dobro

Check out www.beardguitars.com or www.elderly.com.

There some good entry level instruments such as Goldtone and Regal. Shop around before you make a decision. You might pick up some good tips from Jerry Douglas bulletin board forum at www.jerrydouglas.com.

I have two for sale.

A Richard DeNeve mahogany with McIntyre pickup for $1000

A Tut Taylor Virginian for $1300

Both are professional quality

My advice for playing is practice practice practice.

Practice a lot and listen to as much as you can, old-timey and newer.

You can also get a raised nut, a little nut "cap" that goes over a nut on a regular guitar to raise the action just to get the feel of playing, and they are generally tuned to an open "G" for bluegrass, Low - to - high would be G B D G B D. You need a steel slide, and most people use a thumb pick and 2 finger picks.