Hery Guys and Shawnie,
The suggestions that have been made are all good....
Shawnie, you probably have a hamhock for a hand... Guys your size usually do... For that reason I'm going to suggest the "POSSIBILITY" that a "slothead" guitar might be worth looking into. (see photo) This type of design affords the player a slightly wider fingerboard and this enables big hands to adapt more readily to the constraints of fingering the instrument. The strings can (sometimes)also be a bit looser because of the scale of the instrument and (as such) be easier to play and require less finger pressure to make a clear note when depressed... (Jerry Reed often played country/rock on a nylon slothead)
You may also wish to consider a nylon stringed model.... Nylon strings have a more "classical" music sound because of their tonality rather than a twangy steel string sound.... In this aspect, your ears and fingers will tell you which one is preferable to you..... With steel strings, you'll just have to work a bit harder and endure a bit more finger pain while your callouses are developing.... (if you get that far that is)
As for the guitar itself, I think the Seagulls and even Fender make a decent starter guitar, but I believe the best sounding and best playing entry level guitars are made by Takamine..... Thier natural (satin-non glossy) finish guitars afford a great tone right out of the box and don't require years of aging to develope like their nitro-cellulose (clear coat glossy) counterparts....
I'm talking about a fairly high quality instrument here even though this is a "starter" guitar .... It should run about $300-350 .... If that's too much money, then perhaps one of the other guitars mentioned (like an inexpensive Chinese/Korean Fender) might be fine.....
Go to your local Guitar Center and play several of those that I've described. Once you find one that feels great, tunes easily and has good intonation (the guitar's neck is properly set/ straight and it is in tune all the way to the 12th fret...this is important) then make your choice and begin grinding the salesperson... (remember, if he didn't have to OK the price with his manager, you haven't ground him down far enough) And make sure you get a "hard shell" case if you can afford it...... Soft shells or "gig bags" are for kids and those who can't afford anything better.... A decent hard case (reg $69) should come with the instrument.
Most important: Make sure you receive proper written instructions on how to tune the guitar..... If you don't know how to tune the guitar it will become a very large paperweight or item of decor for your walls.... If ya can't tune it, ya can't play it.....
I do hope that this has been useful information...
Good luck... And happy, productive learning and playing to you....
An afterthought: Sticking your fingertips in the freezer helps to ease the pain, but if you play through the pain too much, you'll get blisters... Blisters will pop if you try to play with them.... and you'll have to stop playing until they heal.. So when you see blisters, it's time to stop for awhile until the fluid hardens....
D
