I’ve had a number of young people asking me about guitars lately. I guess it’s somehow related to my oldest getting to an age where some of his friends are starting to play. Now they need solid instruments to really get going on. And since it is an age when parents skip right over the standards and go right for the bling, most of these kids have never played a real acoustic. Most of them have half-plastic Walmart specials that have a machine made paint job that looks like Anjelina Jolie’s tramp stamp.

Sure, it may impress a room full of 12 year olds with its looks, but it sounds like an ass. (As in donkey… that’s not a flatulence line – though on the other hand…)

I could easily say new Epiphone DR-100 acoustic guitar at Musicians Friend and hope they actually apply some reasonable practice hours. But I’m old school and believe in the value of working for it. Or working toward it. And actually playing it and feeling it.

The reality of your first “Real” guitar is that it can color your future instrument choices for years to come. Better make a good one. This is a time to beg, borrow, and… well, borrow a lot. Hit the music shops and play their new and used instruments. Find the right fit. You’ll carry it with you for years to come. Maybe even forever, if you’re like me.

Of the 15 or so guitars I have owned in my life, I have sold only 2.