I was so excited when my daughter told me that she wanted to learn how to play the guitar and can’t wait to share our honest Loog guitar review with you!
In all honesty, we made a couple of mistakes when we first started out though.
At first, we bought her a junior six-string guitar and then a ukulele.
The six-string was just too big for her little six-year-old hands and then the ukulele would have required me to learn how to play a new instrument too.
This is where our Loog Mini fits into our lives perfectly!
Keep reading to learn:
- Who makes Loog guitars and where are they made
- What kind of guitars do they make
- Acoustic, electric, and six-string comparison
- Can adults play Loog guitars
- Can a 2-year-old play Loog guitar and what age are they meant for
- Can you plug a Loog into an amp
- Do Loog Guitars stay in tune
- Guitar game and app review
- Loog Guitar School
- Must-have accessories
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a commission if you make a purchase using them. This comes at no additional cost to you and all opinions expressed are my own.
Honest Loog Guitar Review: Best Kids Guitar for Beginners
Watching your child learn a new skill is the most rewarding thing.
And it’s even better when they share a hobby that you love to do too!
Loog guitars are a really cool and inexpensive way to introduce your child to music – even if you don’t know how to play the guitar yourself!
Guitar chords are ridiculously easy to play on the three-string versions and will help children build confidence in basic skills like properly playing and memorizing chords so they can focus on developing artistic skills like rhythm and strum patterns.
Who makes Loog guitars and where are they made?
Loog originally launched in 2011 on Kickstarter and raised over $65,000 from backers all over the world.
Uruguian-born, Rafael Atijas, the company’s founder and now CEO, came up with the Loog project just a year before while in the midst of his Master’s thesis at New York University.
Another Kickstarter campaign in 2019 raised just under $558,000 and gave Loog the title of best-selling Kickstarter guitar ever!
Today, Loog guitars are made in China while the company’s headquarters is based in New York.
What kind of guitars does Loog make?
Loog offers several different styles of guitars:
- Loog Mini Acoustic
- Loog Mini Electric
- Loog Pro Acoustic
- Loog Pro Electric
- Loog Pro VI Acoustic
- Loog Pro VI Electric
All guitars are available in six different colors:
- Red
- Green (More like Aqua)
- Black
- White
- Yellow
- Pink
Loog Mini
The Loog Mini Acoustic is a perfect first guitar for kids three and up.
This guitar features 15 frets, nylon strings, a basswood body, and a Maple neck and fingerboard.
It measures 22.2″ long (39 cm), 6.9″ wide (17.7 cm), and has a depth of 2.3″ (5.85 cm).
It’s also extremely lightweight at just 0.9 lbs (0.4 kg).
All Loog guitars including the Loog Mini come with:
- guitar
- flashcards
- two picks
- Download code for the Loog guitar app
The Mini acoustic retails for $89 USD ($109 CAD).
Loog Mini Electric guitars have 15 frets, a Paulownia body, a Maple neck, a Maple fingerboard, and a built-in amp and speaker with volume and gain controls!
These guitars are also great for the same three and up age group.
The dimensions of the electric Loog mini are pretty similar to the acoustic version – the length is a hair shorter at 22.1″ (56 cm), the width is the same 6.9″ (17.7 cm), and the depth is just thinner at 2.1″ (5.2 cm).
It retails for $179 USD ($219 CAD).
Both of these little guitars are an awesome value and would make incredible birthday or Christmas presents for an aspiring young musician.
Loog Pro
The Loog Pro Acoustic is a slightly larger guitar than the Loog Mini – it features 18 frets and steel strings in place of the 15 frets and nylon strings you get with the Mini.
This guitar is designed for ages 6 and up and has a length of 29.2″ (74.1 cm), width of 8.8″ (22.3 cm), and depth of 2.6″ (6.6 cm).
Pro Acoustic guitars feature the same basswood body and Maple neck and fingerboard as the Minis do.
They’re also incredibly lightweight at just 2.0 lbs (0.9 kg).
Personally, we went with the Loog Mini Acoustic over the Pro Acoustic because of the price difference.
Kids go through all sorts of phases and we wanted to make sure this hobby stuck before investing more than we needed into it.
We really are glad that we got it for her now though and will be upgrading to a Pro for her this Christmas!
There’s a very noticeable difference between the tone of the Loog Pro and the Loog Mini – the Pro is louder and sounds more like a guitar than the Mini’s ukulele-like sound.
The Loog Pro Acoustic retails for $129 USD ($159 CAD) but of course, in Canada, we have to pay all sorts of insane prices or shipping and duty fees too!
