Is she on a full size guitar?

When I was buying mine, the first thing I established was which fret scale (distance between frets on the neck) I liked. Fender and knockoffs have a larger fret scale than Gibson and knockoffs. Due to an accident, my index finger on my left hand is shorter than it ought to be, and the smaller "reach" of a Gibson led me to buy an Epiphone as it was more comfortable.

Since you want light, you'll likely want to stay away from the solid bodies, although I would suggest trying them. Maybe an Epiphone archtop (semi-hollow body)? Like the Dot?

Mine is a Wildkat (the Dot with a Bigsby tremolo), which is lighter than a solid body, can be practiced on without plugging in, and looks cool.

A lot of it is style though. Let her hold it in her hands and try it. It sounds fruity, but you "just know' when you have the one you want.

If you have local guitar shop around, take her in and have her try the Epiphone and Squire models. The folks are usually great about helping out new players. If not a local place (watch prices), look for a Guitar Center. They are decent around here.

If you have to shop online, Musician's Friend and Music123 are both decent shops. I do highly recommend the local music shop if you have one though.

Hope that helps.

EDIT: Oh, and if she's a girly girl, there's always Daisy Rock Guitars, who's first guitar was actually shaped like a daisy, and got solid reviews. They've come a long way since then.

Cue Podunk in 3, 2, 1...

I think the Dot/335 may be too big for a 9-yr old. I find them to be pretty bulky myself.
While solid bodies may be a tad heavier, if she's not planning on strapping it on and jumping around it may not a big deal.

From personal experience I find shorter scale guitars easier to play (eg. les pauls) than longer scale (strats) since there's less string tension, which might be desirable for younger hands. I do not recommend you go out and get a $3000 Les Paul though.

The Les Paul Junior, however, is a great guitar. The Gibson version is over your budget, but I think Epiphone still makes them. It comes with either 1 or 2 P-90 pickups and is lighter and smaller than the Les Paul. It's also the ultimate punk rock guitar (to me), especially if you get it in the TV Yellow finish.

The SG is also a great guitar, again, Gibson too expensive, Epiphone much more affordable. Good enough for Black Sabbath and AC/DC, it's good enough for her.

Also I forgot to mention, it is worth the $30-50 the store may charge you to get the guitar set-up. I never used to believe in it ("pffft, I can tune the guitar myself") but they do much more than just slap on some new strings and tune it. Most guitars straight off the rack are in pretty poor playing condition, due to the temperature/humidity change in the travel, abuse in the store, etc. A good tech can offset those problems by resetting the action (ht of the strings from the frets), fix the intonation, round off/polish the frets, etc.

It made a world of difference on a cheapo Les Paul knockoff I had given up on, it is now my main guitar.

I agree with NSmike, the squier is a decent guitar. If you are looking for something thats cheap but sounds good get her a Gibson Les Paul. This one seems pretty nice http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-Les-Paul-Melody-Maker-Dual-Pickup-Electric-Guitar?sku=512641X I think this is the one my friend just got, it sounds great.

I prefer Fender (Been playing for 3 to 4 years, I use an '82 Fender Stratocaster Elite) but Gibson makes some pretty good sounding starter guitars. It really boils down to how much you are willing to spend, the more you spend, the longer the guitar will last (well, most likely). If you think she is going to keep playing, buy her something nice. Then you wont have to worry about buying her another guitar later down the road.

She will probably be playing a while. She has wanted to since she was 4/5 and taught herself piano. She practices for hours on her broken one now.

However, she is STILL just a kid...with a big brother and friends. Whatever I buy, I'm sure it will get broken at some point, so I'd rather buy her a new cheap guitar every year or so then one that will 'last' because, I seriously doubt it will.

I'm thinking of going down to guitar center today to see what 'fits' best.

Thanks for the tips on the prof. tuning. I think that is what we need most.

That is a good choice. Different guitars feel different to each individual person. I personally like my Les Paul, and I know Strats are a good guitar but they just don't "feel" right to me. The guitar I'm kinda looking to get is the PRS SE. But for $600 it might be out of your price range.

If I was shopping I would check out this Gibson. It seem ridiculously cheap for a Gibson.

I don' wanna sound gay or nothin', but I gotta get me one of those.

Edit: Ne'er mind. I didn't realize they were made by Fender. I have an allergic reaction to Fender guitars.

Did you buy it from a guy with shifty eyes?

If it doesn't have those things it's not worth buying. Knifes, bullet holes and bloodstains are the purest form of rock.

As a um...professional. I would simply say that you would do yourself a service by purchasing the cheapest acoustic $100 Yamaha from whatever vendor is closest to you. Forget about solid tops, style and finish- your daughter is battering frets to learn my friend.

Buy an easy to read simple chord book your daughter can understand, I would suggest one written and drawn in a charted graphical way.

Then buy a few (chords listed or charted in a graph) song books chalk full of songs your daughter knows.

The next step is to buy a great electronic tuner (I suggest KORG). Learn how to tune her instrument like it means everything- because it does. It'll save ya at least 20 bucks each time you want it tuned. Besides remember that an out of tune guitar will never sound the way she will want it to...also remember that newer strings stretch, as do strings in extreme hot or cold. Always check your tuning- it'll save lives.

Have her practice her chord book along with songs she knows, and if she has worked this whole zenny thing right then having what note is played against the lyrics and the song she has dancing in her head will pay off. Within only a few months of "practicing" she will learn the basics of guitar not just because of the hardship of knowing how to use your fingers but because she will be having fun just playing what she likes. Don't start on theory; I already blame Greco-Roman orgies for boring people.

If you want a new electric- I would suggest a cheap Fender Stratocaster (haggle the salesman), the guitar model remains strong and efficient but that is my school. Let your daughter find her own and let me know if you need any additional help.

I'm in agreement with Zen's suggestion about learning chords and then songs she knows/likes. I suggested songs by Tom Petty since they are all 3-chords strummers. No amount of technical knowledge, theory and sight reading can keep one's interests as much as the fun of banging out a tune. Just look at what Guitar Hero did for non-musicians now learning to play the guitar.

But I think several people have disputed our method and suggested getting a good teacher, which is probably not a bad idea either.

Actually, it was my 45 year old brother in law that broke it playing with it and trying to tune it.

She is taking lessons...she is a clapton fan, so sunshine of your love is her first real song. Her teacher gives her both to practice...a set of chords, and a song.

We actually got this guitar....

Which is a Schecter Omen-6. She mostly wanted it because it was blue.

I paid $75 for it and it retails for $299-449. It seems solid and plays well and looks brand new and was already in tune, according to the tuner thingy.

I figure if by Christmas if she is still loving it we can get her a better one...or it may last a few years.

That Schecter is a fine guitar. You'd probably pay $250-300 for it new, and it is easily comparable to or better than similarly priced offerings from Fender, Epiphone, etc. I'd take it to a guitar shop and have it professionally set up at some point, but there is absolutely no reason that guitar shouldn't last her for as long as she wants to keep playing the guitar.