Thanks for the replies.

Couldn't make the NEC this weekend but I'll think about the Leicester exhibition. I spend quite a few weekends in Manchester, so I could fairly easily divert to west Yorkshire or Chesterfield. I'm in London often enough to take in the suggestions there. Newark is fairly easy to get to and I often pass through it, on my way to somewhere else. Nottingham is a possibility.

Birmingham and beyond would have to be more of a special trip and, as I would like to try out the guitars more than once, I will put those on the reserve list.

I'm surprised not to see anything for Manchester. Anyone know of anything around there or Liverpool perhaps?

I'm not sure how much I'm going to spend because I don't really know yet what's out there and what you get for your money. As to what type of classical guitar music I play, well, anything I can manage from compilation books of "Classical Music for the Guitar" or some such name. This would include, for example, pieces by Sor, Tarrega and Carruli or Bach and Mozart adapted for the guitar. I can play three quarters of lots of tunes but give up when things get too hard. I don't consider myself to be a classical guitar player but my wife prefers the sound to my steel string guitar. I'm hoping that a better instrument will encourage me to go that bit firther and, perhaps, become a classical guitar player.

I went to my local music shop yesterday and tried out a few of their guitars. Allowing for inflation, they were pretty much in the same price range as the one I bought twenty years ago and played very much the same, so I don't think I'll be buying one locally. I bought a new set of strings for my old guitar and maybe it doesn't sound too bad.

While I was there, I tried out a 5-string banjo and now I'm thinking.... guitar/banjo? - banjo/ guitar?

DC