If you order it from Amazon and ship it to a US postal box though, you can save a big chunk of change as a Canadian.
Just like the difference between acoustic models, the Loog Pro Electric is a slightly larger guitar than the Loog Mini Electric and features 18 frets instead of 15.
The guitar has a length of 29.2″ (74.1 cm), width of 8.8″ (22.3 cm), depth of 2.6″ (6.6 cm), and is super lightweight at just 2.4 lbs (1.1 kg).
It retails for $199 USD ($245 CAD).
Loog Pro VI
As the name suggests, the Loog Pro VI is a six-string guitar!
Like other acoustic Loog guitars, the body is basswood and the neck and fingerboard are Maple.
The Loog Pro VI acoustic has steel strings and is recommended for ages nine and up – kids younger than this may struggle to play a six-string guitar.
This was certainly our experience!
The Pro VI is slightly larger than the other acoustic Pro with 19 frets and dimensions of 33.4″ length (84.9 cm), 11.4″ (28.9 cm), and 3.2″ (81.6 cm) depth.
It weighs twice as music as the Loog Pro at 4.0 lbs (1.8 kg).
The Pro VI Acoustic retails for $149 USD ($185 CAD).
Like other Loog electrics, the Loog Pro VI Electric has a Paulownia body and a Maple neck and fingerboard.
It features 19 frets, a built-in amp and speaker, and controls for volume and gain.
The Loog Pro VI electric has a length of 33.9″ (86.0 cm), width of 10.8″ (27.3 cm), and depth of 2.5″ (6.2 cm).
It’s the heaviest guitar Loog makes at 4.4 lbs (2.0 kg).
The Loog Pro VI Electric retails for $229 USD ($279 CAD).
First Impressions of Our Loog Mini
Loog guitars are nicely packaged and my daughter was so excited to unpack all of the little goodies in the box!
The Loog Mini package includes the guitar and a cute bag that includes chords flash cards and two yellow Loog pics.
The cards are great and will take your little one from three-string to six-string chords.
Here’s what they look like for G major, E minor, C major, and A major.
For those who are unfamiliar with it, the square in the top right corner of the cards shows the full six-string version of a guitar chord.
So for instance, when you’re looking at the card above for A major, the purple circles on the second row of the box indicate that you need to place your fingers in those positions in the second fret.
You’ll also notice a little hand in the bottom right corner that shows you which fingers to use.
The highlighted red square shows the reduced size neck of a three-string Loog guitar and indicates where you should put your fingers to play the same chord.
And honestly, they sound great!
I practice playing chords with my daughter on a regular basis and her eyes always light up when she hears me strum and knows she’s played the same chord correctly on her little guitar.
Overall Impression
Our daughter LOVES playing her Loog guitar!
It’s small enough for her little size and makes it enjoyable for her to learn and discover the joy of playing guitar on it.
The three-string design is simple and makes it easy for her to learn chords and play songs on.
That said, some three-string chords can still be a challenge but with practice, she’s come back and learned to master more difficult ones.
At this age, the six-string junior guitar we got her was just too much and the three-string was a great way to build her confidence and keep her motivated!
The built-in guitar games on the Loog app make learning even more fun for her.
We can’t recommend this little guitar enough for kids and even adults who want to give playing guitar a shot!
Can adults play Loog guitars?
Absolutely, an adult can have a blast playing a Loog guitar!
We brought our daughter’s Loog Mini to a campout recently and both the adults who play guitar themselves and even those who don’t wanted to take turns playing it.
You could see how excited the parents who don’t play guitar were when they saw how easily you could make music on this cool little guitar!
We can’t recommend it enough as a learning and teaching tool, especially for other homeschool families who want to get their kids involved in music.
More Homeschool Ideas:
- Top 10 Homeschool Ideas for Kindergarteners
- Our Simple (Condensed) Kindergarten Homeschool Schedule
- The Ultimate Homeschool Supply Shopping List (Printable PDF)
Loog vs Ukulele
The size of a Loog Mini is nearly identical to a Ukulele but it’s one string less and utilizes the same tuning and chords as a regular guitar.
Here’s our Loog Mini and Denver Soprano ukulele beside one another – we transport these back and forth from my mom’s house regularly!
Chords on a ukulele are completely different – standard tuning on a ukulele is GCEA while a regular guitar is tuned EADGBE (and Loog is tuned to the same last three strings, GBE).
The sound of the Loog Mini is slightly similar to a ukulele.
