My 10 year old has been taking lessons for 6 months. I'm really proud of him. He started with a Squier Strat I bought off of Craigslist and it started sounding really bad really quick. So bought him a G&L ASAT Tribute carvedtop deluxe (telecaster style), bought it new. It was $400, it sounds great, it has a warranty and he tends to pick it up more often and thats the key. He has to practice. I have heard the better sounding the guitar is, the more often a person will pick it up. Good luck