I am a Martin owner, and I believe that there is a difference in sound between guitars. The difference that quality makes is minimized when "plugged in". The sound person can adjust for the balance of tone and other qualities to make a guitar sound "better" than it does acoustically. It is more difficult to adjust for a really bad guitar.

It may be that the pickups used in plugging in make more of a difference then the guitar when the guitars are of equal quality. I have a distinct dislike for Ovation guitars because of their pickups and the "quack" one often hears when they are played.

However, a Takamine can sound awfully good plugged in. Many players save their "good" guitar for recording and take a good sounding but less expensive guitar on the road. Most of the audience won't know the difference.

Roger in Baltimore