Hi, 

 

I'm planning to buy a 3/4 scale electric guitar for my 5 years old kid. I've seen some options on the web, but I can only find a couple of models in local shops here (Madrid). After a few phone calls there are some Ibanez Mikro, Fender Squier Strat Mini, and some other low-quality options. On the web I've seen an ESP LTD EC-JR that I like but I've not seen any reviews yet.

 

So, here is the point. Do you use any 3/4 scale guitar with RS 2014? Any recommendations?

 

Thanks a lot / Fernando

I think that Fender Squier Strat Mini is based on the popular Hello Kitty model, which gained a lot of popularity awhile back, but was discontinued. There are a lot of YouTube videos of people playing the Fender Squire Hello Kitty model, so you probably do a search for that for reviews, It should be similar to the Strat Mini.

 

The ibanez Gio Mikro might be the better buy, though, as I heard the Gio budget line of Ibanez guitars have decent build quality. They are made in Indonesia I think, instead of Japan, but the Gio line of guitars have received good reviews.  Famous guitarist Paul Gilbert, who has his own line of expensive signature guitars with Ibanez, also plays a budget Gio Mikro in one of his instructional videos. He has huge fingers so the guitar looks really tiny on him.

 

 

I know Fender released short scale Strat and Telecaster called the Fender Modern Player Short Scale series. These are 24inch scale guitars, but come with 11 gauge strings (might be too strong for a kid), and as far as I know, these are only available in the UK. Haven't seen them around in the US yet (no idea about Spain, either).

 

You could also look at Fender Mustangs. These are 24inch scale guitars. There are Squier Mustang models, too, and you probably could be light gauge strings on them.

 

Fender Japan has a number of shorter scale guitars of various sizes, but as far as I know, they are hard to get, and have to be imported.

 

Maybe your kid will be genius guitar player, and speaking of Paul Gilbert, here's an 8-year-old girl playing Gilbert's "Scarified" on a full-sized Ibanez guitar. Freakin' amazing, her fingers are so tiny!

 

Hi flyingturtle

 

Thanks a lot for your well detailed reply. For all I've read the ibanez Mikro could be the best option. I've been told that the ESP LTD EC-JR is only distributed in US, so I guess that the chances of purchasing it in Europe are scarce (and I don't want to pay high shipping costs plus customs). 

 

Fender Modern Player Short Scale series could be something to investigate. And about Mustangs, the problem is the weight  for my son that I guess would be too heavy for him. 

 

My son is always wanting to play with me in Rocksmith and has shown a lot of interest for rock and roll. Its a pleasure to sing him Sweet Home Alabama and other classics like if there is no tomorrow. I hope that he will be way better than me (and it is no difficult at all) in the future :)

 

Take care and thanks again / Fernando

Umm. Just skip the 3/4 scale and get him an inexpensive full scale. He will grow into it and will not have to relearn positioning on the neck. If weight is the concern then try to pickup a used headless guitar. They make an adapter that will allow you to use regular strings and if set up right they are great little guitars.

Hummm, I think that with these 3/4 guitars you can use an standard tuning as long as you use elevens. What do you mean by positioning? I'm concerned with something that is around 4 kg for a kid that weights around 23 and has a large size compared to him. But then it is a question of going with him to a guitar shop and looking how it fits with him. 

 

Thanks / Fernando

My boy is 8 and learning on a cheap electric 3/4.  Thinking of moving up to an adult short-scale 24" electric like a Squire Jaguar for him as a next step. He's average height and I think short-scale full-size (if that makes sense) is the way to go next...

Hello again,

 

Today we went to a local shop and they had the Ibanez Mikro in black. I liked how it was built and after playing a little with it and looking at my son's face I knew it was the guitar for him. 

 

I've left it at the store because I want some DR Neon 11 gauge strings to make his life easier at the beginning of his journey with Rocksmith. 

 

Thanks for your help and best regards / Fernando

Nice. Thanks for the update and congrats on your (son's) guitar. I'm sure you'll have fun rocking on it, too.