Learning to play the Guitar (Page 3)

I hadn't noticed until now, but you mentioned that you went for an acoustic guitar as well.  My guitar playing started on acoustic and has primarily stayed there. Both of my current ones have pickups in them, so I can get loud if need be, however, the ability to pick it up and play it and only it, without anything else is one of the draws for me.  And yes, there is a quality/playability difference when you start to look at price ranges.  The one benefit for me in buying certain brands new is the warranty.  As a matter of fact, my Martin OMCPA4 was a "Scratch and Dent" model from Musicians Friend.  The issue with it was the action was too high.  I had it for a few months, took it in to a Martin approved luthier and Martin covered the repair.  It plays great now, and has a high, ringing tone that I love. My other is a Guild F5CE in sunburst finish that I got new in the late 90's. It plays great and has a bigger, warmer sound to it, yet still rings out pretty well if I am up high on it.  It took a while to get that warm sound, but I have found that a well made acoustic gets better with time.  It doesn't show up in the photo, but the Guild is starting to chip and wear in a couple of spots. It has been to the luthier more than once and is starting to show some character.