Arguably, the most difficult phase of learning is setting yourself up for success with a good kit. Here, you'll find some general information that will help guide you on making good choices in a field full of less-than-good choices.
Long Answer: You can learn on either. Both are tuned the same, the notes are the same, the strings are similar. So why is the acoustic guitar better for learning?
When shopping for an acoustic guitar, be prepared to spend at least $250. This will get you—and this is important—a solid-top guitar. The alternative is laminate and one of those won't do yourself any favors in the timbre department. Laminate-top guitars will often use very beautiful and exotic wood veneers that will make them look like a million bucks, so be cautious and ask your friendly musical instrument dealer to show you solid top instruments.
Look for these brands:
Also: avoid acoustic guitars with built-in electronics. Those systems can add quite a bit to the price tag, and unless you'll need to plug into a public address system, you won't have much use for them. Take that money and get a better solid top acoustic, instead. It is actually very easy to add an electronics system later.
Long Answer: If the raw power of a sleek and sexy electric guitar is the only thing that will to motivate you to play your new instrument, then by all means, get one!
Here are some classic electric guitars played by musicians all over the world, and some of the budget models are—I'm not kidding—fantastic instruments:
A word of warning: Steer clear of guitars with a Floyd Rose tremolo system. They're unwieldy to tune and make strings hard to change, and they only do a super specific thing that no beginner should fuss with. (Do check 'em out, though)
For amplification, consider springing for a tube amplifier. The alternative, solid state amps, are fine and often times come with a bunch of fun effects, but 1) those effects are a distraction for beginners, and 2) nothing—and I mean nothing—sounds as sweet as a real tube amplifier. Some good budget amps that aren't technically tube amps but have tubes in the pre-amp are the Valvetronix series from Vox; they're relatively inexpensive, sound great, look cool, and most do come with some effects, which—while distracting—are admittedly pretty fun.
Long Answer: Unless you're trying to learn classical or Flamenco-style music, these may not be the right guitar for you. Beginners are often drawn to these because the strings are soft and they think they can bypass the "develop your calluses" stage of learning the guitar. They're almost right, but even if they were 100% right, that's not the best path forward, generally speaking. However, for folks who want to make music but are unable to press the considerably stiffer strings of a steel-string acoustic, these are a wonderful option.
That said, if you buy two acoustic guitars, one of them maybe should have nylon strings. They have a beautifully soft, warm tone that will round out any collection. And you should neither put nylon strings on an acoustic, nor steel strings on a classical/Flamenco guitar.
No new hobby suffers from a lack of accessories. Here are some useful items you'll need to complete your kit:
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