new, few questions...

Welcome to the madhouse.

Try Absolute Beginner, Fretboard map and supplement with Chords 101.

Even if you're going to play around, don't bother getting a "super cheap mini guitar". It will put you off, for life.

Get a second hand 3/4 size on or a parlour guitar.

Enjoy!

Matt

I agree with mattguitar, buying a super cheap mini-guitar is the worst thing you could do. It will be hard to fret and sound terrible. In the end you'll probably be discouraged by it. If you decide that the guitar is for you, get a good instrument, the best you can afford. While your deciding read all you can about it. Here's a link with some information that may be helpful.

http://www.guitartips.addr.com/

The "super cheap mini-guitar" is what drug addicts dream about - something guaranteed to get them off the habit.

Try an Esteban - it's literally not worth the wood it's made out of.

Do yourself a favour and spend some more money and get something worth playing - I'm sure one of your friends will only be too happy to help. If you find that guitar playing is not for you, you'll have a chance of getting at least some of your investment back. If you find that the guitar is for you, you'll have an instrument that will give you pleasure for some time to come.

i agree totally with greybeard, buying a "supercheapguitar" will leave you with nothing but frustration and sore fingers. the better the guitar you start with, the easier it will be to learn to play on.

I totally agree with the above posts. Don't buy a cheap guitar. You wont like it a bit.
As for instructions. The beginner lessons on this site are great and there are a few others around the net that are good as well but I would suggest, especially if you will be playing at the beach, that you have some offline resources. When you get your guitar get a basic begginers instruction book.

^ +1. You're gonna want to save up.

Oh yeah... welcome to guitarnoise! :)

Try an Esteban - it's literally not worth the wood it's made out of

When did they upgrade and start using wood?

Not all super cheap guitars are garbage anymore like it was in the past. Competition in the market has brought the quality up and the prices down on "beginner" guitars. I'd say just get a cheap electric guitar and rig it up to a jam box when you want to take it to the beach

Try an Esteban - it's literally not worth the wood it's made out of

When did they upgrade and start using wood?
:lol:

was esteban even that good/famous as a guitar player?

I remeber seeing his infomercial when he compared his american legacy crap to a $5,000 dollar guitar, how could anyone lie that badly? The worst part was when he showed with his amp, he could play metallica, i started crying on the inside

I agree that you shouldnt buy the cheapest guitar to start on, but for 150-200 bucks I bet you can find something you can actually learn to play on, as well as a guitar that can serve you well for years to come. If looking for a guitar to take to the beach, I suggest an all laminate guitar, no need to worry about the climate, laminates seem to be a better opotion than soild woods if its something you plan on taking outdoors and draging to college, they seem to hold up well. Many laminated guitar can be found with a really good sound. Good luck and I hope your guitar brings you much joy.

I would really recommend that you toss out the cash for something above decent, in the $300-$500 range for accoustics.

For one thing, if you decide that you don't want to play, you can sell it on ebay for nearly what you paid for it (if you shop smart to begin with). But more importantly, you'll have a guitar that is good enough to not frustrate your playing as folks above have noted.