Spend £100 and get a Yamaha. Perfect for beginners. You'll regret spending £60, it wont hold a tune and you'll have to retune it everyday if not twice a day depending on how much you play it.
You can get away with spending £60 for an electric (you shouldn't have any trouble finding a Squier Strat or similar copy for that price second-hand) but a £60 acoustic will usually be an absolute fucker to play and will sound shit even in the hands of a skilled guitarist. What kind of music do you want to play?
Anyway, ask around your mates and see if you can borrow one; avoid spending money until you're certain it's something you're going to keep doing. The honest truth is that most people who try to learn guitar don't keep it up, you need to be self-motivated, stubborn and persistent. On the plus side, this means it's quite likely you know someone who has a guitar but isn't using it.
Mainly popular music and maybe some rock stuff. I can play the piano quite well but really need a change and thought the guitar seems an interesting instrument to play.
>Didn't want to spend too much until I am pretty good at playing it.
A £60 guitar is pissing in the wind. I got one as a stop gap until I could replace the one my friend had given me a loan of for 2 years (I had gotten so used to it, I wanted to buy the same one) and it was shit. Wouldn't stay tuned, sounded bad. You get what you pay for when it comes to guitars. If you were buying it for a teenager to have a bit of a fuck around on, I'd say go for the £60, but if you spend the £100 you'll get an entry level Yamaha that will last you for years and years mate.
Honestly, when it comes to guitars I wouldn't fuck you about.
Don't listen to the haters. You should be able to pick up a second hand Stagg or Encore steel string acoustic for about £60. As long as it's in good condition it will be fine to learn on.
The thing to watch out for is how it has been stored. Most people tend to lean them against a wall like in this photo which can make the neck warped. A sure sign of this effect is when the action (distance between the strings and frets around the 12th fret) is really big.
Make sure the neck is straight when you look down it, make sure you don't have to press down miles to play a note at the 12th fret and make sure there is no buzzing when any notes are played. Ask them to play you a few chords if you don't feel up to it yourself.
>>5590 Skill with a second instrument comes along much more quickly and easily than the first. You'll pick up the basics in no time, as long as you don't land a complete lemon.
>>5589's advice (re: problems to look out for) is solid but in your situation I can't recommend just diving in and hoping you can wing it when choosing a guitar. Is there any chance of taking a guitar-playing friend along to try out a potential purchase? Or perhaps your tutor knows of someone who's getting shot of their starter guitar.
>>5582 second hand might be worth taking a look at but if it needs any repairs these can easily cost quite a bit so you need to be discerning. Don't worry about dust or crap strings as this can be easily fixed/cleaned
Even without a teacher, you can start bashing out tunes in a matter of days rather than months. All you really need to strum along to a few tunes are basic I-V-vi-IV shapes in a couple of keys, and you can get reasonably far with just I-IV-V. If you want to play to a high standard then the learning curve is just as steep as with piano, but getting to the point where you can play a few songs competently is much easier on guitar.
I wouldn't recommend that a beginner buy either an off-brand guitar or to go second-hand, because as a novice you don't know enough to spot a dud. It can be incredibly frustrating to learn on a guitar that has a knackered neck, bad fretting or a dodgy nut. It's not really about quality, but consistency. You don't need a fantastic guitar to learn on, but if you get a real stinker then it'll put you off for life. If you spend a little bit more on Yamaha or Ibanez from a reputable shop, you can be assured that you're getting an instrument in playable condition. Either will cost you a shade over £100. It is definitely worth going second-hand if you have a guitar-savvy friend who can find you a good one and set it up for you.
>are there any good YouTube tutorial channels you could recommend?
Not really, but I can highly recommend that you torrent "Gibson's Learn and Master Guitar". It's a 40 hour video course that goes from the bare basics to intermediate material in a clear and straightforward way. The course is really well structured and makes things very practical and relevant - each session shows you a concept or technique, then teaches you a tune that makes use of what you've learned. There are backing tracks included for all the songs covered in the course, which makes practice a lot more enjoyable.
Although this image is ukulele chords (>>5595), I'd recommend chord boxes like this over tabs at first. They can teach you a few easy chords really quickly which helps with confidence.
Once you can play a few simple songs you can branch out into more complex stuff using tabs.
I could already play the drums to some extent so strumming with the right hand came instantly. I'm hoping that your piano skills will mean the same for you. Also going into it with an understanding of basic chord progressions and music theory will stand you in good stead.
