup.
I think a 24.7" scale is better. I say that because right now, he has a Squier Bullet (25.5" scale) and he picked up my AS-93 and he said, "Wow! Your guitar is so much easier to play than mine!"
And he's right. His Squier Bullet isn't really that great. And getting it setup is frustrating. So now of course I feel guilty about buying him a $120 guitar.
Of course, I don't know if it is the slightly shorter scale or the better action of the neck width or ??? that makes him think my AS-93 is so much better to play than his Squier Bullet.
So playability for a 13-year-old boy who is slightly smaller in stature is most important. I would just give him my AS-93 but they are kind of big body wise and it's not a really cool looking guitar for teenagers. Maybe there is something with a thinner neck, too? He struggles with Barre Chords no matter which guitar he plays.
Next on the list would probably be looks. He isn't into a specific music style yet. He is learning Seven Nation Army and Summer of 69, so that kind of tells you what his musical tastes are. He is also learning Cars, by Gary Numan, and astute observers will note that their isn't actually a guitar part in Cars. So a guitar with flexibility would be better than a guitar that excels at one thing.
Probably last would be "tone" really because we can always upgrade pickups later. We will likely get a used Boss Katana so just any guitar that sounds pretty good through a Boss Katana is fine.
Anyway, thanks in advance for suggestions. I've looked at some other brands but Ibanez does have a reputation for having good playability for their lower-level / mid-level guitars. Maybe there are a few great deals out there on overlooked guitars???
