I bought my brother his first guitar . . . he said no

[PoppyPoo]

The little guy has been tinkering around on my guitars for the past few weeks, so I decided not to be an average brother for one day and get him his own.

 

I found a used, beat-up 90's MIA Peavey Predator for $50 on Craigslist and thought it would be the perfect first guitar - cheap but quality. I brought it home, made him close his eyes, then brought it out - then occurred probably one of the most anti-climatic moment of my life.

 

He thought it was cool, but said he didn't want to learn to play . . . which just kills me since he's a talented musician (violin for two years) and is a great learner if he puts himself to it.

 

Oh well. I guess a NGD for me.

 

I'm wondering whether I should refinish it. It definitely shows its age, but black isn't especially my thing . . .

 

Without further ado, some pics:

[Woody_in_MN]

How old is your brother. Teens can be hard to please. For that money can you put it in a closet for a while. He may change his mind is a week or two.

 

I think it was a nice gesture. Don't give up on him yet.

 

- w

[PoppyPoo]

He's just 11, turning 12 in December. He was also very interested while I was working on my project guitar. Maybe I'll let him paint it up or whatever

[The Beatles27]

if he's really that good on violin maybe u should just encourage him on that, oh and make sure he can improvise, unlike the trained monkey violinists at my school:rolleyes:

[ten56gibby]

Well that's kind of a downer. Good gesture for sure!

 

I too say be patient and absolutely keep it around in case he changes his mind or you decide you want it.

[Scoogs]

Next time you see him touching a guitar, tackle him.

[diddybow]

When he finds out women like guitar guys more than violin guys, maybe he will take up guitar

[fretmonster]

That's better than my teenage son who said he was interested in learning. I gave him a nice Brawley Strat and a small amp. Tried to teach him myself, but all he wanted to do was show off (wouldn't listen), so I enrolled him in guitar lessons.....twice, well actually three times if you count a couple years ago. Same pattern, never touched the guitar all week long, no matter how much I pushed him, until it was time for me to take him to his lesson. Finally I just gave up, the guitar just sits underneath his bed - hasn't touched it since the last lesson. Said he'd rather learn drums - got some drums, same story.

[newbuilder]

It's the thought that counts.

Nice guitar for $50. I want all of my kids to be musicians so I put instruments in all of their lives. If they don't mess with it, I am ok as long as they have the option if they want to. I was around music the entire time I was a kid and didn't want to play till 13-15 then i Was sold.

[brandass]

He's just 11, turning 12 in December. He was also very interested while I was working on my project guitar. Maybe I'll let him paint it up or whatever

Yeah, I'd encourage him to turn it into an art project (with some guidance, so he doesn't screw up the tonz), maybe he'll be more interested once it's really his own thang.

[TruSlice]

sorry...but he's a punk.

[Dewysoss]

{censored} dude. I wish my brother was as cool as you. Those MIA peavey's are the {censored}, my guitar teacher has one. Its got these weird humbuckers with a rail in the center of each cover.

 

EDIT: Its a patriot

[Railfanespee]

I'll go with the crowd and say give him time. My parents bought me my first guitar when I was 12, and it was a year or so before I got serious about learning to play

[Spike Li]

yeah i think you should just keep it aside for him, he might come around eventually, being that young his interests and tastes are sure to change.

[DaleH]

Very nice of you. You could clean it up, set it up and let him know it's there if he wants to use it.
You can take a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Just give it time.

[headless]

... Teens can be hard to please...

Recently a friend (a non-player) let me know that his 14 year-old daughter was interested in the electric-guitar and wanted my help getting one, at the kind of cost that if it didn't work-out no one would be too hurt.

I found a unique guitar, that played well and was in decent cosmetic condition (for a ten year-old guitar)---a DeArmond S-65:



When I brought it to their home, she seemed to have absolutely no interest in the guitar, and a "Thank you" only came out of her after her parents scolded her. Classy.

It was pretty-much the receiption I expected---teenagers tend to loath any interaction with adults. I think it comes from that fact that almost every interaction with an adult is an opportunity to get busted for something--kind of like the way I feel about my interactions with law enforcement. There's never any "up-side".

I think we give too much to our children. I think that maybe they should get a guitar when the fire in their belly to play is so hot that they would make a guitar from a tree branch and make their own strings out of road-kill gut.

Then perhaps we should buy them the worst guitar we can find, and if they still insist on playing, despite bleeding fingers from the "Cheese-cutter action" of said bad guitar, maybe, just maybe they get a decent guitar.

It's difficult for me to remember how I reacted when my parents bought me me first real guitar---I had been banging on a relatives cheap guitar for a couple of years. I'm sure that I didn't thank them properly, and now it's too late.

Someone once said that he felt that everything he did before the age of thirty, he had done under the influence of a fever. I see his point.

So, after having the experience of seeing children grow from the nursery to adulthood, I tend to expect a delayed reaction from them to any kindness I show to them---perhaps a delay of a couple of decades.

[axegrinder]

Does negativity run in your family? Is your brother's last name Poo also? :poke:

Seriously, though nice gesture on your part. That would make a GREAT refin project.

