I recently gave in to a long held wish for what the trade sometimes calls a "beach house" guitar. I live in very hot country, and have become more and more reluctant to take my lovely old 016 Martin with me if I'm going to have to leave it in the car for any length of time. Did a lot of looking, finally ended up with a Hohner laminate with a spruce top. About the same size as the Martin, but very jazzy looking, streaky wood, high polish. But the action is good, and the sound is surprisingly good too, if a little on the brassy side, like its looks.

I'm not into naming things that don't come when called, but I'm tempted to name this tarty good time Charlene with the loud voice something more fitting than just "my cheap guitar."

Even on my limited budget this was affordable, about $200 including a well-padded gig bag and a set of expensive strings to replace the picture wire it was originally strung with. And I find that since I don't feel the need to keep it cased I pick it up more often. Space in my tiny house is becoming a problem now, however, with 3 guitars, 2 dulcimers and an autoharp. The dogs are beginning to complain...