You were lucky Brian. Our teacher made us write using our own blood!
And you had to write in calligraphy? 
Guitar arrived, finish was lovely, nicely cut bone nut, medium action, nice tone and good intonation. However, I found it difficult to play chords without some buzzing. The frets were quite fine, and a little unforgiving regarding finger placement. I have a light touch and had to press quite hard for clear notes. Just wasnāt comfortable playing for any length of time.
I decided to spend an hour at a local shop trying a range of acoustics. I found a Yamaha that played beautifully and was really comfortable to fret. I could have played it for hours.
In the end I decided to return the Artist guitar simply because it didnāt feel right for me.
I intend to try out a few more Yamahas before making a final decision on a new purchase.
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Dave, my wife had a go at the guitar a few years ago. I bought a Freshman, however it was too big for her. She tried others out and ended up with a Yamaha APX, thin body which is a beautiful wee guitar. Itās an electro acoustic which has better bass once plugged in as itās a thin body. I canāt praise Yamaha enough, they have some really good guitars which wonāt break the bank.
P.S. rather than return the Freshman I kept it for myself! It was a win, win!
Your description fits pretty well to what I discovered myself, within certain price range it is difficult to find guitar that is easy to play enough to have fun and pleasure instead of struggle and frustration (out of the box I mean). This could be corrected by visiting luthier in most cases.
Glad that you found instrument that fulfil your expectations without any additional treatment 
, looking forward to hear how it sounds!
A lot of fun talk Iām this thread! Although my history on the forum shows a person afflicted with GAS, I am happy with what I have (mostly 
).
I am currently enjoying a smaller body (00) and short scale acoustic. The classical guitars are also generally smaller bodied, and that fits my smallish 5ā 6ā frame. I donāt know how anyone my size would manage a dreadnaught, although many people do. The smaller guitars help my shoulders a lot.
My classicals are not short scale, and that is the only thing I would want different. Maybe, eventually, I will change out for a shorter scale one, but I also think it is good to practice on a full scale.
None of my acoustics (classical or steel) have electronics. I do think that may be a little limiting, but if I need it I could add a pickup easily.
In my mind, the only advantage to not having electronics is cost. They add a couple to few hundred dollars to the cost and I like to think that all my money went to the guitar itself, so I have āmore guitar for the moneyā. The games we playā¦
I bought an Overhead+ all mahogany (model OF312) about a year ago. Plenty of volume and low-end for me. The mini Taylorās and Martins always sounded too thin and trebly for me. The Overhead+ is now my go-to acoustic, even when Iām at home.
Build quality is excellent. Mine came with 2 bridges of different heights so you can choose your action height based on your preference. My only criticism is that the fret wire used feels thinner/lower than my PRS SE Hollowbody, my LP clone (Agile 3000), and my Takamine dreadnaught acoustic. With 10ās on the Overhead+, I need to make sure I fret right next to the fret wire or I get a bit of buzz. If I switched back to the original 12ās, I think the issue would go away.
No tuning issues other than the ones you have with any guitar that travels from 1 climate to another. The locking tuners make the guitar slightly neck-heavy, but with my right arm resting on the guitar in playing position, the neck doesnāt ādiveā.
Overall, for $629, Iām happy with my purchase 
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I just bought the Yamaha Revstar RSE20 in Swift Blue a couple months ago and I love it (I was on the fence about RSS vs RSE, Iiked the stainless steel frets on the RSS but I prefered the dry switch on the RSE to the focus switch on the RSS and RSE was less expensive).
It might be a while but I think my next guitar will be a carbon-fiber acoustic; looking at several models but the Klos full-size carbon fiber acoustic has my eye.
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Thanks! I had been looking at guitars like that, but hadnāt narrowed down a particular model. Iāve now added it to my Sweetwater wish list.
Iām leaning heavily in the direction of an Epiphone Thunderbird IV bass, itās a John Entwistle thing, possibly in the goth finish if I can find one at a good price.
Otherwise, Iām very keen on getting an Epiphone Bonamassa signature Black Beauty Les Paul or the Billy Joe Armstrong LP Jr. signature, and Iāll admit right now that I want the junior for the case as much as I do the flat top single P-90 vibe.
Itās really just a matter of which one I come across first.
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The main thing keeping me from purchasing another guitar is that I canāt decide which one I want first!
Currently leading candidates are:
-Epiphone les paul in lemon burst: looks amazing and has US pickups, would love a real Gibson but they are way out of budget.
-Gibson SG with P90s: Currently I have an HSS Yamaha so it would give me a different type of pickups, plus this seems to be the default guitar to play doom metal which is something I want to learn
But then again a semi hollow would be cool, or a real strat, or maybe try a tele? and those PRSes look really beautiful, or those Japanese guitars that everyone is raving aboutā¦
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Iām eyeing up a Tele, and am also waiting for the release of the PRS SE Custom 24-08 in blue in March so I can go try one of those - although I think the TCS pickup system may be more than my brain (and ability) can handle. After that, just for kicks Iām going to butcher my lovely Yamaha Pacifica 112V with some proper Strat pickups and maybe a Fernandes sustainer at the neck, or I may just buy a freeze pedal or some such like.
Iām quite lucky in that I have Andertons in Guildford, Guitar Village in Farnham and GAK in Brighton, and a PMT store all within a 50āish minute drive.
Also currently researching a basic home studio setup.
I actually do think a lot of what my next guitar would be! I currently have a Squier Strat, my first electric guitar, but a few years down the road I would love to buy a Gibson Les Paul or ES-335, mostly because I want to try other guitar brands and models but also because most of the guitarist I like have Les Pauls and I want to give them a go.
Your choice is very unique and I love how different it is to American brands, it has so much personality!
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I own a Gibson Les Paul (the entry level tribute) and love it. Another guitar I want is and S type with a tremolo system. Maybe those super stray types? Classic fender player series or even a Yamaha Pacifica 612. Something like that.
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Good to know! Iām really looking forward to having enough money to buy one 
Wonāt be for a while yet (famous last words ) but I do find my mind wandering to a semi-hollow / hollow electric, particularly T-style. Sometimes the internetās a baaaaad thing 
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Youāre telling me. Iām def waiting until next January for a new revstar but itās gonna be a long 11 months lol.
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I got a Sterling Mariposa in that Dorado Green. Next Iād want an acoustic to match the vibe. Iāve been eyeing the Fender Newporter in Red or Blue and that Fender Newporter Classic in Hot Rod Red but Iād like to go to a store and try them out first because Iām not so sure about the sound quality and I think a warmer sound really matters to me. Want bigger bodies than a parlor. Iām open to suggestions as well guys. I do have a thing for red acoustics.
This might be my next guitar. Love Ibanez and this ticks all my boxes. The neck and the pickups will suit my style. A little expensive atm, but saving up
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