Here are our girls playing their guitars together.
Can a 2-year-old play Loog guitar and what age are they meant for?
I’d recommend waiting until at least 3 years old to get your child a Loog guitar!
Because in all honestly, that little Denver ukulele I managed to snag for next to nothing on Facebook has become a “beater” instrument for my two-year-old (there aren’t many people in the market for pink ukuleles with missing strings apparently, haha).
Kids are busy having fun and just aren’t careful with things like instruments at this age:
- they don’t hold instruments correctly – their hands will still be developing for a few more years
- they don’t have an interest in learning how to play chords properly – again, it’s also challenging when their hands aren’t fully developed yet
- walk around carrying instruments in all sorts of questionable and unsafe ways
- may injure themselves or another child
- will drop instruments aggressively when something new grabs their attention
I say all of this from experience!
Our two-year-old makes noise rather than music on her ukulele but it makes her happy being able to participate in family music time.
This made with kids in mind instrument is high quality and resilient but in our opinions, it’s still too expensive for a two-year-old to play with.
A better more durable alternative at this age could just be a simple plastic dollar store guitar.
Can you plug a Loog into an amp?
Yes, you can plug Loog Electric guitars into an amp!
Loog even makes its very own Loog Mini Amp – it’s 3 Watts, battery-operated, and works with any other electric guitar.
Do Loog Guitars stay in tune?
Not really, you’ll probably need to tune your Loog whenever your child plays.
Or if your child is older and doesn’t get frustrated with it, have them tune their own Loog guitar using the tuner on the app!
It’s a great learning feature here and honestly, tuning three strings on a guitar isn’t difficult in exchange for the exploration and education this thing provides.
I’ve found that we need to make the biggest adjustments after transporting it back and forth but when you place it on a shelf or hang it on a guitar hook, it’s not as drastic.
Guitar Game and App Review
My daughter LOVES this app!
Kids can earn in-game reward tokens for tuning their guitars, practicing chords, playing songs, and watching guitar lessons.
When you’ve earned enough coins, you can use them to buy your Loog monster (the little game character) new clothing, shoes, accessories, fur colors, and guitars.
Our 6-year-old loves to mix up her monster’s outfit every time she logs on.
There are also three new daily tasks kids can do to earn bonus coins.
Loog Guitar School
Loog offers a ton of very cool online interactive learning opportunities.
You can subscribe to their email lists to receive notifications about live Loog guitar lessons online or check out the schedule here.
There’s also a Loog Guitar School course available for purchase on their website but from what we can tell, most of these lessons are the same ones available through the app.
Must-Have Accessories
1. Get a book – or two!
If you prefer print-based learning over handheld electronic devices, I highly recommend picking up this book and this book for your Loog guitar.
It’s also not a bad idea to have at least one book for days when you don’t have Wi-Fi access or the power goes out.
Music is always a great way to spend your time!
2. Get a travel bag
If you’ll be traveling with your Loog, consider getting a gig bag for it!
This will prevent your guitar from getting chipped or damaged on the road.
3. Strap
This guitar strap is a great accessory for kids who want to perform while standing up or on the go.
You’ll find your child uses it more when they can walk around the house playing too.
Our daughter loves campfire guitar sessions!
4. Mini amp and cable
The Loog amp is really cute and will get any little aspiring rockstar excited about performing!
5. Hook or Stand
We prefer guitar hooks to stands in our house since we have a wild two-year-old on the loose.
Loog makes their own wall hangers but we use these ones instead – they’re a little heavy-duty for these lightweight guitars but we keep the kids’ instruments with our full-sized acoustics in the living room.
Alternatively, you could also get a guitar stand for your Loog but it takes up a bigger footprint on the floor than the out-of-reach wall hanger does.
Here’s what our living room looks like.
Shop Loog Guitars:
Acoustic Guitars
- Loog Mini Acoustic (ages 3+)
- Loog Pro Acoustic (ages 6+)
- Loog Pro VI Acoustic (ages 9+)
Electric Guitars
- Loog Mini Electric (ages 3+)
- Loog Pro Electric (ages 6+)
- Loog Pro VI Electric (ages 9+)
Final Thoughts: Loog Guitar Review
We love our Loog Mini Acoustic!
My daughter enjoys playing the guitar games on the app as well as jamming with me when I play my guitar.
She’s already asked several times for an electric guitar for Christmas and we can’t wait to gift her one this season!
Which Loog will you pick up for your child? How old is your little musician?
Let me know in the comments below.
Happy jamming, friend!
