Wizard wrote
I also quickly tried out the R 17k Spanish made guitar for comparison this morning ... and I'm still happy.
I would have preferred the Ramirez, but it is a different thing entirely. As a flamenca blanca, it's brighter and more percussive, while your Guild is a classical guitar which is more tonally balanced with a comparatively big voice.
Rene also advised me to get the best strings available as they have a huge effect on the sound.
True. Unfortunately everyone has a different idea what "the best" is, but as long as they are good strings (Augustine, D'Addario Pro Arte, Savarez), you'll be OK. Tension also makes a difference to tone, with higher tension being more trebly and more percussive and lower tension being warmer and smoother. So to a large degree it's (as usual) down to personal taste.
