It has been a while since I referenced my guitar hunt. (April 16th in fact - http://a0001718.blogspot.com/2007/04/not-lot-to-report-these-days.html)

Well, I completed the task yesterday. I bought a Takamine EG340SC (http://www.takamine.com/?fa=detail&mid=1978&sid=524).

Just as I was hunting for, it is a middle of the road guitar... not a cheapo, not a really expensive one. I spent months researching, and settled on this one because it had a solid spruce top. If you are not familiar with guitars at all, you need a solid top for good sound quality and durability.. Additionally, I really needed a cutaway, since I play things that are extraordinarily difficult without one. You really have to go all gimpy to play the 19th fret on a guitar with no cutaway. Next, I really did not care if the guitar was only acoustic, or an acoustic/electric, but when I realized the Takamine TP4T electronics featured an on board tuner as well, I was sold.

Musician's Friend (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/) was having a sale on their "scratch and dent" items. Since this guitar will replace my current daily player, I could not think of a reason not to just get a scratch and dent item. It is guaranteed to work just like it did when it was brand new, and I could play it for 45 days then send it back if I was unhappy for any reason for a full refund. The MSRP is $589.00, but Musician's Friend sells them for $399.00. The scratch and dent models were $339.00, and the sale was another 10% on top of that, so I ended up paying $305.00, and shipping was free.

I got the guitar yesterday and inspected it thoroughly. I cannot find anything wrong with the guitar whatsoever. I am not exactly sure why it was a scratch and dent item. I suppose they count it as scratch and dent if the original box it came from the manufacturer in was messed up, or if it was a floor model for any period of time, but I cannot find a single scratch, dent, ding smudge, nick, or crack of any sort anywhere on the guitar.

It is a fantastical guitar. The tone is amazing, and it projects a LOT of sound. The on board tuner could not be any easier to use. You simply push the tuner button and hit a string, and it has a display that tells you to tune up or down till it is the correct note.

Anyhoo, they still have some left, they are just not on sale any more. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up... they are so choice.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Takamine-G-Series-EG340SC-Dreadnought-Cutaway-AcousticElectric-Guitar?sku=512207X

The pictures really do not do the guitar justice, but it is rather difficult to quickly photograph something shiny, with a flash, you'll get the general idea.