Solution: Package with each guitar a mini songbook written in guitar tablature, not sheet music, containing a small collection of classic, canonical three-chord songs demographically targeted towards age of buyers.
I've been playing guitar for over 40 years. I've bought plenty in my day, along with mandolins, a banjo, and a few other instruments. Not a single one included anything but a truss rod wrench. Not a "getting started" guide, nothing. The instrument industry relies upon others to make the new purchase accessible, which will hopefully result in repeat business. And that's just asinine. Nearly 70 years in business and it has never occurred to anyone to include some bootstrapping documentation so that your new customer enjoys their purchase even more? You're hoping the stoner salesperson at the music store fixes them up with suitable material instead of just taking the commission and calling it a day?
Partner with an online lessons company. Put a little pamphlet in there as suggested by parent. "Here's four chords that will get you through a lot of rock songs." Something other than a truss rod wrench and a hardy "good luck".
EDIT: oh, and for fsck's sake, do whatever you need to do to make sure that guitars are properly setup before they ever see a customer's hands. Guitars aren't quite as bad, but I've purchased some used low-end mandolins recently that I gather the owner bought online, meaning it was shipped from China and the original box was not opened until it showed up on someone's doorstep. One of them I would describe as unplayable as it was. Strings were a mile high; I'll bet I cut half the nut down. Another one was better quality and playable as-is, for small values of "playable". An hour or so cutting the nut down, setting the bridge, etc., and it turned out to be a nice little player. But a beginner with no callouses on their fingers wouldn't last long on either of those mandolins as they were sold. It's like trying to do Couch-to-5K with lead weights on your ankles.
I've been playing guitar for over 40 years. I've bought plenty in my day, along with mandolins, a banjo, and a few other instruments. Not a single one included anything but a truss rod wrench.
Seems almost insane in hindsight, doesn't it?
oh, and for fsck's sake, do whatever you need to do to make sure that guitars are properly setup before they ever see a customer's hands.
Good point. To this end, a link to a free cross-platform guitar tuner app would get a beginner 99% of the way there after unboxing.
Instructions:
Before playing for the first time and learning a song on the included song-sheet, make sure it is properly tuned. Go to freefenderguitartuner.com to download our free guitar tuning app to your phone, or find one you like better in your phone's app store.
(Then app walks you through turning the tuner heads to the proper note).
I've been playing guitar for over 40 years. I've bought plenty in my day, along with mandolins, a banjo, and a few other instruments. Not a single one included anything but a truss rod wrench. Not a "getting started" guide, nothing. The instrument industry relies upon others to make the new purchase accessible, which will hopefully result in repeat business. And that's just asinine. Nearly 70 years in business and it has never occurred to anyone to include some bootstrapping documentation so that your new customer enjoys their purchase even more? You're hoping the stoner salesperson at the music store fixes them up with suitable material instead of just taking the commission and calling it a day?
Partner with an online lessons company. Put a little pamphlet in there as suggested by parent. "Here's four chords that will get you through a lot of rock songs." Something other than a truss rod wrench and a hardy "good luck".
EDIT: oh, and for fsck's sake, do whatever you need to do to make sure that guitars are properly setup before they ever see a customer's hands. Guitars aren't quite as bad, but I've purchased some used low-end mandolins recently that I gather the owner bought online, meaning it was shipped from China and the original box was not opened until it showed up on someone's doorstep. One of them I would describe as unplayable as it was. Strings were a mile high; I'll bet I cut half the nut down. Another one was better quality and playable as-is, for small values of "playable". An hour or so cutting the nut down, setting the bridge, etc., and it turned out to be a nice little player. But a beginner with no callouses on their fingers wouldn't last long on either of those mandolins as they were sold. It's like trying to do Couch-to-5K with lead weights on your ankles.