When I was shopping for a new acoustic guitar I considered the following guitars: Epiphone Masterbuilt AJ-500RE (I don't believe they make them anymore), Martin OOX1, Carlo Robelli jumbo cutaway A/E, Epiphone EJ-160, Ovation Ultra 2071 and the Blueridge BG-60. All of these guitars are around the same price (about $500) and feature similar amenities (solid tops and laminate back/sides), some are acoustic electric, others aren't. The pickup wasn't a big deal, since I could always add a fishman rare earth down the road and just use my pro-mag for now.

What I found out about these guitars was that they all play fairly well and very in sound quite a bit. The ovation sounded dead and fake, the Epiphone Masterbuilt was bright and metalic, the EJ-160e sounded flat, the Martin 00X1 lacked character, the Carlo Robelli sounded bright with body and the Blueridge BG-60 sounded extremely bright and tinny. I also found that most of the guitars, except the EJ-160 and Blueridge, had a flat, thin finish that didn't feel very nice, and in the case of the martin, the guitar felt bare.

I went with the BG-40 (the Blueridge gibson copy made with mahogoney back and sides) because it honestly sounded as good as the Epiphone Masterbuilt, played as nice as any of the others and sported a nice, thick finish the is reminiscant of the older days of guitars, something that a lot of new, "budget," guitars lack.

I'm personally VERY happy with the blueridge, but all the other guitars are fine choices, too.