Music Lessons, Little Rock
How to buy a guitar or bass for the musician in your family...
Subscribe to my feed! It’s free, easy to do and makes me happy!
Picking up where we left off with the Gig Bag Christmas gift blog, some parents have been asking for guidance on buying a better guitar/bass for their child.
So, I put together a few ideas on how to buy an instrument for your loved one (child, adult, or in some cases an adult who acts like a child). I hope these ideas help and let me know what you get!
1. The best thing to do is to take someone that can play guitar with you to the music store. Rely on their experience to determine if the guitar plays well, has good tone, is setup correctly, clear of any defects (scratched paint, loose tuners, missing knobs, etc).
When you have that can assist you in this manner, they likely know who you are buying for ... all you have to do is tell them how much you want to spend and let them go. They'll be able to play several instruments and then give you their best choices.
2. If your musician is your spouse, they've probably dropped enough hints or even told you outright what they want. In this scenario, they've likely already been to the local music store and have played the guitar or bass they want. Or perhaps, they've found what they want from an online retailer like Musicians Friend, Music123 or Carvin to name a few.
At this point, you can be as subtle as you want ...
"Honey, if Santa Clause brought you a guitar for Christmas, which one would he bring"
Or, direct and to the point!
"You can get that guitar you've been going on and on about ... but you ain't gonna play it until Christmas morning!"
In either case, they likely know what to expect on Christmas morning, so the surprise factor is gone. But, the joy factor is multiplied ten-fold because they got "exactly" what they wanted (and probably have been jonesing for it for weeks - so they are going to excited!)
3. If your musician is your child, there are a couple of things you want to do...
- First, establish your budget! No need to waste time looking at instruments outside your price range.
- Second, before you buy online, visit a local music store to see what they have. The main reason is that you can "hopefully" rely on the salespersons experience to get you to the right instrument.
You will have to let the salesperson know three things:
- Budget (how much you want to spend)
- Age/Size of your child (to get a guitar that is not too large to play or too small)
- Experience level (just starting, can play a few simple songs, rocking to Green Day all day and all night)
With this information, the salesperson can show you what you can buy in your price range.
** DO NOT BUY YET UNLESS YOU ARE SHOPPING AT 5:49 p.m. ON CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!! **
Stop! Do not buy! Take some notes on the brand, what you get with the instrument and price. Some guitars/basses come as a package deal with amps, cables, picks, tuners, straps, etc. Some music stores may offer to put on new strings and set the instrument up before you leave. Whatever the added bonuses are, take this information and check the other local music stores or some of the online retailers mentioned above. Save money if you can by going local or online, whoever offers the same deal for the better price.
So, hopefully these ideas helped. Merry Christmas!
guitar bass christmas gift ideas buying a guitar buying a bass carvin musicians friend music123
Picking up where we left off with the Gig Bag Christmas gift blog, some parents have been asking for guidance on buying a better guitar/bass for their child.
So, I put together a few ideas on how to buy an instrument for your loved one (child, adult, or in some cases an adult who acts like a child). I hope these ideas help and let me know what you get!
1. The best thing to do is to take someone that can play guitar with you to the music store. Rely on their experience to determine if the guitar plays well, has good tone, is setup correctly, clear of any defects (scratched paint, loose tuners, missing knobs, etc).
When you have that can assist you in this manner, they likely know who you are buying for ... all you have to do is tell them how much you want to spend and let them go. They'll be able to play several instruments and then give you their best choices.
2. If your musician is your spouse, they've probably dropped enough hints or even told you outright what they want. In this scenario, they've likely already been to the local music store and have played the guitar or bass they want. Or perhaps, they've found what they want from an online retailer like Musicians Friend, Music123 or Carvin to name a few.
At this point, you can be as subtle as you want ...
"Honey, if Santa Clause brought you a guitar for Christmas, which one would he bring"
Or, direct and to the point!
"You can get that guitar you've been going on and on about ... but you ain't gonna play it until Christmas morning!"
In either case, they likely know what to expect on Christmas morning, so the surprise factor is gone. But, the joy factor is multiplied ten-fold because they got "exactly" what they wanted (and probably have been jonesing for it for weeks - so they are going to excited!)
3. If your musician is your child, there are a couple of things you want to do...
- First, establish your budget! No need to waste time looking at instruments outside your price range.
- Second, before you buy online, visit a local music store to see what they have. The main reason is that you can "hopefully" rely on the salespersons experience to get you to the right instrument.
You will have to let the salesperson know three things:
- Budget (how much you want to spend)
- Age/Size of your child (to get a guitar that is not too large to play or too small)
- Experience level (just starting, can play a few simple songs, rocking to Green Day all day and all night)
With this information, the salesperson can show you what you can buy in your price range.
** DO NOT BUY YET UNLESS YOU ARE SHOPPING AT 5:49 p.m. ON CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!! **
Stop! Do not buy! Take some notes on the brand, what you get with the instrument and price. Some guitars/basses come as a package deal with amps, cables, picks, tuners, straps, etc. Some music stores may offer to put on new strings and set the instrument up before you leave. Whatever the added bonuses are, take this information and check the other local music stores or some of the online retailers mentioned above. Save money if you can by going local or online, whoever offers the same deal for the better price.
So, hopefully these ideas helped. Merry Christmas!
guitar bass christmas gift ideas buying a guitar buying a bass carvin musicians friend music123
Comments