Your Kid’s First Guitar – Acoustic or Electric?

Just like with any beginner, figuring out your kid's first guitar will inevitably bring you to a very tough question. Should you get them an acoustic guitar or an electric one? There are two schools of thought when it comes to this problem, and both have pretty good arguments in favor of their opinion.

Ultimately, the choice is yours. What we are going to do today is present you with the fact that will give you a good picture regarding the pros and cons of both acoustic and electric guitars. Based on that, you should be able to figure out the best solution for your own kid.

Acoustic Guitars

Let’s start things off with acoustic guitars. For the most part, the arguments for getting your kid this type of guitar are already well known. First and foremost, the nature of acoustic guitars will force the new player to learn the basic techniques correctly. Every mistake is heard, and acoustic guitars are generally unforgiving when it comes to fretting and picking the strings.

It might be a bit harder for a child to get used to the action of acoustic guitars, but the overall effect it has on skill development is too big to overlook. Another pretty important advantage acoustic guitars have over electric ones are the various sizes.

It’s much easier to find an appropriate size of an acoustic guitar for your kid than it is with electric guitars. If you want to learn more about different guitar sizes, check out our article titled Finding The Right Guitar Size For Your Kid ’Finding The Right Guitar Size For Your Kid’.

Finally, an acoustic guitar doesn’t require any additional equipment. You don’t need to have an amp in order to enjoy the sound of an acoustic guitar, and your kid can take it anywhere. It’s a very simple type of guitar, and its simplicity makes it one of the best learning tools in general.

Overall, there is a pretty strong case to be made for acoustic guitars. However, if your kid is more attracted to the sound of an electric guitar, you might want to consider taking that path instead.

Electric Guitars

We have already mentioned why acoustic guitars are more appealing from a purely technical stand point. However, if your kid is insisting on having an electric guitar, that is something you should definitely take into consideration. After all, the whole idea is to get your kid a guitar they want to play, not one that you feel is right for them.

When it comes to electric guitars, things get a bit more complicated. Generally, if your child is really young, the guitar's size might be an issue. There are some scaled down electric guitars, but those are generally not all that great.

If your kid can play a full sized guitar, that is one huge issue that you don’t have to worry about. Now it comes down to what kind of electric guitar you should go for. In terms of sound and electronics, just about anything will work for a young new player. One thing to consider is that you should definitely get an amp of some kind to go along with the guitar.

Feedback is a pretty important thing, especially when someone is just starting to learn the basics. Electric guitars are generally a bit heavier than acoustics and might prove to be too heavy for your kid. Weight is something you should absolutely keep in mind when shopping for an electric guitar. If you need some ideas when it comes to specific models, you can refer to our list with good guitars for children.

Assuming that your child is comfortable with a full sized guitar, there are certain model specific details that we should mention. If you are working with a decent budget, you are probably going to want to get a good guitar for your kid. Preferably, you want a model that has a simple fixed bridge and no complicated electronics.

Tremolo bridges are complex and require a bit of experience and knowledge if you want to fine tune them. Learning the basics of guitar maintenance on one of these might be too much for your kid at first. Because of that, a simple fixed bridge will work a lot better.

Finally, make sure that you also get a comfortable strap to go along with the guitar. Maintaining proper posture is not only essential from the aspect of learning the proper technique, but you also want to avoid having your child get injured in any way. A good wide guitar strap will prevent any problems that might arise.

Final Thoughts

Whether you will go for an acoustic or electric guitar, depends on what your kid wants, and what they feel comfortable playing. Sure, you might have a bit more maneuvering space with acoustic guitars, but if your child is really obsessed with electrics, it is definitely worth taking that route.

Both the acoustic and electric option offer a decent amount of options. No matter which one you choose, you will find something that fits your kid and makes them excited about playing guitar. Just remember to find the proper size, and to keep things fairly simple.

A bit of research is necessary if you want to go through this process with no issues, but it’s well worth the effort in the end. We hope these tips we’ve mentioned above will get you closer to your goal. Rock on!