[Macworld]

Post your comments for Choose the right guitar here

[captainflab]

If you can't afford $4,000 for an acoustic, go Takamine. Easily the best value in acoustic guitars. Breedlove's Atlas series is also a great budget choice.

[serpicolugnut]

Even a pro would balk at $4000 for an Acoustic. For guitars, go to the store, play with the ones that catch your eye, make sure they feel comfortable, and finally, make sure they have a good tone.
I find pickup selection affects the sounds as much as body type, so with guitars like Stratocaster & Telecasters, you can always change out the pickups to alter your sound down the line if you want.

[Peter Cohen]

I like the cheap ones I can pick up at BJ's for $29. I don't feel as bad when I smash them into the wall that way.

[Jim Dalrymple]

serpicolugnut -- feel is definitely one of the most important things to me. I have a $69 guitar that's great. People laugh at it, but it just fits so well when I pick it up. That's why I like the Washburn so much.
captainflab -- I tried a Takamine in years past and just couldn't get comfortable with it. Maybe things have changed and I should give it another try. I can say that the tone of Taylor is one of the best I've ever heard.

[shavingcream]

For $4000, it BETTER sound great and include a gold watch.
I've purchased great sounding guitars for less than $200 on craiglist and local music stores.
Seriously...what about a midrange suggestion: $300-600
And a budget suggestion too: $100-300

[kitko]

There are folks out there who can't afford to have 11 guitars and need something universal, suitable for any kind of music. Enter Ibanez R-series, probably the most universal guitar ever made.
There's still rather snobish attitude prevailing among musicians, that you need to have top of the range guitar to diali in a killer tone. Def Leppard recorded one their albums using a cheap Squire Telecaster and one of the digital virtual guitar boxes (such as Line6, or Behringer's V-Amp).
Ayeron's albums are full of killer guitar tones, courtesy of an old Gibson Explorer and Pod XT Pro.
Get an Ibanez that suits your budget, get one of the Line6 Pods or Behringer's W-Amps (they're 90% as good as Line6 stuff for the fraction of the price), and you can record ANY kind of music and have thousands of tones ready.
The thing is, that that most of your sound is in your fingers and in your head.

[Jim Dalrymple]

shavingcream, I hear you. I'll see what I can come up with and do a follow-up.

[Jim Dalrymple]

kitko, good suggestion -- I'll take a look at the R series. The snobbery crosses all the lines, from recording to software, mixers and everything else.
I have quite a bit of Line 6 gear, but I do love my Marshall and Vox too. Sometimes there's just nothing like plugging into the AC30.

[gplawhorn]

Taylor's guitar line has equal sound quality - a lot of pros play the 3xx line of guitars. The changes are in the woods used and in-lays, not in the production of the guitar, or the electronics. I play a 310ce, and a friend has a 610ce. His is a little fancier, but they play and sound identical. In my opinion, and I've played a lot acoustics, the Taylor's sound best straight from the guitar.
That being said, if $1500 (Musician's Friend price) is too much, then please DO invest $200 or so in a LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI box. It is a combination pre-amp and parametric eq, so that you can clean up your tone before it gets recorded.

[SteilyNeily]

I do not yet play guitar. Interested in learning using podcasts and the like. I saw a USB guitar somewhere for about $100. Does this make any sense for starter like me? If not, what is recommended? Thanks.