I have a Lowden W23P dating from George's early days - a Claro-Walnut jumbo and a real gem. I have a Norman ST68 Dreadnought I bought in 1980 and I have to admit it's still my favourite gigging guitar. With a budget of £500 you're unlikely to get a Lowden, but Godin's guitars are probably as good as you can get at that price.

When I bought my Norman I had intended to buy a Martin and had a budget of £1000, tried all the Martins in the shop (there were several to choose from) and I kept going back to the Norman and just closing my eyes to try to be objective. I wanted to buy a Martin for the street cred, but left behind a very frustrated store-owner telling me my guitar wouldn't fetch a decent 2nd hand price. No problems there for me as I will never sell it.

Good luck with your search.