To think buying a student guitar shouldn't be this difficult

[Soapboxqueen]

Yes. I know nothing about guitars. My dd is starting lessons at school and we need to buy the instrument for the lessons. Only had confirmation of a place a few days ago.

I honestly thought I'd be able to google 'student guitar' and stuff would pop up and I'd choose. Except I don't know the difference between Spanish, Western, Classical and Acoustic (I do know electric 😁). Obviously I don't want to buy essentially a toy either.

Even the local music shop websites are not particularly helpful (focusing on v. expensive ones).

Rant over 😩

Yes I'm being ridiculous

Ask the tutor for a recommendation
Where are you based ? A good store will advise well also

He just said 1/2 of 3/4 size acoustic guitar with nylon strings.

We do have a pretty good local Music shop it's just they don't hold much stock in store so going to see them seems pointless as I'd have to buy online anyway.

I'm in NE England

A classical guitar is essentially a Spanish guitar (Flamenco is different though, so watch out for that). Acoustic and Western are probably the same too - think the 'Western' guitar is likely to be a dreadnought shape, but both will have steel strings.

Most kids start with classical - how old is she?

Ah cross post - that's a classical guitar (nylon strings).

Windows ?

See if this helps. joebarefoot.com/buying-guide-guitars/

You need to go to a shop to try a guitar for size though. Even if if's nut the one you end up buying, you need to know if 1/2 size or 3/4 fits best.

She's almost 10

I'm thinking this one

Possible guitar

This what my uncle said who is really into guitars but the conversation got very complicated very quickly and I ended up even more unsure.

That was my first thought but I'm not sure they have a lot of student stuff in the shop. We couldn't get a bow there when she was playing cello.

You need a 3/4 size Classical Guitar. Classical guitars are the ones with nylon strings. it’s Best to go to your music shop if you have one, they’ll have better stuff. I wouldn’t buy from Amazon or anything. Don’t worry about spending loads at the start as you don’t know if she’ll like it, if she does like it then chances are she’ll be wanting something better quite soon.

we have a local music service where you can hire them. Maybe check that out first.

Unless the child is incredibly small, I wouldn’t go for half size, the frets are too small.

I’ve had Gear4Music brand stuff before and it’s been fine, huge selection online and you can spend as much or as little as you want really

My son had this one when he was on 3/4 size and it served it's purpose very well:

www.musicroom.com/jose-ferrer-estudiante-3-4-classical-guitar-jsf5209b?glid=gb&CAWELAID=120075890000676203&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3aPFpPXz-QIVgrrtCh2UdAh3EAQYASABEgJ7APD_BwE

If she's 10 she will probably move onto 4/4 size fairly soon, so agree with pp that it is not worth spending loads, but don't go too cheap either.

Windows will be grand for a guitar from memory

Thank you

That's a difficult decision. For violins the situation is much clearer, and there is a good after market/re-sale for small scale instruments, but that is the case (based on my experience) for guitars (both as a mum and a guitar player myself).

There is nothing worse or more frustrating for a person than trying to play a "bad" instrument. Some of the smaller size guitars, if they are cheap, sound poor, can have have horrible issues with string height and losing tune. It can stop a child from enjoying it.

And don't go under 3/4 size as mentioned by OP.

Some advice here:
acousticguitar.com/is-my-child-old-enough-to-learn-guitar/
www.schoolofrock.com/resources/guitar/what-is-the-best-age-to-learn-to-play-guitar

This is the thing. I don't want to put her off with an inferior instrument but nor do I want to spend a fortune.

I don't have a problem going to a shop to try them out. It's just they don't seem to have a big range of 3/4 guitars at a reasonable price point so she wouldn't get a choice anyway. It would just be what they had.

Surprised they aren’t providing them

Dd did guitar lessons last year at school and we had to pay £22 but that also covered the guitar hire.

She would bring it home to play, and take it on practice days

It’s her first-just get something OK and she’ll give it up or need something better in 6-12 months anyway

I would ask on Freecycle or local community pages to see if anyone has a 3/4 or 1/2 sized classical guitar you could borrow to check she enjoys it enough. You can also hire instruments from music shops.

The valencia in your first link is ideal for a child beginner, 3/4 size is fine if she's a normal sized primary child.

If she's good, in a few years you can get something bigger and better.

We bought a 3/4 classical pretty cheaply to see if DS would stick with it. Most of them are much of a muchness.

When he was ready for a full-size we took him to JG Windows in Newcastle to try out a variety, but by then he knew much more about it than we did!

They do provide a lot of instruments but guitar and drums they don't.