When you play, you will likely copy music that you already know and love. A delicate touch is often required to precisely duplicate the sound. You’ll hear your limitations and be forced to improve.
The frets on a guitar get you about 95% of the “note” – beyond that it’s feel and bending, or “microtones.” Very subtle movements affect resonance and harmonics. Beginners will be ham-handed with very crude approximations; advanced players smoothly move between tones in a ‘musical’ fashion. And guitars are rated easiest to learn…
Violins have no frets, so it’s all by touch. They are rated hardest to learn…
Buy an entry level model in the Fender (Squire) or Gibson (Epiphone) families. These are the heart and soul of Rock history and cover most genres. Buy a guitar with single-coil pick-ups for pure tones (e.g., Telecaster, Stratocaster, Jaguar) rather than one with a Humbucker (e.g., Gibson SG or Les Paul). The Humbucker cuts electric noise but creates rougher sounds.
In the “hardly used” market at Craig’s List or Guitar Center, these cost about $150 to $300. Don’t get the cheapest student models…one step up is better…
Get a TUBE amp (I have a Blackstar HT1) or the well-reviewed Boss Katana solid-state models. The cheap solid-state amps will kill your ears. Trash! A decent starter may be $150 to $200, but you can resell if you don’t like it.
Guitar amps use tubes differently. Imagine a pot of warm water (Fender amp), hot water (Vox Amp), boiling water (Marshall), boiling over (Mesa/Boogie). They max out the electricals of the tube and create a unique ‘foam’ or ‘head’ that is immediately obvious. It’s as if the resonances and after-effects run on and on. Solid-state (except for Boss Katana) can’t do it and sound horrible.
If you like Beach Boys – Fender, Beatles or British Invasion or Jangle Pop – Vox, Classic rock and Metal (to include Black Sabbath and AC/DC) - Marshall, modern Heavy Metal - Mesa/Boogie.
Headphone/listening tube amps are NEVER maxed out to the state of torture. So, they feel like oil or butter and smooth the sound.