3/4 scale Les Paul for 6 year old.

[young guitarist father]

I would like to build a high quality 3/4 scale Les Paul Studio for my 6 year old son. Can anybody tell me how to get a 3/4 scale LP body & neck.

 

[rockskate4x]

dude, you could get him a 3/4 scale guitar for 3k+ (probably 5k+) dollars, but I think it would not be worth it because he would grow out of it before you know it and all that money would go down the tube. Just get him a nice Paul ($1000 to $2000 should be sufficient) when he is big enough for a fuller scale length.

If he doesn't have a guitar now, get him a beater 3/4 size and see if he sticks with it. Don't spend more than $200 on it, because they're not gonna get that fancy at that size.

Keep being a rockin' dad with your son and his guitar playing :rock-on:

 

[young guitarist father]

My son has been playing for about a year and a half he plays very well for his age, he has 7 guitars most of them are junk the best one is his Squire mini. They do not make quality guitars for children. He can play a full size guitar but he gets unwanted mutes from his strumming hand.

 

[dbw]

Don't build a 3/4 scale Les Paul, that's a waste.  Wait 2 years and he'll be big enough to play a full-sized guitar.  In the meantime he can stick with Squier... he's only 6 for crying out loud!  I didn't get a decent electric guitar until I graduated college and got a job.

 

[GoDrex]

I'll probably get my kid(s) something like this:
http://www.americanmusic.com/product.php?productid=224

I remember when EVH did "Little Guitars" - I wanted one of those tiny LP's

 

[Mor Paul]

I remember when EVH did "Little Guitars" - I wanted one of those tiny LP's

That's funny. I think I've seen something like that before. Tiny guitars are fun for a bit. That's why I used on New Years Eve

 

[tfarny]

You ought to build a warmoth mustang instead - with a small thin body, 1 5/8 nut and a 24" scale, it'll be more playable than a full-size but be big enough to last with him for years. You should probably get W to spec you a hardtail bridge of some kind too, fewer tuning issues to deal with for a 6 year old. Nothing wrong with getting a quality musical instrument for your kid. Quality instruments are more fun to play on and he'll be more likely to continue - isn't that why we are all on this board?

 

[blue313]

How about a 7/8ths scale?  I think Warmoth still does that  :icon_scratch:

 

[stubhead]

The best quality little, budget guitar I've seen is Ibanez's. I have a Squier mini-strat that's not a very good guitar, even when you've fixed the frets & tuners it's a plywood, toneless disappointment.  The quality of Ibanez low-end guitars is way above Squiers, Epiphones etc. - I see a lot of this stuff teaching guitar.

http://www.ibanez.com/eg/series.aspx?s=mikro
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ibanez-?sku=518875

I made a hardtail Mustang that I love, 24" scale - it's good for playing in bed, driving etc.

There's a company that specializes in retailing little guitars, I haven't had any dealings with them personally but they seem to have surveyed the market pretty well.

http://smallguitars.com/ - (poke "electric guitars" and all the sizes come up)

 

[young guitarist father]

He already has the Ibanez GRG M21 a nice looking guitar, but the neck was poorly made and there many dead frets, it is currently being repaired at at Ibanez.

 

[NonsenseTele]

How about a 7/8ths scale?  I think Warmoth still does that  :icon_scratch:

Warmoth does 24-3/4" scale with the BODY 7/8"... I'm sure in Strat size, LP, not sure...

 

[thumb55]

if someone really wanted to (and was capable of) you might try to shave down a Warmoth flat top LP.

or you could use one of Warmoths pre-routed body blanks and sketch out a size appropriate LP.

SG's and LPJ's have small bodys, if you want to buy a compleated guitar.  Those Faded series Gibson's are affordable.

 

[callaway]

Even though the SG is small, I highly recommend against it. The things just don't balance well (I've had one for years). The neck always wants to dive, so you have to hold it up while playing in a standing position. Seated is okay, but might be enough of an imbalance to make it unnecessarily harder on a smaller person.

I know they don't make quality small-scale guitars, but you might want to consider buying the best you can find. Then following a book such as Dan Erlewine's, do a full setup on it. Once I realized my Epi SG was a piece of junk, I set it up (relief, action, intonation, pickup height) and it played and sounded 5x better, easily. I've since replaced the cheap plastic nut with a graphite one and set fairly low nut height. Much, much better still.

Then in a few years, if they're still with it, you can have him pick out Warmoth parts and put together his first custom guitar together! (Man, I'm really looking forward to kids... we're working on it!)

 

[guitlouie]

(Man, I'm really looking forward to kids... we're working on it!)

Right now?




Oh, yeah, I've said this before but, I have a Gibson SG and it balances on the strap just perfectly.

 

[callaway]

Oh, yeah, I've said this before but, I have a Gibson SG and it balances on the strap just perfectly.

On a nylon strap or a leather strap? Often leather straps will grab your shoulder, keeping it from sliding. If it balances with a nylon strap though, you must have an incredibly heavy body. The physics of the strap placement definitely does not favor a neutral balance.

 

[NonsenseTele]

Oh, yeah, I've said this before but, I have a Gibson SG and it balances on the strap just perfectly.

On a nylon strap or a leather strap? Often leather straps will grab your shoulder, keeping it from sliding. If it balances with a nylon strap though, you must have an incredibly heavy body. The physics of the strap placement definitely does not favor a neutral balance.

Put the guitar as low as punks and the neck will never fall :laughing7:

 

[rockskate4x]

Oh, yeah, I've said this before but, I have a Gibson SG and it balances on the strap just perfectly.

On a nylon strap or a leather strap? Often leather straps will grab your shoulder, keeping it from sliding. If it balances with a nylon strap though, you must have an incredibly heavy body. The physics of the strap placement definitely does not favor a neutral balance.

yeah, dudes... I have done considerable mods to make my SG balance... every other SG I've ever played won't balance well.

 

[NonsenseTele]

yeah, dudes... I have done considerable mods to make my SG balance... every other SG I've ever played won't balance well.

How about share with the guys the modifications?

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

If the scale length is an issue for his hands, why does the body have to be smaller?  It shouldn't be any harder for a kid of that size to play a full sized instrument than an average sized female to play a long scale bass.  You could always raise the string gauge, tune down, and capo.  Voila.

 

[stubhead]

You could always raise the string gauge, tune down, and capo.  Voila.

Bingo. I've suggested this for several students, though none that young. It sure gives them something to aspire to, and saves a good deal of money if the parents are committed to getting something decent the first time out. When a kid wants to play music, it's my experience that it's NOT one of those things they outgrow like dinosaurs. Capos don't work so great when you're bending strings though, one of my numerous never-followed-through ideas was a capo with seven teeth that would hold capo'd strings in place. I saw Derek Trucks when he was 12, he did O.K. :icon_biggrin:

http://tela.sugarmegs.org/_asxtela/DerekTrucksBand2007-11-25LiquidRoomTokyoJapan.asx