"The real answer is to get around and TRY different builders' guitars, and pick the one that speaks to you best. No-one can tell you what your ears hear and your hands feel.

In the world of guitars there is no truer adage than "One man's meat is another man's poison".

Absolutely: I tried out about 40 different guitars over the last week before I decided on the Guild F50.

But there are a hell of a lot of guitar makers in the UK: I just wanted some names and descriptions to start with. Especially as the thunky, low-end-heavy sound that I'm after isn't what a lot of British folk players favour.