Many toy manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon and are producing specific toy guitars at a reasonable cost. This is to the benefit of parents since many kids may ask for a new instrument, then after realizing it is too hard to play, put it in the closet to gather dust. Also keep in mind that a toy guitar can be much easier to play for a child than a normal one.

While shopping for a toy guitar, it can be a bit overwhelming. With so many choices, many parents can get easily frustrated. However, you must keep in mind that selecting the right guitar can make a big difference in the joy your child will get out of the instrument. You don’t want to buy a cheap, gaudy guitar that makes it too difficult for your child to hold, nor do you want to buy a premium guitar right off the bat either.

With all of this in mind, here are a few toy guitars you might want to consider for your child.

The Hasbro Power Tour Electric Guitar is one of the hottest sellers. By using touch sensors and lights, this guitar will teach your child how to play up to 12 programmed songs, including the catchy “Wild Thing”.

The “Fisher-Price I Can Play Guitar” set uses a similar color-coded method to help teach your child how to play. Simply pop the song and game cartridge in and your kid is ready to rock. Comes with a strap, one game cartridge, a strumming pick, and sticker pads to decorate the guitar.

If you are looking for something more realistic, then on the higher end we have Jay Turser’s shark guitar. It is designed for the small hands and fingers of a child, and has a sleek shark design. The painted design really makes this guitar stand out and is one that almost any child would find “cool”.

The Shark comes with a strap and gig bag. Also included is a battery-powered amp so the guitar can be played anywhere.

Remember to keep the age and experience of your child in mind when selecting a toy guitar. The last thing you want is for it to end up in the basement, never to be heard from again!

Kids guitars

How To Find A Good Electric Guitar For Your Child

Beginning to play the electric guitar is a fun and exciting way to introduce a child to music. However, buying electric guitars for kids is not as easy a task as it would seem. If you are searching for an electric guitar for a child, you need to think about a few things. Read more about how to find the best electric guitar for kids

What To Look For When Buying An Acoustic Child’s Guitar

Starting a younger child on the guitar is a great idea. Not only will they get a great start on a great instrument, but it will also help them to develop hand-eye coordination as well as fine motor skills. But, there are some things to look for when purchasing an acoustic guitar for a child. Here are a few buying tips and suggested models to consider. Read more about buying a kids acoustic guitar

Selecting A Toy Guitar

Toy guitar sales have been on the increase over the last several due to the popularity of such video games as Guitar Hero and Rockband. Now with popular culture becoming more musical with shows such as American Idol and Disney’s High School Musical, more and more kids are asking for a guitar. Read more about how to buy a toy guitar

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Why Cheap Electric Guitars May Not Be Worth Buying

Just like any other instrument, electric guitars are produced at many different quality levels. I’m sure that you have seen guitars that sell in large department stores – these are usually the lowest quality. Then there are high end guitars that can cost as much as $10,000 or more. Of course, you don’t need to spend $10,000 to get a good electric guitar. Let’s looks at some of the ways that you can tell the difference between a good electric guitar and a cheap electric guitar. Read more about cheap electric guitars

Bass electric guitar

How To Select The Best Bass Strings

They are at the heart of any guitar that has ever been played – guitar strings. They are the most basic part of any guitar, you can not play without them. However, not all bass string is created equal. When it comes time to purchase new bass strings for your guitar, you should think about some things… Read more about buying bass strings

How To Buy Bass Guitar Parts Cheap

Like most instruments, a bass guitar is composed of many different parts. If one of the parts on your bass guitar is not functioning properly or you are putting together your own bass guitar, you might find that buying bass guitar parts online is a less expensive way to get a hold of the components that you need. Sometimes, it’s just easier to find the parts that you are looking for when you shop around online. Read more about bass guitar parts

How To Select Bass Guitar Amps

Selecting bass guitar amps is a very important decision to any player. Which is why there are a few elements that go into what bass guitar amp you should choose. Let’s talk about how to choose the best bass amp and which models are the best bass amps on the market. Read more about how to buy a bass guitar amp

First of all, you probably don’t need the most expensive guitar strings in the store – especially if you play a lot. It’s sometimes tempting to purchase more expensive strings, like Elixers. But if you play often, almost any kind of string will need to be replaced after the same amount of time, which can average from every week, to every month or two (depending on what you play and how often).

With this in mind, you will probably be looking for nickel wound strings. These are the most basic kind that are available all over the place. Ernie Ball strings are a pretty popular brand that produces nickel strings. They will give you a good sound and they are not expensive at all. Plus, if you can find them on sale it’s always a good idea to stock up and buy more than you need since strings never expire.

