Baby Taylor vs others...

[dannopelli]

My son turns five in a month and is begging for a guitar. When he grows up and learns to play I plan on giving him any of my guitars, (other than a certain one of my Andy's and a Martin which are really special to me.)

So to get him started I was looking at a Baby Taylor or something similar. Then this Alvarez came up on ebay. Ity seems to be a very high quality guitar with nice appointments for only about $60 more.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alvarez-MSD1-3-4-Guitar-w-Baby-Taylor-Hard-Case-NEW_W0QQitemZ300212567310QQihZ020QQcategoryZ33022Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I know this is a lot of money spent for a five year old. I REALLY would like to spend less. But I can tell you that when I sit around and practice he stays with me the whole time. He can already strum to a beat while I finger chords. And I can hand it down to his brother then sister who also seem to want to play too.

He is also dying to learn the piano. But our piano is a 200 year old antique that got damaged in a move, and they want $1000 to restring and tune it. This seems like a better deal to me.

Any thoughts? I need replies quickly as I might want to pull the trigger on this before it goes away.

[tom]

not having played the alvarez it's hard to say. the taylors play real easy(nice for a beginner) and are nicely in tune. no they don't sound great, but i don't know how the alvarez sounds either. i know how my kids treated stuff when they were that age, so i wouldn't over spend on cosmetics.

[dannopelli]

Thanks for the advice! Good point on the cosmetics. Like all little kids there is not much he can't break! If he cracks the neck on a Taylor you can just screw a new one in too!

I am most concerned that the action is such that it is easy to play. I really don't want him to get discouraged becasue he is fighting the guitar.

[tom]

taylor is real good about parts, i had a body break on one i got for a friend, and they sent a new body and it went together real easily. they do play real easy for a kid. the more i think about it the more i'd go for easy playing and save the money for when he'll appreciate it later.

[dannopelli]

Yeah I am thinking the same thing. Plus he'll appreciate the next guitar, which will surely be full sized and have better tone.

[getgo]

Don't overlook the Breedlove C20. They are really incredible for the money and they sound better than the Taylors and I am a true to the bone Taylor nut. I think you can find them for about the same price as the baby Taylor if you shop and deal.

[dannopelli]

Thanks for all the input!

[axeman]

The Baby Taylors are easy to play.... plus if you keep it around and he moves on to another instrument, you can always string it up in Nashville tuning. I have played several like that and it's pretty cool, by itself, and with other instruments. I know of several guys that buy these just for Nashville tuning.

I haven't played the Breedlove that "getgo" mentioned.... but would suspect it is a decent instrument too. As Tom mentioned, Taylor service is really good.

- Keith

[dannopelli]

The important thing is does it stay in tune and how easy is it to play. Remember this is for a five year old.

I have two Martins, an HD 28 and an SPJC 16, and while to my ear they both sound better than similarly equipped Taylors, the Taylors ALWAYS are easier to play.

I did a side by side with the little Martin and the Taylor Baby and the Martin did sound better. But the Taylor was easier to play. So I have eliminated the Martin.

Also, the Taylor has that bolt on neck. If he breaks the neck or body fixing it will be easier than a glue on neck guitar.

So I think I am going to go with the Taylor.

Thanks again for all the help guys.

[wondermoose]

I think the Baby Taylor is a safe bet. A friend down the street has one and a smaller body Martin. They Taylor is certainly easier to play. I have a small body Martin for traveling and you kinda have to battle with the action. I know it could be setup to fix that to an extent but I think Taylor is the way to go for travel/younger player guitars. Plus, you can play it too!