Lots of instruments to bring out the holiday spirit! How would these rank up for a beginner?

inkycatz wrote:Lots of instruments to bring out the holiday spirit! How would these rank up for a beginner?

IS THAT A COWBELL!?!?

and that guitar with amp is a basic beginner guitar. Once you get good, you play at a concert and smash it on stage.

Saw that same violin deal on Walmart's website for $125.00. So no thank you.

Guido Scratcher!

You know what this deal needs?

More Cowbell!

No, seriously, they're sold out.

I am going out to the hills and getting weird with that harmonica.

The Kohala (not "Kona") ukulele is a pretty decent beginner uke, and an ok deal with all the beginner extras.

inkycatz wrote:Lots of instruments to bring out the holiday spirit! How would these rank up for a beginner?

As far as the stringed instruments and the snare drum, they rank a -0- for a beginner or anyone else. They are poorly and very cheaply made and will have problems from the beginning. The only thing they will accomplish will be to take a person that is very excited about learning music and crash them to the ground. You do not have to spend a mint to find an instrument that is playable, will stay in tune and sound half decent but brand new, you will have to pay more than what is here. But, if you get one of these and you find, as you will, they are not worth squat, you are out your total because you can't get rid of it even in a yard sale! One way to go is a better instrument that is used. They are not falling out of the trees but good usable and used instruments can be found for a little over $100 and more like $150 but win the student wants to move up, what he has will have value and can then be used to trade up. Or, if they decide music is not what they want, it can be sold and you get some cash back out of it. There are new and beginner instruments that are playable and can be found discounted in the $200 range and up. Look, you get what you pay for. Here you pay little to nothing and you are going to get little to nothing.

Does the ukulele for Dummies come with a helmet?

PocketBrain wrote:Does the ukulele for Dummies come with a helmet?

Earplugs might be helpful.

If anybody in SoCal wants this, but doesn't need the book or tuner and wants it for less, The Outlet By ELS, now in Azusa (big, new store), has a bunch of these Kona Concert Series Ukeleles w/gig bag for something like $54.99 or $59.99. They originally had them for $74.99, but the last time I was there, I noticed they lowered the price significantly.

I have played viola for about 15 years, and I truly shudder to think what a $99 violin would sound like. I would say the only reasonable use for this would be for a young child to try, but it's full size which rules out small children.

A full size violin is referred to as 4/4 size. Children still growing usually start with a smaller size and upgrade to a larger size intermediate quality instrument if they stick with it once they've matured a bit, physically and otherwise.

I suppose if you, as an adult, really want to try the violin, it could work for a little while, but it would wear out its usage within a few months to a year of serious practicing. After that, you're going to want to upgrade to at least a higher quality beginner instrument.

In my opinion, a better option regardless would be to visit a local violin shop to rent a beginner instrument.

Learning a string instrument without frets (violin, viola, cello, or double bass) is hard work, much more difficult than things like guitar and drums (for the record I played drums through college, was on my college snare drum line, so I do have a valid point of reference). It is a worthwhile investment to take lessons to have someone to teach and motivate you.

Hope that helps.

weslinder wrote:You know what this deal needs?

More Cowbell!

No, seriously, they're sold out.

and... you beat me to it.

You can get the capo direct from Amazon. $14.99 and eligible for free shipping. http://www.amazon.com/Kyser-6-String-Capo-Black/dp/B0002CZVWI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353358266&sr=8-1&keywords=kyser+capo

charliecarroll wrote:As far as the stringed instruments and the snare drum, they rank a -0- for a beginner or anyone else. They are poorly and very cheaply made and will have problems from the beginning. The only thing they will accomplish will be to take a person that is very excited about learning music and crash them to the ground. You do not have to spend a mint to find an instrument that is playable, will stay in tune and sound half decent but brand new, you will have to pay more than what is here. But, if you get one of these and you find, as you will, they are not worth squat, you are out your total because you can't get rid of it even in a yard sale! One way to go is a better instrument that is used. They are not falling out of the trees but good usable and used instruments can be found for a little over $100 and more like $150 but win the student wants to move up, what he has will have value and can then be used to trade up. Or, if they decide music is not what they want, it can be sold and you get some cash back out of it. There are new and beginner instruments that are playable and can be found discounted in the $200 range and up. Look, you get what you pay for. Here you pay little to nothing and you are going to get little to nothing.

