"try to ignore the Logo on the headstock" - that's priceless, coming from a Lowden-owner, you old rogue LJ!! LOL!

"Advice like "if you buy a Martin it will hold it's trade-in value" should be tempered with the line "but remember you pay twice the price of an equivalent guitar in the first place".

Ain't necessarily so LJ - not if you buy sensibly, from the right dealer, and when the X-rate's in your favour. By being careful I got a Martin OM-28 Marquis for the price of the basic-range Lowden just before Christmas (arrived Christmas Eve! Woo-hoo!). Makes a nice stable-mate for my Martin J-40 and Lowden O-25! (GFETE!)

BUT, I personally never make assumptions about resale values when buying a guitar, on the basis that I buy them to keep (well, at that point that's the premise - have been known to sell some!).

I still think it's an individual thang, and the buyer should buy whatever makes HIM get that Warm Fuzzy, and not buy to please others, or just because someone claims to 'know what's best'. It's too personal - like I know people who swear by Taylors, when I wouldn't give a Taylor house-room. Who's right? We-e-e-ll, both of us of course, we suit our own personal preferences and tastes, and we're both right in our own way.

C'est vrai, n'est-ce pas?

John