Hi Jenk,
I started playing about a year ago on a J. Reynolds(i.e. CHEAP!!!) Dreadnought. Not the best choice of quality. Chinese built, plywood. Go for the upper end of beginner guitars
and try to avoid plywood if possible. As for strings, I nearly sliced my fingers to ribbons the first week I played. I have friends who work for Martin Guitars ( I live 30 mins. from Nazareth, PA) They suggested using extra light gauge Silk and Steel strings until my fingers got calloused. I tried it and it was unbelievable how much more practice time I was able to put in. After about 3 months, I switched to Martin SP 80/20 bronze, medium strings, again on the recommendation of C. F. Martin employees. I have tried D'Addario strings and I keep coming back to the Martins. The 80/20's add a rich tone to an otherwise cheesy guitar. Hope this helps you out. P.S. I have begun working on building my very first guitar. It will be a 000 size, built from Stewmac's kit with a few personal touches. I will post when finished.
Marc
Curtis Customs