A short YouTube clip by Lauren Bateman giving practical advice for choosing a beginner guitar: prioritize physical comfort (hold the guitar to check fit) and aim for a quality instrument in the $300–$500 range; choose body thickness based on desired sound and personal comfort.
I get so many students who ask me, Lauren, can you make a recommendation about a great beginner guitar? And I hate doing this because the best beginner guitar is the guitar that is most comfortable for you. And what might be most comfortable for me at about 55 might be completely different for a guy that is 6 foot tall. So my recommendation is to spend in the range of 300 to $500 on a guitar. This way you know you're going to get a great quality guitar and go to a guitar shop and put your arm around it, make sure it's comfortable. If you feel like you're climbing over the guitar, it might be too big. You want to go with a thinner body guitar and just remember the thicker the guitar the bigger the sound. So you may not like the sound too much of the super skinny guitars but just put your arm around it and if it's comfortable it's probably a great guitar for you.
