buying a guitar

[oldrock]

If you decide to go electric instead of acoustic, my son is selling his Gibson SG special right now on craigs list for $550. Might be over your price range a bit but if you get a Gibson they hold their value forever as long as you take care of them. Oh and his SG special is a serious playing guitar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILNkAKxJecw

[tricky lugnuts]

I've had a couple Art & Lutherie acoustic guitars - one with a solid spruce top and the other with a laminated wild cherry top. I have to say, the solid spruce top guitar sounded much nicer in my opinion.

Art & Lutherie makes pretty good guitars - as you said, handmade in Canada. Seagull, I believe, is owned by the same company. I think they're all in the Godin family of guitars. My understanding is that the Seagull guitars are higher end products than the Art & Lutherie guitars. I've heard a couple of them played that sounded fantastic. (Of course, a lot of it is also the player!!!)

Either brand would be a good choice for a beginner, mid-level player - of sufficient quality for gigs and I presume recording.

I'd go with a solid top guitar - spruce has more boom to it, cedar is supposed to be mellower. The solid tops "age" and their sound is said to improve with time, as long as you can keep the guitar from being damaged by humidity/dryness. They take more care and are more prone to warpage, cracking, etc.

Right now - aside from my Gretsch Electromatic - I've got a Martin DM, a laminated mahogany dreadnought with a solid spruce top. I love it. Paid $700 for it a year and a half ago with a tour grade hard case included. You can find them on eBay for less. It's a good entry-level Martin... and I can't see paying more than $1,000 for a guitar until I'm good enough to start earning some coin back with it. 

Previous comments make sense: Play guitars until you find one you really like in terms of sound and playability.

[Foreman72]

Good works tricky...yeah i've really liked the sound of both of them...and i like the size of the neck...i've also been offered an s6 cw which was a wider neck...but i think the 1.72 is big enough as opposed to the 1.8...of course both of these two i'm looking at (i still hav some more stores to look at) currently hav old junky strings on them so that doesn't help...i'm gonna try and do some wheeling and dealing with the guys at the store and see if i can get a case and a pair of strings thrown in...as they say money in hand makes salesmen change they're plan...so we'll see...

[Musicman]

About the only mainstream models I like out there today are Martins, other than that some of the old Gibsons and Guilds sound well. Of course older guitars always sound better with age anyway. Hell, I even have an old Hohner Contessa from the early 70's kicking around that sounds better than most

[Foreman72]

yeah i played a crazy nice 30 yr old guild the other day that sounded flawless...martins sound good but they're very fussy...i know this as a gear nut, a player and a soundman...if they aren't kept in the best of conditions they loose some sound quality...thats just been my experience...other than that i think they're really nice...

[73chgrSE]

i agree, i work in a recording studio and this idiot came in recently and recorded an acoustic guitar part on his martin, went home that day and left his guitar in the back seat of his car in 100+ temps. the next time he came in his guitar sounded terrible. in the same room, preamps and mics. the sound was cooked right out of it. new strings did not help!

[Musicman]

i agree, i work in a recording studio and this idiot came in recently and recorded an acoustic guitar part on his martin, went home that day and left his guitar in the back seat of his car in 100+ temps. the next time he came in his guitar sounded terrible. in the same room, preamps and mics. the sound was cooked right out of it. new strings did not help!

Yeah... That's always a good way to treat an instrument..Idiot doesn't quite cover it there.
I like the Martins because they have a nice full tonal range, unlike most others which play out rather thin. If you like that sound... more power to ya, it's just not my cup of tea.

[Ghoste]

I was taught a long time ago to never leave your guitar anyplace you wouldn't sleep.  I've tried to treat mine a little better than that.

[Foreman72]

i agree, i work in a recording studio and this idiot came in recently and recorded an acoustic guitar part on his martin, went home that day and left his guitar in the back seat of his car in 100+ temps. the next time he came in his guitar sounded terrible. in the same room, preamps and mics. the sound was cooked right out of it. new strings did not help!

Yeah... That's always a good way to treat an instrument..Idiot doesn't quite cover it there.
I like the Martins because they have a nice full tonal range, unlike most others which play out rather thin. If you like that sound... more power to ya, it's just not my cup of tea.

clapton's got one, mayer's got one...they sound fantastic but they're high maintenance...one of the nicest guitars i've played was a 000M...very basic martin but it was well taken care of...i've also played a very old D-28 that sounded amazing...

[oldrock]

Another brand acoustic that is pretty cool is Larrivee. I had an OM-03R and it was a fantastic guitar. New, it was about $800 but used they can occasionally be found for about half that. I've also played the seagull S6 and it was a really good sounding guitar so i wouldn't rule that out. Course if money wasn't a big object, my favorite very favorite acoustics are the Gibsons. Here is a shot of mine

[Musicman]

Nice Gibson 

[Foreman72]

if money was no object i'd get one of the new BTO taylors, a baden or a larrivee...rock, i have heard of them and they're awesomeness...they are very very nice guitars...