OK, I know this topic comes up all the time, but usually it's either with regard to beginner instruments or high-end fantasy instruments. This is slightly different.

After 6 weeks of working 60-70 hour weeks, and trashing my health and not seeing much of my wife in the process, I've got myself a fair-sized bonus. I intend adding this to last year's Xmas bonus (and maybe this coming year's Xmas bonus) and getting myself a decent guitar with it, the kind of guitar that will last me for years, if not for ever. Adding all this up, that gives me a £2K war-chest (about $3K), although I'd prefer to spend less if I can get away with it.

My question is simple - what instruments should I be looking at? I don't give a damn how it looks - in fact the less gold, silver, abalone, ivory or any other flashy crap on it, the more I'll like it! And if I can get that instrument for less than my budget, I'll be even happier. Technical details: No cutaway needed, but a 14-fret join might be helpful provided it doesn't affect the tone. I'll only be using it for fingerstyle playing (I hardly ever use a pick), so I'm looking for something with a clear, sweet, even tone from bass to treble (nothing too bass- or treble-heavy). For best tone and volume it'll probably end up being a jumbo/dreadnaught kind of size - I don't have a problem with guitar weight because I also play a steel-body resonator so I'm used to it. :-)

From other threads I know about the cheaper guitars like Seagulls, Takamine, Yamaha, etc, but I don't really know of any of the better makes apart from the usual suspects like Martin and Taylor. My worry is whether I'll get value for money on an expensive guitar, or whether there are cheaper guitars which sound just as good or better. A friend dropped £2K on a Taylor a couple of years back, and although it's a nice instrument, frankly I don't think it was worth the money - I played a £500 Yamaha in a shop a few months back which felt better. I'm trying to avoid that situation, which is why I'm looking for instruments that people can personally recommend. I know some of you browse music shops extensively (Rick Fielding for one), so I'd appreciate any advice you can give me.

At this kind of price, also an option is to go to a luthier and get one made. There's a guy in Lewes with a website whose instrument go from about £1.5K to £2K, so that's an option - there will be others around too (I've seen lists of phone numbers) but I haven't done any research yet. I like the idea of supporting British craftsmen, but again I'd need to be sure that the instrument I get would be better than the one I'd buy off-the-peg.

At the moment I really don't have much of a clue - I've lived with my old cheap guitar for so long and not been able to afford a replacement for so long that I've basically never considered upgrading. Also I've never been anywhere that have a music shop selling this kind of level of instrument, so apart from a couple of Taylors owned by people at our local folk clubs I've not seen or played anything of this kind of quality. That's why I'm asking for more expert advice, so I don't buy something and then kick myself a couple of years down the line!

I'm planning a "research" trip to London soon to check out the "proper" music shops and get an idea for myself what kind of instruments suit me. But any advice people could give me would be great, then I'd know in advance what to look for and what to avoid.

Graham.