Need acousitc guitar advice.

[Farfenugen]

I was looking at purchasing a guitar and learning how to play it. I have never played the guitar in my life. I went to the local music store and got the impression they were trying to sell me the most expensive guitar and tried to get me to sign up for a bunch of lessons.

What type of guitar should I get?

Should I get lessons or is this something I can learn on my own?

[einbert]

I'm sure you could learn Mandarin on your own, but you will learn it a lot faster and better if you take classes from someone that knows what they're doing.

[By-Tor]

get a betty-boop ukulele lunchbox

[Farfenugen]

What about the guitar itself.

Is there good "best buy for the buck" brand that is good for a beginner?

Is there a big difference between a $100 guitar and a $200 guitar?

[NT!]

IMO the most important thing in a starter acoustic is getting something that's not too tough to play and stays in tune. You want something with low action and a solid reputation. I haven't played an acoustic guitar in forever so I don't really have any brand recommendations.

I never took a guitar lesson in my life. I think it's great to develop your own style and techniques, and write your own songs. However if I could do it all over again I'd probably take a few lessons within the first year that I was playing, just to get me moving in the right direction and aware of some standard stuff. But not right away.

[thewaxer]

Be sure to get a guitar that is easy to play. Some guitars need work like having the action lowered and the frets honed. Some steel string acoustic guitars are very hard to push down on the frets, so this will make learning difficult and discouraging. Nylon guitars (classical) are the easiest to play.

You could teach yourself if you buy books, but lessons are very beneficial if you find the right teacher.

[CappyAA]

I also never took a lesson in my life - I bought a crappy guitar on eBay for $30 to learn back in college. NT is right - the most annoying thing I thought was that it kept going out of tune. Definitely get a small electronic tuner right away too so you can tune it easily. Your ear won't be very good right away to do that, and when it's not in tune, it doesn't sound right.

After about a year of playing, I sprung the extra money for a guitar that is pretty nice.

[amplify]

http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/pro..._sku=102919487

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Is there a big difference between a $100 guitar and a $200 guitar?

[/ QUOTE ]
Nope.

[NT!]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/pro..._sku=102919487

[ QUOTE ]
Is there a big difference between a $100 guitar and a $200 guitar?

[/ QUOTE ]
Nope.

[/ QUOTE ]

this looks like a pretty good starter guitar

also, OP, if you do get lessons, don't sign up for them through the guitar center, you'll probably get ripped off and they'll most likely be looking to do their own ready-made lessons for you to reduce prep time etc. ask your friends to show you a little bit on the guitar, try it out for yourself, and ask them about good places to get lessons.

[TroutMaskReplica]

yeah, i was going to recommend a yamaha too, their cheap acoustics are good starter guitars - they sound good, play good and are pretty well put together.