acoustic, that way he'll build up strength in his hands and fingers, makes for an easy transition to electric

and honestly, if you guys have ever seen that Esteban commercial, that is an awesome starter acoustic guitar, best one i have ever played, hell of a value too

Good point Alex. Acoustic is the way to go. I hate it when my new students come in with a new electric. But as far as electrics go I would go with Squier OR Epiphone for starters

It depends on how resolved your friend is. If he is the type that quits doing things that are difficult, start him on an electric. It won't hurt his fingers as bad and is easier to play. That way, he won't get discouraged too soon. If he likes to learn the right way and do the hardest things first so that he gets the most return for his time, have him start on acoustic. It depends on the person.
Right now, just try to keep his interest with quick success. Most people never get good because they won't stick with it. When their fingers start hurting and they aren't making a lot of progress, they get discouraged and bored. That seems to be the first hurdle that you have get over. Often times if someone does really well on electric soon after beginning, it may encourage them to continue. They can worry about strengthening their fingers enough to play acoustic later.
I personally think that learning acoustic first is best but, like I said, it depends on the person.

A lot of guitar teachers will tell you that most of their students that started on acoustic stuck with it while the ones on electric dropped it after finding it was not as easy as they thought. As to buying a good cheap guitar , set a budget and play ,play , play till you find the one that feels right. For me the search is always fun .

Its not about having the right guitar for the right price to make someone stick with it,,,,,,,,,,, its all 100% about having the right tutor for the individual,,,,,, i have has some certified registered tutors with all the qualifications and bells and whistles,,,,,,, and with no disrespect to them, they make a living out of it so 100% respect to them,,,,BUT they wernt the right tutors for me ,it became more of a part time job learning the guitar... i have a tutor now who will teach me what i want in the ordr of things i want,,,,it might not be the correct way of doing things but it keeps my drive up and i pick the guitar up and learn what im being taught every minuite u have spare......i play for enjoyment not to get a job in music,,,,, lets be honest there are few people that are actually capable of making it...... for the few that are gifted they need the registered tutors should they want a career in music.

As for the guitar for your friend just play around with different models in the stores. What does he listen to should give u an idea....if he listens to steve vai then u will have a good idea that he will possibly aspire to be a lead guitarist so recommend a guitar with a floyd for all the accrobattics... u know ur friend better than us, u should advise him according to his musical tastes.
I started on a Fender Strat MIA,,,,, way to expensive for a noobie i know,BUT it was the fact that i dropped a shed load of cash on a guitar which made persivere,,,, i wanted to throw the damn thing out of the window at times but it was the fact that the cost kept me at it,,, if i had a cheap old plank i would have thought forget this along time ago....so i never recommend cheap planks.
just my opinion.
gibsonboss.

start him on an acoustic so he gts more into it like the other ppl said. i started on an epiphone les paul jr....pretty good, look cool, and stuff. REALLY cheap.lol.
i recomend an acoustic, but if he wannts to gt an electric MAKE HIM CHOKE HIM too play an acoustic first.
omg.


xD
joaquin carter.

I know I'm probably alone in this but my opinion is, if you give a beginner a crappy guitar, you're limiting them from the start. If you have to spend a little more on an instrument that's easy to play and sounds good, then so be it. There's no reason someone should "have" to play on a POS guitar that doesn't stay in tune and has mile-high action just because they're a "noob".

I say if you're going to learn the thing then at least find a decent guitar to start with. Doesn't necessarily have to be expensive. Ibanez has several series in the 2-400 range that are excellent and don't lose a whole lot of resale value. Yamaha Pacifica guitars go for about 1-200 but are WAY underrated. I own 2. Squiers and Epiphones are decent and you can usually find them in pawn shops or on ebay for pretty cheap.

To me the ONLY thing you shouldn't dish out tons of money on right away is an amp. An old fender frontman reverb will do just fine for learning. I tell my students to practice clean most of the time anyway so there's no need for over-the-top tubescreamer-into-a-dual-rectifier distortion. Just a clean channel that works. Once they start getting the hang of it, I *might* tell them to get a distortion pedal and or a delay of their choosing.