Description
Review of the LUCKWBQ 30 Inch Kids Electric Guitar Beginner Kit
This is a 30 inch mini electric guitar built on a shortened ST-style outline, sold with a clip-on 5W amplifier, a gig bag, a tuner, a strap, picks, a cable and spare strings. It is aimed squarely at children starting out, with a neck length and fingerboard width chosen for smaller hands rather than scaled down from an adult instrument by eye.
The model code is KG-S, and the listing dates it to June 2024.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- The neck dimensions are stated, not just the body size. A 35cm neck length and a 4.2cm fingerboard width are the numbers that actually determine whether a child can wrap a hand around it. Most listings in this class publish only the overall length.
- Twenty-two frets on a mini body. Shrunken instruments often lose the upper register. This one keeps the full fret count, so the child does not outgrow the neck before outgrowing the body.
- The amplifier clips to clothing. A belt-clip 5W amp removes the need for a table, a mains socket and a long cable, which is what usually stops practice happening in a child’s bedroom.
- Smoothed body edges. The description makes a point of the edge finishing. On a small guitar held close to the forearm, a sharp binding edge is a genuine reason children stop practising.
Cons
- The fingerboard wood is stated two different ways. The specification table says Maple Wood; the manufacturer description says rosewood. Those are visually and tonally different, and the listing gives no way to know which arrives.
- The weight is stated two different ways. The table gives 5.69 pounds and the description gives 5.97 pounds. The gap is small but it shows the data is not being checked, which is worth knowing before trusting the other fields.
- The amplifier battery is not included. The 9V battery has to be bought separately, and the listing acknowledges that a dead or missing battery is the most common reason buyers think the amp has failed.
- No scale length is published. On a 30 inch instrument the scale is what determines string tension and how far apart the frets sit, and the field is empty.
- Recommended ages are inconsistent. The description says the guitar was designed for beginners and recommends it for children three years and up, while also describing it as suited to most children’s body size. A three-year-old and a ten-year-old are not the same buyer.
Detailed Product Description
The body is basswood on a shortened ST-style outline with a cutaway, finished in blue with a gloss surface. Basswood is light, which is the point here; a child cannot practise standing with an instrument that pulls on the shoulder. Listed weight is between 5.69 and 5.97 pounds depending on which field is believed, and either figure is manageable for a school-age player.
The neck is maple with 22 frets. Neck length is given as 35cm and fingerboard width as 4.2cm, both narrower than an adult instrument. The fingerboard wood is where the listing contradicts itself, as noted above.
The pickup configuration is a single coil in one position. A single coil is bright and articulate, and it is also the simplest circuit to keep working. It picks up more mains hum than a humbucker, but on a 5W practice amp at bedroom volume that is rarely audible.
The bridge is fixed, with alloy steel strings. A fixed bridge means the string anchor does not move, so tuning survives enthusiastic strumming and the guitar does not need a technician after a string change. Package dimensions are 31 by 11 by 4 inches.
What Comes with the Product
The kit includes the 30 inch electric guitar, a 5W clip-on amplifier, a cable, a strap, guitar picks, a tuner, a gig bag and a set of spare strings.
What is not included: the 9V battery for the amplifier, which the listing states plainly must be bought separately. There is also no stand, no capo, no cleaning cloth, no string winder and no printed lesson material. Nothing in the kit is a hard case; the bag is soft. Buy the battery at the same time as the guitar, or the first session ends in silence.
Who It Suits
This suits a child of primary or early secondary school age who wants an electric rather than an acoustic, and a household that wants one box to arrive rather than five orders. The clip-on amp and short neck make it practical in a bedroom without headphones or a mains socket.
It suits less well a teenager close to adult size, who will find a 30 inch instrument cramped within months and would be better served by a full-scale guitar. It also suits less well anyone who intends to play through a real amplifier and pedals, since the guitar’s simple single-coil circuit and short scale limit what it can do. Sizing by age and height is covered in what size guitar for a child.
How to Maintain
Remove the battery from the amplifier when it will not be used for a few weeks. Leaking cells are the usual end of a cheap clip-on amp.
Wipe the strings down after playing. Children’s hands are usually more acidic than adults’, and a set of alloy steel strings on a small guitar can go dull in a fortnight without wiping.
Keep the guitar in its gig bag rather than under a bed. Store it away from radiators and windows. Check the tuning before every practice with the included tuner; a short-scale instrument at low tension drifts more than a full-size one, and playing out of tune trains the ear badly.
Tips and Recommendations
Consider tuning the guitar up a semitone or two from standard. On very short scales the strings are slack at standard pitch, which causes buzzing and vague intonation; raising the pitch tightens them and makes chords ring more cleanly. Tuning method is covered in how to tune a guitar.
Keep a spare 9V battery in the gig bag. The amplifier is the part of the kit that fails first and it is almost never the amplifier’s fault.
Product FAQ
Is the fingerboard maple or rosewood? The listing says both. The specification table lists Maple Wood and the manufacturer description says rosewood. The contradiction is unresolved in the product data.
Does the amplifier come with a battery? No. The listing states the 9V battery is not supplied and must be bought separately.
How much does it weigh? Between 5.69 and 5.97 pounds; the table and the description disagree by roughly a quarter of a pound.
What age is it for? The description recommends children three years and up, though the stated neck and fingerboard dimensions suit a school-age child better than a toddler.
More options sit under kids and junior guitars and electric guitars. Close comparisons include the Donner 30 inch kids electric kit, the LyxPro 30 inch starter pack and the ZENY 30 inch kids electric guitar.