Any suggestions for a good beginner brand?

Seriously? Neither of the ukeleles can be shipped to HAWAII

pirut wrote:Any suggestions for a good beginner brand?

Ibanez, Fender, and Dean, all make decent starter sets.
If you get the chance try them all out and figure out what feels best in your hands. The brand means less than how it feels to you.

If you can forego the amp, you can jump directly into a better quality guitar but you will likely be buying it used to keep it in the right price range.

Yamaha also makes a very basic starter however I prefer Ibanez and Dean over Yamaha and Fender, with BC Rich being my favorite. Keep in mind where the guitar is produced. The Chinese made instruments are lacking in quality but are the least expensive in general. Fenders made in Mexico aren't bad. US made will demand a premium but are quality products.

PemberDucky wrote:don't they, like, already have a bunch?

LOL - my thought exactly :->

thanekew wrote:Seriously? Neither of the ukeleles can be shipped to HAWAII

... and you beat me to it. Ohana be damned, I guess.

DaZoneRanger wrote:If anybody in SoCal wants this, but doesn't need the book or tuner and wants it for less, The Outlet By ELS, now in Azusa (big, new store), has a bunch of these Kona Concert Series Ukeleles w/gig bag for something like $54.99 or $59.99. They originally had them for $74.99, but the last time I was there, I noticed they lowered the price significantly.

Much as I hugely love my ukes, the season of tweeness is passing and taking the fad with it.

PemberDucky wrote:don't they, like, already have a bunch?

And real Kona, to boot!

charliecarroll wrote:As far as the stringed instruments and the snare drum, they rank a -0- for a beginner or anyone else. They are poorly and very cheaply made and will have problems from the beginning.

I have to disgree so far as ukes go. The uke with the gigbag is a decent starter uke. The 24.99 is probably okay too, so long as real strings are purchased for it.

KimNicole wrote:I have to disgree so far as ukes go. The uke with the gigbag is a decent starter uke. The 24.99 is probably okay too, so long as real strings are purchased for it.

I'll give somewhat on the uke as you may be right but it is cutting it very close. All the rest, still a hard no. Re-caps for your car, as bad as they may sound, would be a wiser choice. A very bad choice indeed but still wiser. I will try to stress the valid point one more time. If you buy something that can and may be re-sold, you are better off than buying something that you have to put in the trash if it does not work out. Look, every single day $150 well spent is much better spent than $50 thrown in the crapper.

I agree that these instruments are probably not exactly top notch, however I did buy the uke for my husband for Christmas anyway. He plays guitar and has always mentioned wanting to play a uke. He actually plays around on my daughters $25 kid-size Target guitar (talk about cheap...) so I figure a cheap uke won't matter much to him if he's just messing around in his office.

Harmonicas. This isn't a bad deal for a beginner starter instrument. If you seriously want to play Hohner mouth harps though, get ones that are made in Germany, not ones that are made in China. Just sayin'.

ReverendJynxed wrote:You can get the capo direct from Amazon. $14.99 and eligible for free shipping. http://www.amazon.com/Kyser-6-String-Capo-Black/dp/B0002CZVWI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353358266&sr=8-1&keywords=kyser+capo

Why wasn't I notified of this?

kpatterson67 wrote:I have played viola for about 15 years, and I truly shudder to think what a $99 violin would sound like. I would say the only reasonable use for this would be for a young child to try, but it's full size which rules out small children.

A full size violin is referred to as 4/4 size. Children still growing usually start with a smaller size and upgrade to a larger size intermediate quality instrument if they stick with it once they've matured a bit, physically and otherwise.

I suppose if you, as an adult, really want to try the violin, it could work for a little while, but it would wear out its usage within a few months to a year of serious practicing. After that, you're going to want to upgrade to at least a higher quality beginner instrument.

In my opinion, a better option regardless would be to visit a local violin shop to rent a beginner instrument.

