When buying a guitar what should you look for? Does the strings or type of wood matter? What about the brand?

The type of wood does matter, especially for acoustic guitars. For instance, an all maple wood guitar will sound brighter than a mahogany or rose wood made body. Most people prefer one of the later two with a spruce top. String sizes can be changed to suit your ability and will effect the sound. Thicker ones project with more tone but are hard for a beginner. Most will use a medium to light set. Finally, brand is important because if the company has been around for a long time, the odds are they've made changes over the years to insure guitars don't come back to them for replacement or service. That just costs them too much. For more answers and details like these, before you buy, check out my website guitar-for-real.com it should help.