Advice: 1st good acoustic. Burnt out learning.

[wguitar]

Originally Posted by stephenT

Gear is a journey. Best to jump in, you know what you like,... find a nice guitar and buy it.

You may sell it next month, but think of the fun you'll have. And maybe a better defined sense of what specs/brand etc work for you.

Agree 100%! Stephen's post speaks volumes!

ENJOY the journey!

Cheers!

[Fatfinger McGee]

Stop agonizing/torturing salespeople and buy a guitar you like, used if possible. Put a few different sets of strings on. Figure out what you still don't like and why, and buy another one. Rinse and repeat. A good tool shapes the carpenter, so leave room for your playing and preferences to change.

You only really agonize about the first expensive whatever, assuming you can afford it. Guitar, motorcycle, trip to Europe, whatever. Because you're still under the illusion it has to be perfect if you're spending that much. It doesn't, it never will be, and there's a point of diminishing returns on learning without the perspective from doing. So, just go buy a guitar, is my advice.

[RalphH]

I'm going to suggest you want mahogany B&S for a couple of reasons; you mention you want string midrange in the sound. Rosewood tends to accentuate bass and treble and leave a bit of a gap in the middle. They're great for singing to as they leave some space for the singer. But many mahogany guitars have excellent balance and are fantastic to sing to. I especially like dreadnoughts.

You mentioned hearing the guitar well from behind vs front/recording. From personal experience, I think mahogany 'leaks' more sound out the back and sides than rosewood does (possibly because it's less dense?) and you can hear more or your guitars tone from the playing position... but MUCH more of the sound coming to your ears is being reflected back to you from the room your in, so if you don't like the way your guitar sounds from behind, go sit in a different room. It can make a mind-boggling amount of difference. Not like changing strings, like changing guitar.

I'm a Gibson guy so I'll stick with what I know. Make sure you try a J45 and a Hummingbird.

[cliff_the_stiff]

you said that you were not attracted to Martin guitars.
Your eyes or your ears?
The sound you described: Lows present, but not overwhelming- Not too fundamental (all hog). Not too scooped (eir- deep body).

No barn door EQ staring up at you from the side.

This to me described a Martin 000-18.
I would also suggest Collings 00-000 guitars. Their EIR guitars are not as scooped as Martins in my limited experience.

[Pat64]

Go for Breedlove! You've clearly stated your preference for Breedlove and you find Myrtlewood attractive so the choice is obvious: Breedlove Oregon Concerto with Myrtlewood top, back and sides. It projects nicely, the sound is full bodied with great bass and it looks great (though its looks aren't for everyone).
I recently went on a guitar buying journey and tried dozens of extremely expensive guitars and the Breedlove is the ONE that stood out.
But try before you buy!!

[DownUpDave]

No disrespect but it seems like you are looking for the Holy Grail. You are a seasoned player and know what you like but no guitar is perfect. Our hearing or what we like can change as our mood does. I have three guitars that sound great but are very different, one all mahogany, one cedar/mahogany and one spruce and rosewood. I love them all but some days dislike two out of the three, depends on how I am feeling that day.

Start somewhere with a guitar that grabs you. Perfection is the enemy of excellent.