i was always told to start off with a box call but ened up starting with a slate and some diaphragms. i never did quite get the hand of my slate call but for some reason i took to the diaphragms really quickly. that's about all i use now, but i can do just about anything you ask me to short of gobbling and purring. something about purring just doesn't work for me. of course this isn't a typical thing for most people, most people don't do well with the mouth calls.