i realy dont think the make is important it is alot better to go on sound, feel, wether its cut out or not ect!!!i have a lovly guitar that i got from spain i dont have a clue what make that is but it plays better than my mates takamine ?!?whith cost him £800 this was like £100 or somthing i dont realy no because i payed euros for it !!!

well thanks everyone for the advice....i do believe i will go with a washburn of some sort.

has anyone played the new washburn rarewoods? i've heard great things about them....but haven't played one myself.

I just couldn't resist jumping in to lay my 2 cents on the table. I have been playing different acoustic guitars since I was 6 and have come across some really nice ones and some duds. Currently, I own a Washburn, an Epiphone, a Takamine, a Yamaha, and a Dean. My Washburn blows them all away (it has matured for 20 years now, giving it a warm resonance,) and it has been the envy of my guitar-playing friends who have owned much more expensive guitars. After that, I got the Epiphone, which was pretty good, but 2 times as expensive. The Yamaha was also more expensive and, I felt, sterile-sounding and lacking in emotion. The Takamine was the stupidest purchase in my life. I got the G-series (@$500.00) because it was cheap and I just needed another guitar for gigging. The sound barely leaves the guitar and it sounds muffled--no matter how expensive the strings. It has no bass range. In short, it sucks bootie. In my time, I have also had an Ovation, which sounded brassy and shallow. I despaired of ever finding a guitar for under $1000.00 that sounded good. But one day, I struck gold. I got into music school, so I decided to reward myself with a new guitar. I hopped on ebay and started scoping them out. I researched a couple that sounded promising (vintage Guilds are supposed to be excellent, the Canadian brands Seagull, Norman, and Simon and Patrick are supposed to be good and still reasonably priced,) but it was the American made Dean Exotica that ended up catching my eye. I bid on a brand new one from Best Price Guitar (formerly Oklahoma Vintage Guitar,) and got it for $359.00 (that is what they sell them for.) On the Dean site, they list @$999.00--but mine was special--it was the Tulsa (only 24 were ever made...you can't even look it up on the Dean site.) Even if this guitar didn't sound good, it looked like a $2,000.00+ guitar--it has extensive abalone and pearl abalone inlay (I have dancing geckos up the fretboard and a beautiful pattern about half an inch thick encircling the soundhole.) I would have been happy just taking it out of the case and putting it on display. I put some elixirs on it and sat down to play and I was in shock. It had a warm, rich sound that spanned the pitch spectrum. The sound practically jumped out of the guitar. There is consistency and accuracy up the fretboard (something that both my Epiphone and Takamine had problems with,) and the neck was a perfect width. And oh! It was only $359.00!!! Perfect for a starving musician's budget. My only complaint is that the action was a little higher than I like, but that can be fixed by filing down the bridge a little (a small price to pay for a cheap guitar.) I don't know if this guitar was an anomaly sent to me from the heavens or if it was shear luck or if they are all like that, but I would seriously consider getting yourself down to a Dean dealer (and, if like me, you don't live near one, look up Best Price Guitar online: I am sure they have more and they guy who runs the store is very helpful and friendly--his name is Bobby.) A comparable Washburn would cost significantly more nowadays, but a Washburn is a good choice, too. Anyway, I hope my ramblings and musings help you or someone. Best of luck in finding the guitar that is right for you!

O...K...A...Y... i aint evan going to bother with that ( no offence ! )

ok its really simple...taylor, martin, ovation, gibson, or hey if ya want a washburn get one...thats what I have.

well i dunno much about other guitars but i love my samick