Quick Buying Guide The Rough Guide to Buying an Instrument 1. Instruments as Gifts 2. Which Instrument Should I Buy? 3. Acoustic Guitars 4. Electric Guitars 5. More On Electric Guitars 6. Basses 7. Amplifiers

Acoustic guitars are great for kids interested in folk, country or jam bands (Grateful Dead descendents), and some alternative and classic rock. An acoustic guitar has a wide enough frequency range -- low bass tones to high trebly tones -- that it can serve as sole accompaniment to a singer. The warm, organic tones lend themselves to peaceful music, such as folk songs or country songs, or more active, tuneful genres such as bluegrass. Nylon guitars are ideal for classical music, but serve well for folk or even country. There is a tendency to regard an acoustic guitar as the perfect starter guitar. It's self-contained, requires no amplification, can stand alone as a solo instrument and (parents take heed) it can't get very loud. However, some children are not interested in quiet, tuneful, organic music. They want to scream and make noise. These kids will be discouraged by a quiet instrument, and will quickly grow bored. Luckily, there are options for electric guitar amplification that allow for very reasonable practice volumes or headphones, so the volume factor isn't an issue anymore. Next: Electric Guitars ©2003-2004 Too Many Guitars.