weelittledrummer,

Just to make life more complicated.

My own experience suggests that an instrument has at least three distinctly different sounds.

The sound you hear, behind it.

The sound the audience hears, in front of it.

The sound you hear when you are listenting to a recording of it.

Probably lots more, but those are the ones I have personal experience with.

If you are buying the guitar specifically with recording in mind, you really need to hear what it sounds like in a recording.

Russ