Find a first guitar

I wanted to talk about the exact steps to learn to play guitar one step at a time over the next few posts. First up is how to find the guitar itself.
Luckily today there are many very well made guitars for a reasonable price so that is nice. Years ago there were only cheap guitars and expensive guitars. Not much in between. I know I had a Silvertone before I graduated to an Ovation and eventually a Martin.
If you do not have a friend to help you, I would suggest a visit to your local music store or stores to get an idea what you want. Please don’t buy anything for a week or so. Go home, research the exact model numbers on the internet and get an idea if the price you are looking to pay is in line with the current retail price. You can buy online also, although I would not recommend that for a first time purchase because the new player is more apt to be happy with a guitar that he picks out the first time. After a while you can buy online and you will know what to expect from experience.
You can buy a very decent, first time guitar for $300 these days. You can of course pay less and perhaps find a good one on Craigslist or at a garage sale. If you are patient and have a friend to help you check out possible buys that would be the most economical way.
Finally you have to decide whether you want an electric guitar or an acoustic one. Unless you are just dying to play electric, I would recommend starting with an acoustic guitar at first. It requires no amplification (an additional expense), and you can play all types of music on it and is also portable to the campfire or at the beach etc.

Next time;tune the guitar.