Oh, the guitars and gear are mine and headed to my collection after I'm done enjoying them. I've been so broke that ramen noodles were expensive - while I sat there with 5 figures worth of guitar gear. In my life, I have *never* sold a guitar. I've shared pics before. I own hundreds of guitars - like 250 at last count - but I've probably purchased 20 since then. I've sold amps and pedals. So, in this case, the 'beginner' is me. I'm pretending that I'm new to the instrument and my goal is to see how cheap you can get into the hobby. I'll buy another dozen cheap guitars (probably) until I find out how low you can go before they're no longer playable. For a beginner, I'd recommend medium or heavier strings - or medium strings if it's an acoustic. The reason is, it's easy for a beginner to break a string. So, avoid the light and extra light, and settle for something in the middle. I don't actually have a favorite string - 'cause every time I have a new favorite the manufacturer discontinues them. So, what I do is operate in a price range. Anything retailing from $12 to $18 a set is likely to be a pretty good set of strings. These strings are likely $8 for a set retail, but less as I bought a pack of them from someone content to make pennies on the dollar. So, I've been pretending that I'm a straight beginner (in my head and in my purchases) with the goal being to see how cheap I can get into it. I want to know how much it really costs to get started with gear you can live with and gear that makes a good sound. It does help that I'm very familiar with the industry. Truthfully, a real beginner wouldn't know to get those things - and wouldn't know what guitar or amp to purchase.