| Choosing an electric guitar for your child. | | | | gauge. |
| The description usually assigned to kids electric guitars | | | | The thinnest string on a light gauge set of guitar strings |
| is "Short scale or 3/4 sized". | | | | would have a thickness of 0.010 of an inch. |
| But this description, while fairly accurate, isn't quite the | | | | What ages are kids electric guitars good for? |
| whole story. Some short scale electrics are longer | | | | I think for a six year old, up till about ten, a short scale |
| than others, so it's necessary to look at the specific | | | | guitar with a 22.2 or 22.7 inch scale length will work |
| scale length, and whether that's right for your young | | | | quite nicely. |
| one. | | | | One has to look at just how big a ten year old we're |
| A three quarter sized scale length for a kids guitar can | | | | talking about though. Perhaps for a 10 year old, a 24 |
| be anything from a 22.2 inch scale length to a 24 inch | | | | inch scale length will work out just fine. |
| scale length. This may be different for acoustics, but | | | | For kids around 12 years old, I don't think it's all that |
| having decided on an electric is definitely a plus in my | | | | necessary to think in terms of kids electric guitars |
| book. | | | | anymore. |
| Scale length is defined as the distance from the bridge | | | | From my own experience as a youngster, about 30 |
| of the guitar to the nut, so a kids electric guitar with a | | | | odd years ago, at 14 years old I was playing quite |
| short scale length means that the frets on the guitar | | | | comfortably on a Fender scale length. |
| are closer together, making it easier for small hands to | | | | A fender scale length is about the longest scale length, |
| reach across more frets. | | | | at 25.5 inches, and I'm not really such a big fellow. |
| A less obvious advantage to learning on a kids electric | | | | To be on the safe side, for a 12 year old I would say |
| guitar | | | | buy something with a Gibson scale length, which is |
| One extra advantage to learning how to play electric | | | | 24.75 inches. |
| guitar on a short scale length, is that the strings need a | | | | How long will a kids electric guitar last? |
| lot less tension to be tuned up to pitch, making it so | | | | The thing is to see a kids guitar as not just something |
| much easier to press chords and notes. | | | | that'll work as a guitar up till a certain age and then be |
| You may want to put some slightly heavier gauge | | | | useless. |
| strings on the guitar, especially the very short ones. | | | | Kids electric guitars make excellent travel guitars, and |
| A good gauge of electric steel string for a 3/4 short | | | | they're also fun to have around when visitors say |
| scale electric guitar would still be classed as light | | | | "Gee! Look how small that guitar is! |