kids guitar?

kungfumonk007

Does anyone make a 1/2 size gj guitar for kids?

frater

Eimers does...but they're expensive!

http://www.eimersguitars.com/minimac.html

kungfumonk007

Ouch. . . no kidding, that's no entry level guitar.

jovation

For traveling around, play-at-the-beach guitar, I own a 3/4 size Yamaha steel string acoustic.
They call it an FG Junior, and also a JR-1. It is quite a decent guitar for its purpose, with a 14 fret clear of the body neck, and reasonable action, and no dead spots on the neck.

I have bronze strings on it, but might try a set of silk and steels next.

I assume you are looking to get a young one started on Gypsy Jazz, and you don't want
to pay a fortune. I don't think a 1/2 size archtop is available short of a custom order,
3/4 size archtops are rare, and the ones I've seen are pricey (as with the Eimers).

Yamaha also makes a 1/2 size nylon string, but I'd suggest seeing if your young one can play
a 3/4 size steel string such as the Yamaha. The key is to get them started on a decent and
playable acoustic.

Shawn

Just a thought, but you might want to check out some local guitar stores in your area and just find a scaled down acoustic or electric. Unless your youngster is a child prodigy who's passion is Gypsy Jazz I don't think it's going to make much of a difference. By the time he/she is a few years older they will probably need to upgrade to a bigger size anyhow.

I'd go the cheap route and get one of those "starter" kits that come with a small amp and small scale electric/acoustic guitar. I wouldn't overspend on something they will grow out of.

frater

kungfumonk007 wrote:

Ouch. . . no kidding, that's no entry level guitar.

Sure, but you know, it has all to do with Gypsy Tradition. In fact when the young Manouche start playing they're usully given a 2.000 $ scaled down Selmer replica. They're also given 100 packs of Argentines 010 and a little Ferrari replica to stroll around the camp. It may sound strange but that's the way Bireli, Dorado and all the others started. The hard way.

sketch

frater wrote:

kungfumonk007 wrote:

Ouch. . . no kidding, that's no entry level guitar.

Sure, but you know, it has all to do with Gypsy Tradition. In fact when the young Manouche start playing they're usully given a 2.000 $ scaled down Selmer replica. They're also given 100 packs of Argentines 010 and a little Ferrari replica to stroll around the camp. It may seems strange but that's the way Bireli, Dorado and all the others started. The hard way.

Perltone

If you are not looking for a gypsy jazz guitar, check out a Baby Taylor, about $300.

klaatu

Washburn and other companies also make parlour guitars, replicas of the little guitars that were very popular in the late 19th century. They're not half-sized by any means, but the bodies are smallish (smaller than a classical), and the scale on my 12 fret Washburn is the same as the Selmer short scale. They're not toys, they're actually very nice little guitars with surprisingly good sound. I use mine in my music therapy work.

I started playing guitar at the age of ten after a couple of years on ukulele. This was 1956, and Elvis was just making it big, and of course I had to be like Elvis, so a ukulele just wouldn't cut it anymore. My parents got me a secondhand Kay archtop for Christmas, with Black Diamond strings. Man, was that sucker hard to play, but I persisted. I could manage the regular cowboy chords OK, but my fingers weren't strong enough to handle the barre chords that the chord book showed, so I made up my own method, wrapping my thumb around to cover the 6th string and fretting all the others (I have no idea how I was able to do this, but that's what happened). Much to my delight, when I took up gypsy guitar a few years back, I discovered that my made-up major chord is a standard gypsy voicing.

Anyway, the message is that a little kid may not need to have a half-sized guitar. You'll have to be the judge of that. Good luck, and let's hope the youngster gets off to a good start to a life of guitar playing.

Or maybe you should just hand the kid to some gypsies for a few years and tell them to send him/her back when he/she can play La Gitane note for note. For gypsies, that probably about age twelve.

Rene

I gave my son a ukulele at 6 months, and it was great to see his eyes light up with excitement. He's 2 and a half now and he's got a great right hand rhythm, better than many adults. No left hand chords yet though! He's taught himself too. No pressure.

So ukes are good, then move on to cheap half and three quarter size classicals, then steel strings.