Tough call.
I love my Takamine's. Lots of bang for the buck, but mine are higher end models and older ones too. I dont know what their more recent stuff sounds like, and what the quality of their cheaper stuff is like more recently.
I would do three things:
1. Take a
slide and get thee to some music stores. Big ones with lots of guitars. Play tons of them. Washburns, Takamines, Seagulls, There are so many lower price guitars now- they are all made on computer guided machines in Korea- the quality control and consistency is quite high- you need to take notes on the make and models that feel the best and sound the best to you. Go up quite a bit over your price range in the stores because you may find the same guitar cheaper elsewhere, especially used. Look at new guitars up to $600 if you have $300 to spend.
2. Now go read the reviews on Harmony Central on those models that you played. Look at what they paid too. Keep in mind there is a strong Honeymoon factor, everyone loves the guitar they just bought. Look for the most objective reviews from people who have owned the instrument a while, and are experienced owners with many guitars.
3. Shop for the guitar on-line, second hand on Harmony Central, E-Bay, The Gear Pages, and other places where used gear is bought and sold. Be careful. But you can get a great deal and get a much better instrument for less money second hand. Lower priced acoustic guitars can be purchased very reasonably at pawn shops and used electric guitar stores also, where they are not in demand or well respected. You have to know what you like, and be prepared to bargain a bit if you find something you want. Do your research on-line so you know your values.
barry