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+1 on the Marshall AS50D recommended by southpaw! I own one of these and they are bang up amps for the dollar!

I'm not much into electrics, so my experience is more with acoustics, but I do have a couple of electrics. One of them is an Ibanez AS83vv Semi-hollow body. Here's a pic of mine http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2209/179 … 20c8_b.jpg  I think it ran me about $450 a couple of years ago. They stopped making this exact model but still carry the AS line up. It has been a real joy to play. A very flexible and well toned guitar! I'd recommend them. I think they excell in their price range. Just thought I'd drop in my .02.. -Pix

I'm currently playing in a 3 person band but all my public gigs (only 2 so far) have been solo.

I have 3 boys and they all want a PSP each... So that's probably the main thing on the list. Three of those and few games are going to set me back around $800! I went the musical route last year and got each of them a guitar (1 electric and 2 acoustics) and a years worth of free lessons from dear old dad They also got a drum set and keyboard last year so music's been covered. I guess I'll let them indulge in the games this year...Maybe it'll free up the PS3 for me to play on more often

Me and the wife don't usually do anything for ourselves on Christmas. We put it all to the kids and family and then when tax checks come out we indulge ourselves.

Here's a couple of links you can use as a reference http://reviews.harmony-central.com/revi … tring/10/1 http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-179 … RIC-GUITAR   Looks like they go mainly from $225-$300 used

I'm with Southpaw on this. I love the solitude of the mountains! Give me a cabin by a stream with good fishing and my guitar and I'm a happy man. One of my favorite spots though, is a fish camp on the coast of N.C.  It's just a really small fish camp that's often occupied with old timers... They have 8 cabins that go for $20 bucks a day or $25 with AC. You can fish in the river off your back steps and it's some of the best I've found. You canoe, fish, and talk all day and at night there always a fire and a few people sitting around picking and telling stories... Good times! We usually go atleast once a year. It's called Blunts Creek fish camp and is located in Chocawinity about 60 miles north of New Bern (incase any locals are wondering;)). -Pix

Google talk and Yahoo messenger is what I'm talking about... An active link to those that you use. We have the info on our profile page and it shouldn't be that hard to put an active link with our posts. That way if someone wanted to contact a fellow member they could just hit the link and go straight to it instead of having to look it up and do everything manually...

I'll agree that the "Saddle" and nut have more of an effect on tone but changing pins even without changing the others will still change the tone of the guitar. The saddle may transfer most of the vibration from the strings to the top but it doesn't just stop there... The pins transfer that vibration to the bridge plate as well and softer or different pin materials will absorb or displace that vibration differently. The amount of difference by changing just bridge pins depends on a whole list of factors but the main one is the break angle of the strings over the saddle. The less the break angle the more diffrence you will hear by changing just bridge pins. Not all people have the ear to actually hear the difference but it is there.(not saying that you don't have the ear just admitting that sometimes it can be a very subtle change) Put in a set of brass pins without changing the saddle or nut and you will still hear a big tonal change, as they do offer the most change... As a side note though, All Art & Lutherie guitars come with Tusq nuts and saddles. -Pix

Don't know why I was thinking they were made in the UK...:D Congrats on the guitar though! They are some fine sounding and playing guitars. What woods/model did you go with? Any Pics? Always good to bask in someone elses GAS relief Sounds like one heck of a woman as well!! -Pix

I'd agree that solid tops are better and yes solid woods do change with age. With age the sap in tone woods crystalizes and allows for more vibration usually increasing sustain and adding more to the tone of the instrument. However in some cases the change doesn't have to be for the best. Take a guitar with a lightly braced top...It sounds good now and can handle middle to heavy strumming. Once it loosens/opens up it may become overdriven/muddy by heavy strumming but sound better finger picked than before.
As far as laminates go... Yes there are good ones! Cheaper, lower quality laminates are a laminate of good wood good over luane/plywood and really isn't good for anything. But the good laminates are made from 2-3 sheets of high quality solid tone woods and can age but it is hindered depending on the type of glue used in forming them. Hide glue will age with the wood and become freeier with time. I don't believe in using laminates for tops but think they are fine for back and sides. I went through a stage when I thought solid was always better but have come to learn with experience that that's not always so. I've had solid wood martins, taylors, larrivees and many more. I was convinced that solid woods were better and then I bought a quality laminate back and sided Yairi and was blown away. None of my other guitars could match it as far as tone. Laminates have a few advatages over solid woods. First is the whole humidity issue... Laminates are much more stable!! Also laminates can be made using a mixture of woods. Say you want a woody sounding guitar that has a strong bass line. Usually you'd go with mahogany for that open woody tone and rosewood for the bass attack. With laminates you can have a hog/rosewood/hog combination that will give you the characteristics of both tone woods. I think more has to do with construction than back and side woods. A good luthier can make a guitar sound just as good with lam back as a solid back. It all comes down to tuning the top braces to the guitar. In other words it's often depends on the builder.

To answer your question... Yes a good laminate could be better than a very poor quality solid top! But most of the time tops are better solid. The top defines the tone! 80-85% of tone is from the top, with 5% to the sides and 10-15% coming from the back. What we have to consider in the aging of the laminate top is not only the top itself but more importantly the bracing which almost surely is solid wood and will age and effect the top movement and therefore the tone. A solid top will just age more drastically!

There was a luthier that wanted to prove that the builder made the diffrence and not the woods. He constructed a wonderfull sounding guitar out of paper machet to prove the point!! I'll see if I can find the link and post it here...

Thanks everyone!  Anymore?