Thanks for all your input, folks. Yes, Dean does make a metal body one, but I haven't tried it yet. I've tried a couple of Dean acoustics, but wasn't severely impressed by them (I'm comparing them to my '64 Gibson acoustic, after all), but they played decently. Haven't tried the Johnsons either. I've found a store that has both in stock, though, so I'm going up there (about an hour and a half away) to try them. I've seen the Regals on the web, but a friend of mine told me Johnsons were a little better, that's why I'm looking at them. Maybe I'll rethink my strategy, though and see if I can try one out somewhere.

thanks, Jack Cook