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I think that many players fail to explore all the possibilities available with just what a player is able to do with playing technique and amp settings. Pick-up selections, Muting, String bends, vibratos, flexing the guitar neck, bending above the nut, etc. for guitar effects. A good amp has lots of different sounds...

For much of my playing I do use a Delay and Chorus pedals...reverb and distortion from the amp...

Also consider what kind of music you are playing...most acoustic/electrics are thinner (general rule) and don't project as much acoustic volume as others. That can be critical in a Bluegrass setting or someplace where you need lots of acoustic volume. But for me they are easier to hold and play. On a stage plugged in the acoustic/electric really shines! I much agree with the others to pick a price range and then go play several guitars until you find one that works best for you.

Here are two sources that are considered some of the best in the industry...I'm sure there are lots of others as well... They make pickups for most acoustic instruments...

www.mcintyrepickups.com      www.fishman.com   

If you are fairly handy with tools then it's not much a challenge to install an endpin jack in your guitar...it will replace the rear strap button. Will require drilling and soldering.

Great info...I wished someone had told me that about 35 years ago...sure would have saved me a lot of frustration...  So much good info on this site

That sounds like a question for Gibson support site. I don't think Gibson was using DiMarzio products. I suspect that someone put the DiMarzio in that guitar. I had a Gibson Rep tell me that the old Gibson Pickups were wound with manually operated machines and often a pickup would get an odd winding giving it a particular sound...that's why some of the vintage guitars and pickups are so desirable. He said that modern pickups are machine wound with automated counters and stops and have near absolute consistency. That leads to Gibson and others...like Seymour Duncan, who will find one of those really great old pickups and then duplicate it as a Reissue or Replica...

Wow! That starts a never ending subject... Seems that all the companies make good pickups and have the marketing hype to prove it. Most people never seem to explore the sound capabilities that they've got, others become fanatical in the search for "That Tone"! Seems sorta silly to plug a high end guitar into a tiny transistor amp and expect magic tones, or to get a really cheap import guitar and expect a whole lot out of it. But once you get the guitar and amp then it's exciting to explore the different tonal possibilities. Eddie Van Halen tinkered (he was broke at the time) around with parts until he was able to come up the a guitar that did what he wanted...that became history.
  At the Dallas Guitar Show I met a Gibson Rep who had a special Les Paul that allowed a quick change of Gibson's pickups. He also had a double bodied/double necked SG that had muliple pickup in it. He could add or switch to just about anything Gibson produces while you were listening thru headphones...he had an amp simulator and could go from mellow jazz to metal thrash...it gives one some really good ideas about what different pickups could do...

Lots of good info but if you are new to the guitar then some might be a bit confusing...I play fingerstyle guitar and my wife sings...we will find a key that's friendly for her to sing in...then I'll capo or tune the guitar to find a chord pattern that's friendly to play in. ie: Lots of gospel is in Eb. I'll put a capo on the 1st fret and use a D chord...

hope that helps

I'm not really sure about a "drop C"...  A dropped D would be standard tuning and then "drop" or tune the E string to a D...

I agree with it's mostly a personal choice...I think all have a great sound but each will have it's own personality! Fit and finish...neck thickness and width...ease of tuning and playing...and just simply appealing looks!

I hope to buy a top line PRS this year and hopefully get Mr Smith to sign it...talked to him the other day at the Dallas guitar show...Really a great guy and player!

Also lusting for a Gretch 6120...I'm convinced that the Japan made ones are even better than the previously US built Gretch...

I'd rather hear a nice little flurry of expressive notes from King, Clapton, SRV, Gibbons, than a jillion per second notes from a Malmsteen!

Here's something to try...each amp has different sounds at different settings and one has to experiment...  if your amp has a High, Med, and Treble then try the sound at Zero settings and again at Mid and again at 10 or whatever the highest settings are...then add and subtract until you find your sound. On my amp for a blues/slide sound I turn the bass to around 8 and the mid all the way with very little treble and then use lots of reverb. I try to find the sound that I like before linking in the pedal effects like delay, chorus, compression, etc...