[Dewysoss]

Recently a friend (a non-player) let me know that his 14 year-old daughter was interested in the electric-guitar and wanted my help getting one, at the kind of cost that if it didn't work-out no one would be too hurt. I found a unique guitar, that played well and was in decent cosmetic condition (for a ten year-old guitar)---a DeArmond S-65: When I brought it to their home, she seemed to have absolutely no interest in the guitar, and a "Thank you" only came out of her after her parents scolded her. Classy. It was pretty-much the receiption I expected---teenagers tend to loath any interaction with adults. I think it comes from that fact that almost every interaction with an adult is an opportunity to get busted for something--kind of like the way I feel about my interactions with law enforcement. There's never any "up-side". I think we give too much to our children. I think that maybe they should get a guitar when the fire in their belly to play is so hot that they would make a guitar from a tree branch and make their own strings out of road-kill gut. Then perhaps we should buy them the worst guitar we can find, and if they still insist on playing, despite bleeding fingers from the "Cheese-cutter action" of said bad guitar, maybe, just maybe they get a decent guitar. It's difficult for me to remember how I reacted when my parents bought me me first real guitar---I had been banging on a relatives cheap guitar for a couple of years. I'm sure that I didn't thank them properly, and now it's too late. Someone once said that he felt that everything he did before the age of thirty, he had done under the influence of a fever. I see his point. So, after having the experience of seeing children grow from the nursery to adulthood, I tend to expect a delayed reaction from them to any kindness I show to them---perhaps a delay of a couple of decades.

As a teenager, I can say that not all of us are ungrateful {censored}s

[PoppyPoo]

Does negativity run in your family? Is your brother's last name Poo also? :poke: Seriously, though nice gesture on your part. That would make a GREAT refin project.

Haha I'm not mad or unhappy, though I understand how you might have come to that conclusion from the first post. Honestly, I think he'll come around. I brought up the idea of painting it whatever he wanted and it seemed to ignite something in him.

We'll see

Thanks for your thoughts everyone

[pixelchemist]

i did the same for my 26 yo brother last year said he wanted to learn bought him a MIM Strat (used but minty) for his birthday... he has never played it even once... punkass

[rock-lobster]

I started learning guitar when i was 8.

 

I started playing when i was 13 or so.

 

what is it that makes some people randomly have a lightbulb go off that makes them want to commit to something they didn't like before?

 

no idea

[Patuney]

Horse to water- just don't be the nag.

[Fuzzz]

Finally I just gave up, the guitar just sits underneath his bed - hasn't touched it since the last lesson. Said he'd rather learn drums - got some drums, same story.

 

That is certainly a drag. That's pretty much what happened between me my little brother. Now I'm not so sure I want to help him invest in a drum kit.

[rock-lobster]

Recently a friend (a non-player) let me know that his 14 year-old daughter was interested in the electric-guitar and wanted my help getting one, at the kind of cost that if it didn't work-out no one would be too hurt. I found a unique guitar, that played well and was in decent cosmetic condition (for a ten year-old guitar)---a DeArmond S-65: When I brought it to their home, she seemed to have absolutely no interest in the guitar, and a "Thank you" only came out of her after her parents scolded her. Classy. It was pretty-much the receiption I expected---teenagers tend to loath any interaction with adults. I think it comes from that fact that almost every interaction with an adult is an opportunity to get busted for something--kind of like the way I feel about my interactions with law enforcement. There's never any "up-side". I think we give too much to our children. I think that maybe they should get a guitar when the fire in their belly to play is so hot that they would make a guitar from a tree branch and make their own strings out of road-kill gut. Then perhaps we should buy them the worst guitar we can find, and if they still insist on playing, despite bleeding fingers from the "Cheese-cutter action" of said bad guitar, maybe, just maybe they get a decent guitar. It's difficult for me to remember how I reacted when my parents bought me me first real guitar---I had been banging on a relatives cheap guitar for a couple of years. I'm sure that I didn't thank them properly, and now it's too late. Someone once said that he felt that everything he did before the age of thirty, he had done under the influence of a fever. I see his point. So, after having the experience of seeing children grow from the nursery to adulthood, I tend to expect a delayed reaction from them to any kindness I show to them---perhaps a delay of a couple of decades.

my parents don't pay for my gear, but they sure as hell pay for my lessons every week. while i have a pretty bad relationship with my parents, i make sure they know how grateful i am for that.

that's a pretty lame way to treat anyone who does something nice for you. as a teenager, i can understand your "get into trouble" argument for sure. there have been plenty of adults who i used to actively avoid because of the fact that i was up to no good and there would be trouble if they knew. i like to think i've wised up in that regard, but most likely, i still do it a little bit.

but i can't understand how, if some person comes up to me and even has good intentions about something i don't agree with, how i couldn't at least thank them for going out of their way to at least try to make me happy.

[rock-lobster]

funny story: when i was a few months prior to starting to play guitar (about 8 years old), my older brother (probably 20 at the time or so) bought me a little guitar out of nowhere one christmas, and i had not ever expressed interest in music at all. i neglected it pretty blatantly, and he got mad.

 

he quit playing guitar himself several years later.

 

over the years, i've been showing him my progress with the guitar. he started playing again about 6 months ago, and now we jam together.