Think about what gauge of string you will need. Gauge refers to the thickness of the strings and can be described as ‘light’ for thin strings and ‘heavy’ for thicker strings. Heavier gauge strings would be best for a guitarist who will be playing mostly chords and/or accompanying other instruments. Plus, heavier strings will last longer since they are thicker and can take more of a beating. Lighter gauge strings are more appropriate for a musician who will be playing lead. The thinner strings bend more easily and sound best for soloing. However, the drawback to lighter strings is that they will wear out much faster than heavier strings.

Also, remember to always buy enough strings to replace all of them at once. Even if you feel like a few of the strings on your guitar are still in okay shape, you should change them all at the same time. This is to ensure that all of the strings are producing the same brightness and sound quality. Of course, if you have recently replaced your strings and only one of them breaks, you will probably be okay with just replacing that one.

Put all of these things in the back of your mind and remember them the next time that you go out to buy electric bass strings.

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Bass parts
Bass guitar and amp

You should check out the manufacturer’s website first to make sure that you know exactly what bass parts you are looking for. It might be a good idea to jot down the part number if it is available. If the manufacturer’s website is not actually selling the parts or the prices are higher than you would like to pay, you can check out some sites like www.ebay.com or even www.amazon.com. These sites can put you into contact with retailers and ordinary people that might have just what you are looking for.

These sites are best for bass guitar parts like replacement tuning pegs and replacement volume and tone knobs. There are specialty sites for the more intricate parts of the bass guitar. On these specialty sites you can purchase the nut that holds the strings in place, a new bridge for your bass or even a new pickguard. But, you always need to make sure that any part will fit your guitar or you will be wasting money. One part that many people don’t realize that you can purchase online is the saddle. On a bass guitar this is usually two pieces that hold the strings above the bridge and pickups.

Don’t forget that you can also pick up the basics like replacement bridge pins for an acoustic bass. You can also buy bass guitar accessories such as picks, strings and straps online as well. But, what if you are looking to build your own bass guitar? You can find finished and unfinished bass guitar bodies through online manufacturers. Then you can find a matching neck and headstock through the same or a different manufacturer. Don’t forget that you will need to buy some quality pickups as well.

All of these bass guitar parts can be purchased online. If you are looking for something general, you can check out eBay or Amazon, but for more important parts I wouldn’t trust sites like this. You will want to find the website of a company that specializes in what you’re looking for.

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Electric bass strings
Bass guitar amps

First, you will need to consider the bass guitar and amp that you will need. If you are looking for a small amp that you can use at home, then you should look into the Peavey – Max 110 20W Combo Bass Amplifier. For around $150 you can grab this 20 Watt amp with a 10 inch speaker. It uses what is called TransTube circuitry that can give the amp a vintage sound that can turn into a modern sound with the flip of a switch. It works well enough at it’s higher volumes that you could even use it for a low volume performance, like a school jazz band. If you are looking for a cheaper practice amp, look for a Behringer BX108 Bass Practice Amp. It is a 15 Watt amp with a great sound for less than $90.

For those of you who are looking for a larger amp that you can gig with, you should look for a amp stack. So, you will be buying an amp head and an amplifier. You should consider looking into a company called Marshall for these kinds of products. The Marshall Haze MHZ15 Full Stack will give you all of the power that you are looking for. A stack of that size is really meant to be played at louder levels. But Marshall produces products that sound good a lower volumes as well.

If you are looking for something in between, you could look into the Behringer ULTRABASS BX1200. It comes in at 160 Watts of juice with a customer 12 inch speaker. It will provide you with a lot of volume, but this kind of amp is known for sounding great at lower volumes. You can think of it as a kind of hybrid between a practice amp and a stack. You get the best of bother worlds.

There are also much smaller bass amps that may be called minis. Marshall makes several minis. These are, in the opinion of most, a waste of money. They usually run around $50 and are more a novelty than anything else. Stay away from minis and follow what I’ve pointed out above and you should find a great bass amplifier.

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Bass string
Bass guitar accessories

Best acoustic guitars

What Are The Best Acoustic Guitar Models?

When you are looking to buy the best acoustic guitar money can buy, you obviously want to get the best model that you can. One of the biggest factors in this is deciding on which brand you would like to buy. Not all brands are created equal – so let me tell you a bit about which manufacturers make the top acoustic guitars. Read more about the best acoustic guitar models.

Tips For Buying a Cheap Acoustic Guitar

Manufacturers of acoustic guitars make different models at different levels. That means that a great brand name may produce a low end cheap acoustic guitar that isn’t of very high quality. So you can not judge on brand name alone. Let’s talk about some of the things that you should look for to tell the difference between a good acoustic guitar and a cheap one. Read more about cheap acoustic guitars

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Tips For Buying An Old Guitar

An old guitar can be an joy to own and play on. When you are shopping around for a vintage guitar, you should know a few things first. Here are some tips to remember. Read more about buying an old guitar

1. Old guitars are not always more valuable

Just because a guitar is older, does not make it an antique guitar. In fact there are many brands that have been overproduced or where just never worth anything at all. Do not pay extra money just because a guitar is older.

