A new D-18 is closer to your budget than you probably think. I got mine through Ted at LA Guitar Sales, others recommend Maury at Maury’s Music or Jon at My Favorite Guitars. Those would be the three I’d recommend checking with, though I believe I saw that Jon is retiring and may be closing his store soon.
If you live within reasonable distance, you could even buy through one of those folks and pick it up at the Martin factory — how cool would that be?
I’m not as sure about where to get the best deal on a new J-45, others may be able to weigh in here.
At a lower price point, you might check out the D-15M and the J-15 — both really nice guitars as well.
And this is going to sound crazy, but give the Yamaha FG800 a play as well. Solid top, scalloped bracing, and the best tone I’ve ever heard in a guitar in that price range. I keep trying to think of an excuse to buy one because it seems like it’s ridiculous not to own one at that price.
That said, if you can swing it, the D-18 is wonderful. I played a lot of dreadnoughts at a lot of price points over 5–6 years and the D-18 was consistently my favorite.
Good luck and enjoy the search!
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