i only have one thing to say about fine guitars:
HAMER.
get the newer korean made ones, very sweet, under 700 bucks i think. or, if you have an extra 3000 dollars laying around, get one made in the US. i have a cherry sunburst archtop flametop and it looks like this:
it sounds even sweeter than it looks. i have been playing guitar for over 15 years and it is by far the finest sounding guitar i have ever played/owned. except for that $8K takmine acoustic that i fondle and drool over in the music shop.