Look for something more high end than the ones you listed. for 150/200 you'll be able to get a decent Yamaha or Cort acoustic. the F10E yamaha is a good starter guitar if you're on a really tight budget, but from a very serious standpoint, if you can spend more for better quality, you really should do.

Skimping on the guitar at the beginning just because you want to save a little cash, is a surefire way to end up with a piece of absolute **** that will turn you off from playing the guitar.

And, unless you have a friend who can already play reasonably well and who knows their stuff about guitars, buy new. The second hand market is good right now because of the economy, but that also means its filled with a lot more people trying to shift total crap.

On the subject of the 'friend' Say, 3/4 years of playing at LEAST, before they can realyl spot the differences between a good guitar and a bad one, and make sure they have at least some interest in the way a guitar works and is set up. I know plenty of good guitar players, who would play a million times better if they took the time to learn how the instrument works. That same knowledge is also very important in learning how to avoid bad guitars.

THings like cheap bridges, weak tuners, neck finish cracks and weak neck bolts, are all too common on low end guitars, and without some rudimentary knowledge of how to tell the difference, you're almost as likely to get burned as you are to find a passable guitar. And if you're holding out for that 'awesome deal' on a second hand guitar, you're out of luck without that knowledge, because its pretty easy to fool a newbie into believing just about anything as long as the guitar looks ok.

Don't believe me? Go to Jemsite and search up the word 'chibanez'

or google gibsun guitars

I thought of that, but considering my views on the REAL Gibson, I figured disparaging their clone makers would be tantamount to a glowing endorsement from myself.

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Now playing on Winamp: Guns N' Roses - Think About You
via FoxyTunes

just get one of those starter packs from guitar center.
my first axe was a warlock beginner set.

now i have several including the love of my life, my 7 string dean

touché :laughing:

apparently there's a pawn shop in my town that gets one or two of those U clones per year and manages to sell them at O prices.

i'd almost consider it at epiphone prices, just to be able to say i have a shady clone of the big G hahaha