Nothing like an S.L. Mossman. I bought mine in the mid 70s for $500 and it will play with any acoustic on the market - today or yesterday - and I don't mean to sound conceited by the above. It was bought as a result of a comment Doc Watson made about his. I'd played many others before, Takamine, a small Gibson, Guild, Yamaha, and some I don't remember. My first was a no name with only 3 strings on it. Played? it for 4 months before I could afford a set of "Black Diamond" strings. Don't spend a lot at first as if you change your mind it can be expensive to recoup your investment. And play a lot of them before deciding as all guitars have different necks and play better for others than for self. The most important thing is to have fun.