What's the best acoustic/electric guitar?

I think for a first guitar you probably want a standard dreadnaught, with solid spruce top, and solid mahogany back and sides. The deep bowl Ovations I would recommend at that level, but only to those who knows what they are. They are great for finger picking and leads and recording, but don't have the warm chord feeling an all solid wood guitar has. Concert guitars are great for blues, finger picking, but lack low end and are too chunky for smooth rhythms. I think Taylor makes an entry level guitar that sounds very good. Martin and Breedloves as well. They are over $300. I found the Taylors a bit clearer, but it is very subjective. You can probably get an all solid wood Mitchell for $600 maybe., Solid Ibanez for $800? I think the Breedloves sound as good but have laminate sides at that price. Parkwoods are in there somewhere. There are some epiphone masterbuilts that are all solid wood. I would listen to these carefully: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Epiphone-Masterbuilt-AJ-500ME-Advanced-Jumbo-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar-519029-i1396066.gc The solid wood Taylors, Martins, Parkwwod, start at $1000, I think. But again, I think the Taylors, Martins and perhaps Breedloves may sound decent with non-solid wood.

The Taylor 110 is a great guitar for around $650: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Taylor-110-E-Dreadnought-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar-102946373-i1148408.gc I was at Guitar Center a couple months ago looking at acoustic/electric guitars around $500 and these are some I personally liked a lot. Just for background, I've been playing guitar 35 years and am a worship leader at our church. Takamine EG463SC G NEX: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Takamine-EG463SC-G-NEX-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar-105454367-i1464050.gc This is a nice size guitar and had great action and tone. I picked up another equally priced Takamine next to it though and it did not sound nearly as nice or play as well. That's why you should always play any acoustic guitar before you buy it. Seagull Entourage Rustic CW QIT: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Seagull-Entourage-Rustic-CW-QIT-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar-105483366-i1475314.gc If you want a great sounding guitar that well built this is it. If you get the QII (Quantum 2) electronics, they're even better. Those have both a piezo pickup and an internal microphone that you can blend to get a great acoustic sound. The QIT just has the Quantum I electronics with a tuner. Yamaha FGX730SC: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha-FGX730SC-Solid-Top-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar-105344295-i1449311.gc This guitar sounded great. I didn't like it quite as well as the first two in terms of looks, but it played nice and had good tone. They also had an Epiphone on clearance for around $300 that I liked but I didn't write down the model. I played several Ovations. The $700 ones sounded OK plugged in but I didn't like the tone at all unplugged. The cheaper Ovations just sounded bad to me although they played nice. I would just avoid Fender and Ibanez acoustics altogether, although if you want an electric guitar they'd be near the top of the list. Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Breedlove, and Rainsong are all great guitars if you have at least $1,000 to spend, but you won't find one of them in the $500 market unless you get a steal on a used one. Go to Guitar Center or another music store and try out the ones I listed and any others that strike you and see what you like. Compare them to the Taylor 110 and see if you think it's worth going a bit over budget for that one. They also have a couple "Martin" guitars under $600 (I used quotes because they're made oversees and aren't Martin quality). You could try them though and compare them to the others. The only "cheap" Martin I liked was this one: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Martin-X-Series-OMCX1KE-Cutaway-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar-518161-i1422300.gc It's around $700 though, so your budget is slipping now. Try them out and compare for yourself though. Hope some of this helps in your search.

Out of all the guitars, I think the Gibson Les Paul is the best, but that is only for a specific sound. If you want different sounds, you have to adapt with your guitars. For jazz and blues, there is a really nice French guitar, but I have forgotten its name.

For the price you quote, either a Dean or an Ibanez would be a good buy. Some Washburns are also in that price range. However, none of them would be all solid wood, which can diminsh sound quality; for an extra $150, you can get a Washburn that is all solid wood. Unfortunately, the best guitar I ever had in that price range is no longer in business; I own a Garrison G-20; cedar top, solid birch back and sides, fully loaded Fishman electronics, and it cost me $549. Garrison sold to Gibson a couple of years back; I still gig with it all the time.

The best electro-acoustic guitars in the world are Ovation. Shallow bowl, or deep bowl. whatever you prefer. I use 2 - 12 string and 6 string and they are awesome. If you don't like the bowl back, and want a smaller guitar, the Little Martin LXE travel guitar with buillt in electrics is amazing. I use one of those for travelling, and it sounds great acoustic or electric. Regretfully, I have no idea what they sell for in your country, but check out your local guitar store. Hope this helps

ibanez makes some good acoustic-electric. if you can find a gibson in that price range do not hesitate o get it they are the best! epiphone also has some incredible models from that price range.

Yamaha FGX730SC its very smooth to play and beautiful in looks and sound