Guest Ron, you seem to have zoned in Peal guitar as being good value for money. Be very careful. There is a lot of great advice in this thread and please TRY before you buy. As an teenager I came into a little money and bought a guitar because I wanted a guitar by what I thought was an amazing company (Nic Jones was my inspiration at the time). It served me for a while and then the neck snapped – looked inside and it was appalling, rough braces, unfinished glue lines. I could have got better with a decent budget guitar.

Now I have now bought a Faith guitar, a name I knew nothing about. I spent a whole morning trying all sorts of guitars, from famous to cheapo, and I was amazed at the difference between the makes and models. The one I chose is fantastic. The on-board electrics are amazing and it can hold its own played in a loud rock band, but the acoustic sound is balanced and dynamic. The Takamines I played were great amplified but just a little restrained acoustically so the Faith won out. I preferred the Faith neck as well. A great all-rounder guitar but each example will be different so don't rely on brand name.

One of the best guitars I've ever heard was a Yamaha mid range model. The guy who bought it tried loads of guitars, all prices, and this one was a peach and he got lucky.

I have to say recently I tried a new model by the company that so disappointed me before and it was fantastic, so was the price! So it went back on the wall it had to go.

Chris