IMO the wood colours and/or finish are the last thing you should prioritise. Only bring them into consideration if you have to choose between to axes that otherwise tick all the boxes.

Also be aware that wood does not just have a cosmetic implication: It will colour the sound.

So play the suckers. Listen to how they sound (it might help to get the salesperson to play whilst you stand back a bit and listen), feel how they play and how the different body sizes feel to you.

You will get reasonable offerings in that price range from Cort, Tanglewood, Tak and the other usual suspects. You might even be able to get something towards the lower end of the Breedlove range. Music Connection have the agency for Breedlove.

Consider 2nd hand instruments. You get more bang per buck that way.

My current standard advice: The best buy in lower-middle range acoustics at present is the Taylor Big Baby. Not pretty, but sounds surprisingly good for it's price and plays pretty well.

X-rated Bob is spot on, build is more important than asthetics.

Having said that, I am a sucker for great wood grain so was smitten when I saw some of the exotic wood guitars and ended up getting a Cort MR710 QB. The basic guitar is a decent guitar but the built in Fishman pickup make this one of the best amplified accostics I have heard and most sound guys agree.

The good part is that the QB stands for quilted Bubinga which has a deep red swirled grain that is very asthetically appealing. The guitar came in well under you budget and well worth considering. Ibanez also do a range of exotic woods that are equally appealing if you would prefer.

We all have different tastes and preferences so go and play as many as you can till you find what is right for you.

I have to agree with these guys, most important is how does it sound and how does it feel to you. In that price range another great brand you can have a look at is the Takamine.

I looked at a few a couple of months ago and like Bob, ended up with the Big Baby Taylor, but I also found the Taylor GS Mini, which I liked a lot. In fact I was hard-pressed to choose between the two - ultimately the GS Mini won out, but it was more down to personal preference than either being "better".

Nothing else I saw came close, while some looked even better feature-wise or looked pretty fancy, sound-wise or build-wise they just didn't compare.

No entry level guitars play better than the Tanglewoods in my opinion.

Just get one of those on your "To Play" list.

Just go play as many as you can, thats the idea, doesn't matter what any of us say.

If you have a friends that has been playing for a while or know of someone who knows a bit, take them with you ?

I have a question with regards to playing the instrument in the shop. Doesn't the quality of the strings that they have on make a huge difference to the sound - so much so that a bad guitar with a fresher set of strings will sound nicer than a nicer guitar with older strings?

Pete_the_Pirate wrote: I have a question with regards to playing the instrument in the shop. Doesn't the quality of the strings that they have on make a huge difference to the sound?

Yup, although it's more the age of the strings than the "quality" - even the cheaper strings these days are pretty good.

I don't know how many times I've picked up something interesting and put it straight back down because the strings were horribly old. If it's something I'm serious about, I'll ask them to restring it so I can try it (in fact, I've asked them to fit a different gauge on higher end instruments). Still, they probably miss out on some sales that way - the type where people just pick up something casually and fall in love.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote:

Pete_the_Pirate wrote: I have a question with regards to playing the instrument in the shop. Doesn't the quality of the strings that they have on make a huge difference to the sound?

Yup, although it's more the age of the strings than the "quality" - even the cheaper strings these days are pretty good.

I don't know how many times I've picked up something interesting and put it straight back down because the strings were horribly old. If it's something I'm serious about, I'll ask them to restring it so I can try it (in fact, I've asked them to fit a different gauge on higher end instruments). Still, they probably miss out on some sales that way - the type where people just pick up something casually and fall in love.

Crusty strings on display guitars...eish...

That being said... a decent instrument will still feel decent... This weekend I picked up a good few guitars... you can feel a good guitar... lol...

warrenpridgeon wrote: That being said... a decent instrument will still feel decent... This weekend I picked up a good few guitars... you can feel a good guitar... lol...

Only up to a point. I've run across a few that had strings so rusty that they were razor blades, others with strings that felt and sounded like rubber bands. The ones with enough grease on the strings that you can feel they are sticky are the worst.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote:

warrenpridgeon wrote: That being said... a decent instrument will still feel decent... This weekend I picked up a good few guitars... you can feel a good guitar... lol...

Only up to a point. I've run across a few that had strings so rusty that they were razor blades, others with strings that felt and sounded like rubber bands. The ones with enough grease on the strings that you can feel they are sticky are the worst.

Yeah. My Larrivee is a really, really good guitar, but first time I played it I wasn't interested at all. It had been hanging on a wall for I don't know how long with rusty and/or gungey strings. It felt bad and it sounded not so grand either. Obviously you had to look at the name on the headstock and ask how bad it could be - if you knew the name, that is.

The salesman ran it down to the workshop for a new set of strings - bingo!

Alan Ratcliffe wrote:

warrenpridgeon wrote: That being said... a decent instrument will still feel decent... This weekend I picked up a good few guitars... you can feel a good guitar... lol...

Only up to a point. I've run across a few that had strings so rusty that they were razor blades, others with strings that felt and sounded like rubber bands. The ones with enough grease on the strings that you can feel they are sticky are the worst.

I had the experience recently at the local Cash Converters. There is always this large collection of Sanchez guitars, and they all are brand new and look very dodgy, But on this day there was this very solid looking guitar, great design (looked a bit like the old Yamaha's) but the strings were actually rusted and blade-like and the guitar sounded like a tin can. The make was Eterna. But the guitar spoke to me so I bought it and changed the strings and it is surprisingly not a bad sounding guitar, it stays in tune quite well. I wouldn't gig with it, but I do play it everyday (gives my Takamine a rest)