[Nita Nupress]

I have to leave for a few hours to make some phone calls, but I'll be back later.

[Nita Nupress]

You two guys come to mind here. ;-)

[MississippiMan]

Nita, if he's to buy a new guitar, how much money will he have to spend?

MM

[Nita Nupress]

I got your names from the Freeper Profiles. Hope you don't mind.

[Phantom Lord]

I've got two words for you... Gibson Explorer!

At least thats my favorite.

[clay92]

I would go with what you said in that last paragraph there. Just take him to a music store and buy an inexpensive guitar. Music stores always have sales after Christmas and you can bargain with the store owner to get an even better price. I paid something like $130 for my Cort Indonesian-made Strat clone this way and it plays great!

-Clay

[Eddeche]

My recc: Mexi Strat and a Fender Frontman amp.

Lots of reviews of whatever you are looking for here: http://www.harmony-central.com/User_Reviews/

[Sword_of_Gideon]

Fender Squire Telecaster. It's a decent built guitar, cheap, easy to play & sounds wonderful. If you have a problem with a $200 guitar then go ahead & kick it up a notch & get the Standard Fender Telecaster, however many musicians I know use the Squire for road work since they are a decent guitar & if something happens to it, you're not out a lot of $$$. Just my opinion, but then I'm partial to the Telecaster sound.

[Jn316]

There's no reason you can't let him play the Ibanez. If it's an electronic problem you can fix fairly cheaply...

Also, guitars are now DIRT CHEAP. You can get Fenders (from Mexico) for under $150. Just find one with a decent neck.

I'd suggest taking the Ib to a repair shop, having the elec problem fixed and getting a setup done on it. Polish it up, let him feast on that for awhile.

Oh Yeah, Jesus is Lord. ;-)

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Check out Epiphone, the budget line of Gibson. I have a Epi Explorer I really like and a Epi Firebird that I looove! The Explorer went for $400 new and I picked up the Firebird for $200 used. Both guitars play really nice, and the neck on the Firebird is better than some guitars I've played costing 3-4x more. I play 'em thru a '62 Fender Princeton slaved to a 100 watt TubeWerks thru a 4x10 Kustom cabinet & they thunder! These guitars are a nice halfway point between the cheap junk out there and the high-end stuff. Plus they look cool!

[Senator Pardek]

What kind of music does he play/listen to?

[Revelation 911]

the gretch is for the big boys - get the fender with a decent 15 watt to 30 watt amp - preferably tube - maybe some effects pedals too - (distortion etc)- try this place - we have one on town and they have EVERYTHING Guitar Center

[IowaHawk]

Go to Sam Ash or Guitar Center, get him a Squire Strat & a crate amp. Very good construction & playability, and I've seen them as low as $130.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Unlike ten years ago, there are some very good guitars in the $200 and under range. You can't really go wrong with Fender or Ibanez. Personally, I prefer Carvin guitars, but they start at around $600. Peavey and Fender make good, inexpensive amps. Also, consider gettinq him an inexpensive pedal effects board, like those made by DigiTech or Korg. Being able to use phase, flange, chorus and reverb effects (and sound like his heroes) really makes a difference in a young player's perception of his own progress.

[ForegoneAlternative]

I agree with the "get a [korean/mexican/wherever]" Strat crowd. In addition to a good two-speaker amp, though, get him a good effects box. Sitting on the floor next to my Squier Seoul Special is a DOD GS30. I like setting 63, myself... :-).

[monkeyshine]

How much do you want to spend? Guitar Center has a cheap Fender Stratocaster and Amp special - probably made in China. It's a strat design but made very cheap. Under $200 for both, and he'll sound like a miniature Jimi Hendrix.

On the other hand, he'll want a new one as soon as he joins a band. The thing is, depending on the guitar and amp combo will give you a different sound. I bought a Marshall amp and Gibson Les Paul Studio guitar about 6 months ago and it set me back about $1500, but it was the sound I wanted (Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC - heavy metal sound). I also had a Strat/Fender amp (Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Ray Vaughn - blues/rock sound) or you can go with Ibanez and a Crate amp and get the new rock sound.

And don't forget, you can buy some cool electronic sound modules that will radically change the sound for pretty cheap (although it sounds kind of cheap sometimes, too) but that might be a good compromise... Cheaper gear and an electronic sound module, or some pedals.

[LibWhacker]

Not that I know anything about it, but I once saw this interesting link posted on FR by someone who does know something about musical instruments (Real Saxophonist). Hope this helps. Good luck!

[Landru]

Goto, www.guitar.com or www.musiciansfriend.com & have at it.

As for the GRETSCH...sigh.
Get that *fixed* & keep it for yourself, for Heaven's sake.
The "Ibanez" is a poor man's Gibson.
Kind of like a Sigma is the Japanese made, Martin.
If the kid's comittment & talent are equal to either an Ibenez or Sigma?
You'd probably buy him something better; after he proved that to your ears?

...guitars are like horsepower; how much $$ do ya want to spend?

[Starboard]

If you decide to go the new guitar route, I'd suggest the following options:

1) Epiphone makes a nice line of affordable Gibson knock-offs. Good value for the money, and very playable. Lots of models to choose from.

2) Fender makes a line of lower priced (foreign made) guitars under the Squirer name. Can get strat and tele styles. Overall quality is not great (i.e., wood, pick-ups, hardware) but they play well and are good enough for a couple of years. Some bands use them as back-up axes.

For what its worth, most kids tend to prefer picking out their own instrument rather than using a "hand me down". This was true with my kids even though my gear was high end.

One of the most versatile amps on the market is the Fender Princeton Reverb. Check it out. Also take a look at Crate--excellent value for the money.

Good luck.

[RightOnline]

OK........here's what I'd do (since you've already taken the first step I ALWAYS advise and had 'im learn his basics on an acoustic....):

Take the Ibanez to a luthier and have 'em get it in good working order (just ask around; most GOOD music shops have a decent guitar tech around; doesn't really have to be a full-blown luthier; even our local Mars Music has one killer tech........); get a good "set up" done on it, new strings, etc. Then, give it to him along with a smaller amp; I'd look at a 1-12, probably the Line 6 Spider. Cool little modeling amp, single 12, hotter'n s**t. I have a POD, and I vouch for Line 6's modeling capabilities. Great little practice / studio / stage monitoring amp. Cool tones. That, plus your beloved Ibanez (YOU get first right of refusal if he ever decides to sell it..............make him swear to that :) ) would make a terrific "starter" to intermediate player setup.

Keep the Gretsch. 'Nuff said on that.

If you want to kick this around even more, give a shout.

[Bikers4Bush]

Have him buy something good that's used. Anything brand new is over priced.