Parson,

I once owned a '62 Martin that sounded really good, and was loud, but I was never really comfortable owning it because of its value and the fact people were always commenting on how good it looked and sounded and were less interested in what I was playing. And they always wanted to play it and borrow it.

I bought a "Blueridge" guitar about 10 years ago for my brother that I now play. It's nice and loud, has rosewood sides and back, and a finely-grained spruce top. It cost around $375 or so. Don't know if they still make them.

MichaelAnthony