<p>My guitar player is only in 10th grade, but honestly he would choose to forgo college rather than not bringing his good guitar places – the cheap Les Paul only gets taken on trips because we can’t fit the good guitar. He has a multitude of small amps (even one that hooks on a belt buckle) and headphones. He has no interest in music as a career, but he can’t make it through a day without an hour or two of guitar practice. And he is far too lazy to take the guitar outside of his room or our home practice area – he plays in hotel rooms when we are on vacation and with the headphones it is very quiet (quieter than a tv). We’ve never had complaints, so I can’t imagine a dorm room would be much different.</p>
<p>If he is going to Faber College he may want to leave the guitar in his dorm room during frat parties.</p>
<p>My son is a hs sr. I can’t imagine him going to school without one of his guitars. He plays every day to unwind. You can tell his mood by what he’s playing. I think an acoustic will go over an electric…no amp. He’ll figure it out. He’d be lost without it. He was at camp for several weeks and didn’t bring his. A suite mate brought two. When he found out several of the guys also played he called his mom to drop off a few more from home (he lived pretty close). They had a blast!
Great advise about sturdier cases and locks! Thanks!</p>
<p>DS doing freshman study abroad and took his guitar with him to Europe. Bought the amp there. Lots of kids in his program brought instruments and there is a piano in the student’s lounge. They would all get together and play/sing, especially during the orientation weeks.</p>
<p>FYI- if you have an iPhone or ipad there is a device and app that acts as an amp and you can use headphones for no noise. Very space saving! D’s guitar teacher just got it and likes it! Will get it for d so she can bring her guitar to college if she chooses.</p>
<p>This discussion brings up a point that is a little painful for parents to accept–for the next four years, college will be “home” to our kids.</p>
<p>"I think the question of whether to take the good instrument or the cheap one also turns on what use the student intends to make of it…if he’s just going to strum it on the quad, it’s one thing, but if he hopes to perform, join a band, etc., then it might make sense to take the expensive instrument. After all, he’ll be in college for four years–what’s he saving it for? "</p>
<p>If it was 15-20 years ago, I’d agree with you as the differences between a budget and a good guitar was quite noticeable. A reason why one college friends suggested back then that I needed to allocate at least $500 to get a decent model back then. Though I tried out several models spanning the price range, took a pass as even the cheap models were too expensive…and quite crappy to boot. </p>
<p>However, with the marked improvement in production techniques and quality control, I’ve noticed even guitars which retail for $350-$379 (i.e. Squier Classic Vibe series) are now built to the level of quality which actually approaches the quality of their high-end US made counterparts. </p>
<p>Was also astounded at the quality of the 1998 Squier Affinity stratocaster which retailed for around $120 back then. Though it has some minor flaws, it is still quite gig-worthy in the right hands. After picking one up off CL for $10 with amp, I brought it in to show friends who are professional musicians and they were astounded by the build quality and more importantly, the tone it produced. And these are musicians who usually play high-end US built guitars/basses costing several hundred to a few thousand dollars each.</p>
<p>S has 3 guitars, a mandolin and an amp. You might as well ask him to leave a limb at home if you asked him to leave one of his instruments. He needs the instruments for stress relief and gets quite a few chances to perform. Playing guitar outside his dorm last year was how he met people.</p>
<p>“I think the question of whether to take the good instrument or the cheap one also turns on what use the student intends to make of it…if he’s just going to strum it on the quad, it’s one thing, but if he hopes to perform, join a band, etc., then it might make sense to take the expensive instrument. After all, he’ll be in college for four years–what’s he saving it for?”
I agree. My son is fanatic about his equipment. There is no way he would be happy with an acoustic or an inexpensive instrument. A high quality amp is imperative for him too. It’s OK for him to practice some of the time without an amp, but there is no way he would leave it at home.
He paid for all his equipment himself and is also fanatic about caring for it and keeping it safe which is why the guitars are kept in hard cases and locked up under his bed when not in use, and the amp is in a case and also locked up under his bed.
Although he is not a music major (hoping to minor though), music is extremely important to him and I wouldn’t dream of thinking he should not have his equipment with him at college.</p>
<p>Uh, oh. Now, I’m confused again. His “good guitar” is all he really has. Most of his friends have cars and we were doing better financially when his sister was his age. He has never asked for anything but this guitar (besides gaming stuff). His I-pod was stolen from our car in our driveway and he was depressed for weeks after he lost that. I’m afraid if anything happened to his guitar at school, he would have a hard time dealing with it. He has a hard case and he takes it to a drummers house sometimes but the amp is too big to go anywhere easily. Thanks for the great points! Now, I will consider letting him take it as he is not going to be happy playing the one he got in 6th grade.</p>
<p>I actually talked with BlueJr about this last night. He agreed the acoustic would go. If he decided he HAD to have an electric he would pick up a Fender Squire for next to nothing just for fun (his first electric which he sold to help fund the next step up which was a PRS). His acoustic is a great guitar, but was half as much as his electric and doesn’t need the amp. The eventual decision to have both may depend on where he goes to school. He would never want to leave them in the dorms over break. One school is a plane ride so carting two guitars would be difficult. One school is 90min by car…much easier to cart both.</p>
<p>Once he’s out of the dorms and in an apartment he will probably take everything.</p>
<p>Do guys take guitars to college? Heck yes, if they want to serenade the ladies, they do!</p>
<p>(fond memories of guitar-playing college friend. . .)</p>