Advice: Best $500 Acoustic/Electric

[expiginpa]

2 or 3 times a year I visit family and friends in my hometown (Cincinnati) and want... no, NEED... to have a playable, good-sounding acoustic-electric guitar there when I show up. Since I won't play it much, I don't want to spend a whole bunch... maybe $500 or so. I play an aggressive flat-picking style on blues/rock/folk material, often straght acoustic but sometimes plugged in to an amp or PA head. My usual players are a Martin D-16 rosewood/spruce cutaway and a Taylor 510. There are so many choices, I could browse websites forever, so I thought I'd ask the people who have played them and will give it to me straight... YOU! Thanks.

[jeverist]

The martin xcae series I don't think can be beat for the money...a couple of my bandmates have these and they sound really good amplified...they run about 599, I think.

[expiginpa]

I should have stated three other things: 1) that I'd like a solid wood guitar. I know that means buying used, but that's fine with me; and 2) I'd like a cutaway, but it's not absolutely necessary for this guitar; 3) a straght acoustic is fine; I can have a pickup installed.

 

I've seen a few Martin 15 series in the $500-600 range used (well, mostly $600-800), and a larger number of Takamine, Alverez, Washburn, Seagull, and others. I've also heard some good things about Cort guitars and how much guitar you get for the money.

 

Trouble is, I've only played the Martins personally, so I don't know what I'd be getting into with these other brands. I've heard that the Taks are good gigging guitars for plugging in, not so good as comparably priced guitars for straight acoustic playing, but that's only one or two opinions.

 

Yeah, I can eventually go to guitar stores and play all these, but I'm trying to speed things up and get some expert, unbiased inputs, too. Thanks, fellow guitarists, for whatever counsel you are willling to offer.