It seems to me that a good player can find the spots that will make any guitar sound good. I had a friend who could make a $24.00 Sears silvertone sound great. I went through a series of cheaper guitars before I got the ones I play now, and don't think I could have appreciated the current ones without having gone through the others. But, it still gets back to: it's not the guitar, but the player that makes a difference.