2. Check all elements of the guitar

As instruments get older, parts break and stop working. Before you commit to a purchase, you should check every element of an old guitar. If you are looking at an old electric, that means that you need to actually plug it in and play on it. Use the pickup switch to check that every pickup is working. Then you should make sure that the volume and tone knobs are in working order.

If you are looking at an old acoustic guitar, then you should be sure that it still has a pickguard attached. Either acoustic or electric, you should check to make sure that the tuning pegs are working properly.

3. Look for bending in the neck

If you were to set the guitar on it’s back and look at it from the side, the fretboard all the way to the bridge should be completely flat. If the neck has bent upwards at all that is a sign that the instrument has not been taken care of. A neck that bends up will result in high action on the upper frets and cause the guitar to go out of tune very easily. This can be repaired but it might be expensive.

4. Make sure that it will hold strings

This seems obvious but many old guitars are sold with less than six strings. A lot of people purchase the instrument knowing that they will put new strings on anyway, only to find that the strings were missing because of broken components. You should check to make sure that the bridge is intact and that the nut is not broken (that’s the band at the base of the head stock that keeps the strings in place).

Before you buy any old guitar, you should always get a second opinion as to what the value might be. Vintage guitar dealers often know a lot more about the true value of an old guitar than you might. Don’t be taken advantage of – do your homework before you buy.

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Acoustic guitars cheap
Top acoustic guitar

First off, you can not beat the sound test. Just pick up the guitar and play a little bit on it. You don’t even have to put your fingers on it. Just playing the strings open created a D 6/9 sus 4 chord. You can hear what the guitar actually sounds like. You are probably going to want a warm sound that really resonates through the body of the instrument. You will most likely want to stay away from any type of ‘tinny’ or ‘twangy’ sound.

Also look at how the guitar stays in tune and how the tuning pegs work. If the guitar tends to get out of tune easily or the tuning pegs can not twist easily, then you are probably looking at a cheap acoustic guitar. Smaller guitars are also known for getting out of tune easily.

You should examine the action of the guitar. That’s the space between the frets and the strings. Low action makes it easy to press the strings down onto the frets, while high action can make your fingers tired very quickly. Check the action above the twelfth fret (usually marked by two dots). The action should be the same height above the twelfth fret and the third fret. If it is not, then the neck may be bowed inwards which is not a good quality to have.

A good acoustic guitar will most likely have a fretboard made of Rosewood or Ebony. From time to time you might find a good acoustic guitar with a Pao Ferro wood fretboard, but they are not common. You may want to consider staying away from Maple fretboards which are commonly used on cheaper models and create a very bright but dense sound.

A good acoustic guitar’s body will likely be made of solid Mahogany. A high end guitar may be made of Korina. But, you should stay away from Soft Maple wood, as it is inexpensive and does not have many good qualities.

It is possible to get good acoustic guitars cheap if you keep these tips in mind. However, remember that the sound is most important – even if an acoustic guitar does not fall in line with other desired characteristics, you should not pass up an acoustic guitar with a great sound.

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Antique guitar
Top acoustic guitars

The top acoustic guitar around may be Martin. They have been producing very high quality guitars since 1833. However, the brand has become like many widely known brands of instruments – you may be paying more for the name on the guitar rather than the quality. So, there are several other brands that you might want to look into.

One of the most under represented acoustic guitar manufacturers is called Taylor Guitars. They have a long line of great acoustic guitars at different price ranges. If you are looking for a high end guitar, check out the Taylor 300 series. Each instrument in this line has solid wood bodies, as opposed to many other brands that use laminated wood on the back. The Taylor 300 series features Tropical American Mahogany necks with ebony fretboards. Plus, you can use the on board electronics to plug your acoustic into any amplifier.

Another great company is Washburn. You can grab a pretty low cost Washburn for under $600 and still get amazing quality. Many of their guitars feature a Rosewood fretboard (my personal favorite) with mother of pearl inlays for your fret dots. Plus the Buzz Feiten Tuning System is standard on all Washburn guitars – this is an amazing system that makes it easy to tune your guitar.

Takamine guitars are also a very nice acoustic choice. They are imported from Japan and in 1978 they were one of the pioneers of placing on board electronics on acoustics making them acoustic/electrics. They have continued to be the standard in the industry for acoustic/electronic as far as many players are concerned. The great thing about Takamine guitars is that even their lower end models are still high quality, making them a good choice for younger players who are not looking to spend too much money.

Larrivée is a brand out of Vancouver, BC Canada that produces a very full, warm sounding acoustic guitar. The good qualities stretch across their whole line of acoustics no matter what price level you are looking at.

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Old guitars
Cheap acoustic guitar