Novices will often adjust their guitar without any clue as to what they're doing. If you buy a guitar off Craigslist, especially if it's a budget guitar, then have somebody who can play do some basic adjustments after you buy it. I can feel the difference now between a Mexican Strat and a Squier, but if I was a novice, I don't think that difference would be noticeable. Squiers, Yamahas, and Epiphones are all 'budget' instruments that are very high quality given their price. I have never held a First Act guitar that I have felt was a quality instrument, even given their price.

I work at a thrift store, and I have held many donated guitars. If I had the choice of no guitar or a First Act guitar, then and only then would I choose the First Act. Or the neck is warping, frets aren't level, you have to set the action super high, and these problems get worse over time.Р”Р„lso more likely to have a bowed/warping neck and cheap/easily broken truss rod, cheap tremolo system, cheap uneven fret wire (that gets worse with humidity), bad electronics (e.g., toggle switch isn't making contact so can't change pickups, volume/tone knob breaks), picking up interference from no shielding, input jack breaking, nut that makes a sitar sound, etc.Р”В«ut while it may start off mediocre it will get worse a lot more quickly than something in the $300-1000 range where they didn't go for cheapest option on all the materials/engineering. Or you'll find the input jack is making a crappy connection. E.g., the cheap tuners will suck even more when they get old (e.g., the cheap gears are stripped and lose tuning or get mucked up and need too much force to change and even more difficult to tune). But after a few months of playing, your budget guitar is more likely to develop issues that get worse over time. A brand new budget guitar will still have corners cut when you buy it, e.g., poor tuners that significantly change the pitch with the smallest turn or unleveled frets. Yamaha is one brand I always tell them to look at for a quality beginnerРІР‚в„ўs guitar.Р”Р„ budget guitar (under $200 or so) is going to have cheaper materials. YouРІР‚в„ўll get a serviceable guitar thatРІР‚в„ўs good enough to learn on, but you wonРІР‚в„ўt have spent so much that you mind buying a better guitar once you have informed opinions about what works for you as a guitar player. I always tell people who ask me what guitar they should get to set a budget around $300 for the guitar. YouРІР‚в„ўll get better tuners, marginally better electronics, a better fret job, and likely a better neck joint. By the time you hit the ~$300 price range, youРІР‚в„ўll have guitars made with a few less corners cut. Less tight tolerances on neck pockets (which affects sustain) and such, unleveled and undressed frets, etc. Cheap tuners (the worst part of these cheap guitars). On the budget end of the spectrum, something like First Act is going to be built with every possible corner cut to save production costs. You are paying for fit, finish, detail, and materials, none of which contribute significantly to longevity, but most of which contribute to playability and comfort. It will be a piece of shit that whole time, but you are not paying for longevity when you buy a more expensive guitar. IРІР‚в„ўm going to have to disagree with everything said there.

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