You can write a book on this(and some have) but I'll try to tackle a few from my experience..
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Originally Posted by preman
i know that the wood itself is an important consideration but how so?
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Here is a short but accurate
article about this to get you started. Like fine wine, the wood(provided it's not junk plywood) will open up and age well, especially spruce in the long run. I recorded my Martin when I first bought it over 7 years ago and compare the tone to now and holy tamales!
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Originally Posted by preman
and what else should i look out for?
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Best advice is just go and play as many guitars as you can possibly get your hands on. Don't listen to what is the best or who plays what. This is all subjective. In the end, YOU are the one who will have to play it, not Dave Matthews or the schmuck trying to sell you the guitar and giving you the "Dude this guitar rocks" line.
Judging by how much money you want to spend, I would seriously recommend you bring someone who has a lot of experience with guitars like a teacher if you have one. Have them play it and you listen and you can get a feel for what the guitar can do and how it performs using different techniques.
As far as pickups, I would wait and worry about the guitar first. I noticed that many steel strings that come bundled with a pickup system are less than desirable. You can always add on a sweet pickup system but you can't just add on a sweeter natural tone to the guitar. Put that on hold if you ask me.
You're definitely on the right track. Ask as many questions as possible and educate yourself. A friend of mine used to work in a Guitar Ctr before he quit(how many times can one hear chopped up Led Zeppelin riffs in one day) and now is a luthier and he said it was amazing how many poorly made guitars were sold because some artist flavor of the week endorsed them. Good luck and happy playing!