I am a 15-year-old girl who has been playing piano for 7 years, and flute for 3. I have shown a lot of musical talent, and I'm interested in expanding my expertise to guitar. I have the funds to buy one that's fairly high priced (I'm looking for between $500-$700). I'd like to get reccommendations for guitars that are good beginner instruments to those that are intended for medium players. If anyone has knowledge about this, or knows someone who does, I'd appreciate any info I could get at pianobabe56@hotmail.com, or even here at the forum. Thanks!

Woah... I'm 15 (boy) and been playing (piano) for 2 years... what grade are you? I've also been playing guitar for 1 year and I have a very dodgy $60 acoustic I got from the markets. DON'T buy one of these! They aren't very easy to use. Your best bet would be to look at, and test, various guitars in your price range and decide which you'd prefer.

I've also got some 30 year old Maya electric but I don't know how much it costs because it's 2x older than me. :p It works fine though... very easy to play.

I've been playing guitar for fun and occasionally profit for 49 years. I've had many different guitars and can't resist stopping in at any shop I pass which sells guitars to try out the latest models.

I think the best guitar for you, in terms of cost, sound, and playability, would be an Ovation steel string acoustic. These guitars have a sweet albeit slightly small sound for an acoustic, but they are very stable, as the back and sides are made of a synthetic acoustic material, the soundboard of traditional wood. The necks are similar to electric necks, ie, easy to finger, smaller than the classical nylon or most acoustic steel necks. Many Ovations in your price range have electric pickups and eq switches built in, in case you ever buy an amp.

Nylon string guitars are easier on the fingers at first, but you'll still get blisters till you callus, just not as severe. Push on, you'll toughen up (it may slightly dullen your piano touch). Nylon string guitars are usually harder to finger because the strings are higher from the fretboard and the necks are bigger.

Good luck!

If you're getting a classical guitar, I'd recommend looking at Yamaha or Takamini. They're factory made but generally great quality for the money.

Or if you're looking for folk, like a dreadnought, I have Yamaha F-335 that's a decent value and sounds good--especially when someone else plays it.

There was a thread a bit back started by Penny and the guitar folks here had lots of great recommendations on all sorts of brands. See it here.

My 14 year old is playing a Baby Taylor (3/4 size). It is beautiful and you would be amazed at the sound it produces given it's size. It would last you many years, not just a beginner instrument.

Enjoy, guitar shopping is fun!

I had a Baby Taylor and I just couldn't get the thing to stay in tune. Like it would lose its tuning big time, with three day old strings, during a tune, and again, and again. I've known others with the same problem. Were our guitars flukes? BeeLady, does your child's Baby Taylor stay in tune? Maybe they've cleared up this bug, as I bought one of the first ones made.

Pianobabe56,

You haven't specified if you are interested in playing acoustic or electric.

There is a definate difference in playability between the two. With an electric you can get a "lighter" touch not to mention all of the sound modeling you can get into with the many accessories that are on the market. True, a draw back is you need an amplifier to play through, but it is something to think about.

Bassman

I've played electric for 4 years, and am generally considered a viruoso. My main guitar is a mid-price Ibanez, an S470 to be exact, with DiMarzio pickups retrofitted after I bought it. I've played literally hundreds of guitars of all different types, and this model is my absolute favourite, in terms of tone, feel, and ease of playing. It retails for £479 UK, not sure what that is in US$. Ask over at jemsite for more information on US Ibanez prices. Ibanez guitars are considered by many, including Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, to be the finest guitars available, so you really can't go wrong with one.

I have a beginner ibanez, that I feel competes with higher end models. It cost $200.oo with a case. I really like the sound and it has a nice fretboard. If Your interested you can pm or email me and ill send you a recording.

I'm 15, and, I can't help you choose the right guitar. The three guitars in my house (an electric, an acoustic, and an 18-stringed-double-neck) are really my dad's. I didn't pick 'em out at the music store, but he did a while ago.

Instead, I hope that you make use of these links once you actually choose the instrument.

http://guitar.about.com
http://www.freeguitarvideos.com

There are some good things on those sites.

Good Luck!