re: Acoustic Guitar

I am a big Seagull fan for pure value and bang for the buck, but play everything in your price range and run with what hits on all cylinders for you. I say that because Martin, Taylor, Seagull, Breedlove, Epi, Yamaha ... a LOT of companies have pretty good guitars under a grand at GC. The Mexican made Taylors and to a degree the MIM Martins, for example, are solid guitars with soundboard voicings and electronics comparible to their US counterparts.

Don't ignore the used wall too for the "2" factor. You'll get 2x the guitar for your purchasing power getting a used guitar. Or you'll pay about 1/2 of what you'd expect to pay for the same guitar if you get a used example.