Wonderful thread, JP!!

I want to second something that John Hardly said. It is important enough that I don't want it glossed over.

Whenever you are checking out a stringed instrument, be sure to take it to a practice room. Remember that when you are in a room full of instruments, there is a lot of sympathetic vibrations from the other instruments. It will make you believe that the instrument you are playing has a richer sound than it may actually have. Take it into a practice room where you can hear its actual voice, without that sympathetic vibration.

All the best,

Mick