Seagull acoustics are pretty amazing.

not interested in a used guitar but thanks

I recently got an Ibanez AEL20 (acoustic steel string) for $350, it sounds amazing and comes with a preamp and everthing. Looks amazing too, imo you should buy that... I didn't like any guitar in that price range as much as that Ibanez, except for some ovations. Ovations are nice too.

dont buy the ovation. i bought one at a good price but wasnt happy with it and sold it.

martins are amazing, but blueridge sounds about equal (i bought a BR-160 and love it!), much prettier and cheaper (china). seagulls are kickass for the money, if you want to go all out find a "huss and dalton".

I would do your best to buy a taylor.
absolutely no competetion whatsoever.

I honestly have to stay for playability and smooth stable sound, Gibson and Taylor both make amazing acoustics. But for cheap ones, I've seen actually pretty decent Deans and Takemine

taylors are nice depending on the sound you are looking for, imo they are a very soft tone that doesnt cut through when playing in a group -they are also expensive. dean acoustic? those are made in mexico. gibson instruments are nice, and also way overpriced. if your going to spend anywhere over $1,500 i suggest buying from a private builder like leo posch:
http://home.earthlink.net/~leoposch/home/wci.html
you wont find this kind of craftmanship from gibson or taylor martin or collings unless you purchase a master model for $6k+. the way the big names work is under a deadline where private luthiers tweak the guitars until they are perfect. look through the pictures and see the amount of work he puts into these things!

Actually this is good information, just asking, do you have personal experience with these guitars? (playing, or at least hearing someone like a friend play it?)

yes ive played all of these brands. i seriously suggest getting a blueridge, as i was about to spend $1300 on a used collings and got a new guitar for under $700 with a nice hard case. i spent 2 years playing guitars before i was certain i wanted the blueridge BR-160. i also played a few seagulls i really liked for the money. also: if you can find one you should try playing a huss and dalton, though they are pricey. -a lot of people use their guitars to compare others.

This post was edited by juliusjuice on Mar 18 2009 12:19pm

Thanks guys for the help ill let you guys know what i get