Whatever the instrument, get what he *really* wants to play, otherwise you will waste your money. I had a daughter who wanted to play clarinet, but when she approached the school about lessons, they fobbed her off with a tenor horn (brass band instrument, not saxophone) which was not what she wanted and - surprise, surprise, she lasted very little time. Eventually we borrowed my sister's clarinet and she was away. As a result we bought her a clarinet and although she has not played for a while, she still has it and always enjoyed playing it.

Geoff