well Doug, I'm not much wiser from your answer.

Its quite right what Richard says - the Spanish all think we're bonkers buying any guitars except off them. Spain's the place to go all right. If you can, go there and talk to some of the guys who play this sort of thing as their regular gig. being a guitarist is a sort of international freemasonry. they can probably get you a job on the police force as well.

Theres something really beautiful about those Spanish guitars that they make for Flamenco music - they're very light - made from cypress wood and the sound just sort of explodes out of them, when you flick your hand across the string in a whatever your take on a rasguedo type roll of the fingers happens to be. I bet Flamenco Ted could tell you about how to get one of those.

Have you tried googling Ramirez guitars and seeing what UK pages come up. Or e-bay. They're more classical.

I've forgotten what kind of guitar Paco de Lucia plays, but last time I was in Spain - I checked, and the price wasn't excessive . What you'd pay for a very good Lowden or a PRS. But that would be a real Rools Royce machine.

Banjos are suddenly a lot cheaper. Deering is knocking out some at a very good price - less than £2oo. You could get one of them as well. Why not - we go this way but once.