[Tunes]

Welcome aboard.

My advice is first of all definitely buy used. You will get way more guitar for the money. Don't worry about on-board sdxtuff, uou can put usually way better electronics on later anyway for under a hundred bucks.

I would look for a nice used Guild, or even a Sigma. The Guilds will all be solid wood, even the "lower" model D-6. Great sound. Sigma will ahve laminate back and sides, but were built in Korea using Martin specs, so they are also great souding guitars - have that Martin sound for sure. You will be lucky to find a Larrivee for your price range, but if you do go for it also.

Epi Masterbuilt's are great also, and you can probably find those used too. You really want to play whatever you buy, so the best bet is local Craigslist (or in Canada also Kijijii) or your local guitar shops.