Which guitar for a beginner?
My advice would be to go to a guitar store and just start picking up different guitars. After trying a bunch, you’ll start noticing which type of neck feels comfortable, what sounds good to your ears, etc. If you don’t already play, maybe take a friend with you who plays guitar so you can hear the differences between guitars. In the end, you can’t go wrong if you leave the store with a guitar that sounds and feels good to you.
There are some pretty decent beginner kits out there. I have Fender’s beginner acoustic dreadnaught kit that comes with gig bag, DVD, digital tuner, and a strap, and that wasn’t a bad value for close to $300. It certainly has a lot more soul than some of the $60 throw-away guitars my friends have. For actually learning to play, the included DVD got me started, but recently I’ve spent a lot more time on sites like chordie.com and using the chord library and some basic lessons from the eMedia Guitar Method CD-ROM.
ZenMasterThis makes a really important point about the pick ups in the cheaper acoustic guitars. They break easily and you’ll end up spending more money fixing them then you did buying them (plus the sound is painful.) The seagulls are also my recommendation for a cheap guitar… the guitar store I frequent is run by a guitar nazi who trades/sells high end stuff and the only cheap guitars he carries are the seagulls. ( I personally don’t like the thin sound of the plastic ovations. ) I started out playing guitar on a nylon string guitar. Only for a little over a year but it was a great way to get used to the basics. The neck is wider allowing for ackward fingers to more easily find chords. Also the strings don’t hurt your fingers as much allowing your callouses to develop more naturally. Good luck!
