This thread is still yielding useful feedback a year later, though checking dates is something I have to make myself do when I'm ready to jump into a newly discovered thread with both feet.

Like jstarwolf predicts, at some point we're going to end up with both. Advice about how to choose the electric for a student is welcome--he has looked at guitars and found a modestly priced one he is thinking of saving for--but recommendations of types or models would be helpful. Also, the amp is an important ingredient and he's not impressed by the kits that come with the guitar and a cheap amp.

And thanks, stu. I've told him that since his sister says she's going to live under a bridge and keep cats she grows up that he'll have to become a rich musician and support me in my old age. . . :)

I don't have to remind him to practice very often, he's a self-starter in this. School homework is the largest impediment to guitar practice, and I've asked him to stagger his evenings so he doesn't always practice guitar last thing at night. I think that anything done right before bed is less likely to stick if he's tired. (Though maybe he thinks about it when he sleeps--who knows?)

SRS