Is this a good acoustic beginner guitar?

Question:I am looking at getting my 16 year old son an acoustic guitar for christmas. Taking him out with us prior to Christmas is not an option, which is part of the challenge. He is not intrested in an electric at this point.
Is the Sears NovaTM 41 1/2" any good?
Thanks

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I am looking at getting my 16 year old son an acoustic guitar for christmas. Taking him out with us prior to Christmas is not an option, which is part of the challenge. He is not intrested in an electric at this point.
Is the Sears NovaTM 41 1/2" any good?
Thanks

Other answer is wrong. Neither of these are Solid wood tops, and that's what makes the biggest difference in an acoustic. Go to www.musiciansfriend.com and look at the Washburn D10S - the "S" means solid wood not plywood. It won a "Best Guitar Under $500" award. They sell them WITH a hard case for $260. The Alvarez RD20S is $219 + $90 for a case. Yamaha FG700S is $200 w/o case. Anything less isn't any good.

The Yamaha is the better model and will maintain price more than the other, both have solid spruce tops for good sound projection but i would go for a yamaha or a Takamine for that price bracket, like the sunburst colour too.

I'm not familar with the "Nova" brand name. It might be Sears' house brand name for their own line of inexpensive guitars. Like almost all beginner level instruments these days, its almost certainly made in China or one of the other Pacific Rim countries -- which doesn't necessarily make it a bad guitar, but I'd have to see it to tell if its any good. Yamahas are also made in China, I believe; but they have a reputation as a decent beginner guitar brand.

However, I would go to a real music store to buy a guitar rather than shopping at Sears. You'll get a better selection and knowledgable sales people who can help you pick out an instrument for your son, and if you buy the guitar at a reputable music store you can be reasonably assured that it will have been properly set up and adjusted to play and sound its best before it was put out on the sales floor. If you buy a guitar at Sears, you'll be dealing with salespeople who in all likelihood know no more about guitars than you do, and the guitar will have been taken out of the factory shipping carton and put out on display without any set-up or adjustment whatsoever.

Go to a real music store.