Acoustic

larrivee and takamine both make good guitars, sometimes under that price range. alvarez makes some decent budget guitars. look around, though, and try to buy a solid body, as opposed to laminate. that's just my opinion, but i prefer solid body.
i'd also check craigslist and other shops for used guitars. you can get good ones cheap. just make sure you play it first.

what i'd do, is check out how all the different guitar body types feel, and see which one fits your body the best. then, i'd play as many of that type as possible and see which one you like the sound of the best. one thing you have to look out for is strings. new strings can make a clunker sound better than old strings on a nice git, so check to see if the strings are rusted out or anything like that.
i can't really get into specifics, because i don't get into them myself. i just try to find what feels and sounds right. i have a smaller folk-bodied guitar myself, that i bought because it was the same type as one i had earlier that i liked, but it wasn't as good as the original. it didn't sound as good or as resonant. i ended up tearing off the pickguard to get more resonance.

You can find some good stuff in that range. I bought a Martin DX1 for $550 about 5 years ago and it's an amazing guitar. Takamine makes really good stuff too. Seagulls arent so bad, but you have to find the right one. Parkwood guitars are really good and in that price range. Don't forget the Epi Masterbilt line too. Those are FANTASTIC guitars.

Rule of thumb. Get a solid top for sure. Also, the best thing you can do is go to a store with a lot of guitars and play a whole bunch of them. The right guitar will pop out to you and there won't be any question. You'll pick it up and, regardless of size or shape or wood, just go WOW and that's the one. Who cares what the brand is.

there are reasons for all those shapes and sizes and woods and construction.
size and shape effect sound production. style of playing can dictate which body type is best for the right sound and tone.
woods and construction help shape tone. sitka spruce is a typical top wood. it is a solid piece. you don't want ply or laminate there.
back and sides are different. solid sides and back are thought to be superior. there are good arguments for the use of laminated wood. my National resonator ($2100) has laminated walnut back and sides. it is stronger than traditional for the instrument.

Also, the best thing you can do is go to a store with a lot of guitars and play a whole bunch of them. The right guitar will pop out to you and there won't be any question. You'll pick it up and, regardless of size or shape or wood, just go WOW and that's the one. Who cares what the brand is.

That's what happened to me back in '04. A Taylor 214 jumped out and bit me. It was pretty much a no-brainer. The sound just jumps out of that guitar. It was like going from a solid state amp to a tube amp in the electric world. That tone is not for everyone, though. I agree with Bono. You just have to play a bunch of 'em. Take your time. Part of this journey is not only to find a guitar you really like, but perhaps even to discover what type of tone you want too.

I agree with Roy and U2....
Go to the acoustic room in GC and spend the day there.

I could give you a dissertation on tone woods on acoustic guitars, but it really wouldn't do any good.
Not because it doesn't have any creedence, I stongly believe in tonewood characteristics.... still,
That can't account for everything!

Like they said, one will just jump out at you and say 'I'm the one for YOU'!
It will feel right and sound right and play right, and more than likely you'll like the way it looks too :wink:

I personally like cedar tops on my acoustics - The one that jumped out at me after spending the day in GC's acoustic room didn't have a cedar top though.
Nor was it a brand that I had ever considered before.
(It was a Takamine TAN16c)

So, ya never know.

I would suggest checking out an Epi Hummingbird or two.... very nice guitars at a very affordable price.
Fit and finish has been excellent on the four that I have played.
All have played very well, and sounded warm and wonderful.

Ken

I agree with Roy and U2....
Go to the acoustic room in GC and spend the day there.
+1

Just close your eyes and play. Try to feel the vibrations in your arm and also in your body. That helps to decide.

I have a Martin, a D15. I prefer the guitars guitar a different top but I never heard that tone in another guitar.

Good luck!

I could give you a dissertation on tone woods on acoustic guitars.........

Might make for an interesting article on the GN site. I tried to find one to point to, but could not and did not.

i think warwick or one of those design your guitar online websites has a big article about different tonewoods.

I

I would suggest checking out an Epi Hummingbird or two.... very nice guitars at a very affordable price.
Fit and finish has been excellent on the four that I have played.
All have played very well, and sounded warm and wonderful.

Ken

+1

I actually bought one last year on recommendation of CitiZenNoir just as I was about to give up trying to learn to play guitar. Needless to say I don't regret it. That guitar sounds Zo Zexxxy.

I've been looking online at the Epiphone Masterbilt line but I think when I go to GC i'll check out one of those Epi hummingbirds.

I'm just hoping that the Guitar Center in Orlando has all the different brands that I want to try. I've only been there 2 times when I first started playing guitar a few years ago and it seems like everyone is always bad mouthing them online. I'm hoping their selection is large enough to get an idea of what i want and their quality are up to par with the local shops

I have sworn by a company called Vintage for the last few years. I own a VEC1600 electro acoustic and a V800 dreadnought acoustic, and they have some of the best tone I've ever heard -- bright but with a solid low end. They're reasonably priced, durable, and stylish. Check them out:

http://www.jhs.co.uk/intro.htm

Well I have narrowed down the body styles that I like. I played a lot of different types over the past few weeks and I really like the jumbo and the smaller body shapes. I like the midrange of the smaller body and the jumbos have a big bass, a lot of midrange, and of course more volume. I'm going tomorrow to try out some more guitars, hopefully I find something I like.

I went out today and bought a Taylor GA3E, it is a all solid wood acoustic. Spruce top, sapele back and sides, grand auditorium body style, and the taylor expression system in it for the electric part. I'll try to post some pictures up some time soon, I don't own a camera so I have to wait to borrow one from my little bro.

It looks like this: http://www.zzounds.com/item--TAYGA3

the only difference is that it has the taylor electronics in it, the owner of the store said it must have been a custom order because he didn't know of it ever being offered with electronics.

Sweet! Congrats. I know most people wanna see pics, but I wanna hear it. :D