Learning a string instrument without frets (violin, viola, cello, or double bass) is hard work, much more difficult than things like guitar and drums (for the record I played drums through college, was on my college snare drum line, so I do have a valid point of reference). It is a worthwhile investment to take lessons to have someone to teach and motivate you.

Hope that helps.

Well, you're in luck, here's what a 99-dollar violin sounds like:

vladistov wrote:Well, you're in luck, here's what a 99-dollar violin sounds like:

Wow makes me think about it now. Not to bad..I have thought about buying 1 before. TY

vladistov wrote:Well, you're in luck, here's what a 99-dollar violin sounds like:

Heck, if I could make a 99-dollar violin sound like that, I'd be in for three in a heartbeat! ;-)

The capo certainly is no deal! $14 at MusiciansFriend.com in black (KG6B), ($15.99 in other colors) and free shipping!

It's not a good deal, amazon, target has similar price $128.44 and of course, it ships faster than woot and is easier to deal with when you have problem.

Harmonica sells for $12.99 on amazon by itself. Harmonica for Dummies is another $14.95.

Sounds like a good deal for someone wanting to get started. Reviews aren't great but they aren't bad either. (3.9/5.0 rating on harmonica)

vladistov wrote:Well, you're in luck, here's what a 99-dollar violin sounds like:

You don't get the years of experience as part of this deal. I can assure you it will not sound like that when a beginner plays it.

My instrument sounds like a masterpiece when my professional teacher plays it, too. That's more of a reflection on him, not the instrument.

pirut wrote:Any suggestions for a good beginner brand?

The best way to buy (or rent) a violin, viola, etc is to have a private teacher help you pick one out. I do like the Eastman brand for student instruments, personally. I have one of their intermediate/advanced violas and it is a great value.

renigade4x4 wrote:Wow makes me think about it now. Not to bad..I have thought about buying 1 before. TY

As long as it's reasonably built, you have what no critic can take away: Pythagoras' discovery that scales can be derived from a string under tension by stopping it at certain ratios. What you get in an instrument like this is the ability to learn fingering and bowing; what you don't have, quite needless to say, is the performer's instrument. You're not going to find many violinists, who spent good money on, well, not necessarily good instruments at all, but more expensive ones, that are willing to admit any value in something like this; but the fellow in the video seems to be an exception.

I have a thousand-dollar electric violin that I mostly play without the power on at all. It sounds as bad as any muted instrument; but that has nothing to do with practicing my intonation.

Anyway, I suppose I'll let the comments degenerate into ignoratio elenchi. Whatever you're told, bear in mind a beginner sounds terrible on a Stradivarius, too.

charliecarroll wrote:I'll give somewhat on the uke as you may be right but it is cutting it very close. All the rest, still a hard no. Re-caps for your car, as bad as they may sound, would be a wiser choice. A very bad choice indeed but still wiser. I will try to stress the valid point one more time. If you buy something that can and may be re-sold, you are better off than buying something that you have to put in the trash if it does not work out. Look, every single day $150 well spent is much better spent than $50 thrown in the crapper.

It's really not, though. Ukes are the one instrument I've tried where experienced folks have said "Pick up the $20 uke and give it a try." As far as sopranos go, those cheapies can play as well as more expensive ones and give you a decent enough sound to reward your effort. Enough to build a foundation on. My guess is the nylon strings and the short neck are a factor in this. I still play my toy uke, because it's a great visual with my more humorous stuff.

I absolutely agree about the guitar. When I bought my Taylor, it was because I heard what the cheap guitars sounded like and knew I'd never play if that was my reward.

ionix wrote:IS THAT A COWBELL!?!?

and that guitar with amp is a basic beginner guitar. Once you get good, you play at a concert and smash it on stage.

Except it's hard to get good with a POS. I will forever rant against the absurdity of buying cheap gear for a beginner. It will do nothing but help to frustrate people and cause them to give up more easily.

Don't waste your money on any of this. So says a musician of 17 years whose parents bought him a real Fender Strat as a child, not a Squire that goes out of tune after hitting two strings, and not something worse (pictured here).