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Bushy, there is a site devoted to the G-Dec here: www.mygdec.com/, user registration is free.  If you go to the section titled "file repository" (on the left), and then to the G-Dec section, there is a .pdf  tutorial of sorts available for download called G-Dec Going Deep which might help you out.  You need to be registered to be able to download.

What I did with mine, is I picked a preset to goof with that I wasn't planning on ever using, and then spent an hour or so finding out what the buttons did, how to change the effects and settings, what it all sounded like, etc.  If you don't think of it as homework, it becomes kind of fun.

For old-time twangy country, you might try the preset called "trainbilly" (that's what it's called on mine), which is a country/rockabilly sort of sound with a bit of reverb.  You might also try adding a bit of reverb to the "acoustic" setting as well, and maybe a bit of delay (100ms or so).  You're definitely not going to want to mess with phasers or chorus effects, though as I said, it's kind of fun to just play around with them.

It really is a fun little amp.

When you think the time has come to move on from it, you should keep two things in mind for a twangy country sound: all tube, and an echo pedal (I personally like the Roland Space Echo.  It ain't cheap, but it sure adds flavor and doesn't sound "digital" to my ear. YMMV).

Good advice above, especially the "don't rush into anything" part.  Personally, I was 8 months of hour a day, seven days a week practice when I started feeling the limitations of my "starter" instrument.  I'd advise you to first decide on a price range, nad then visit your local shops (even some not-so-local ones, if you travel regularly) and play everything on the wall in your price range.  When you find it, you'll KNOW it, no doubts.

I'll cast another vote here for justinguitar.com.  Also, if you're truly wanting to change some bad habits, you should take a look at guitarprinciples.com and the book "The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar."  I'm not affiliated in any way, but I can tell you that it works.

Welcome to chordie, and good luck.

Last question first:  at a certain point in your life, you might wind up with more disposable income than you have now.  Some people spend money on cars or trucks, others on boats or tools... my hobby is guitars.  I have five that I play regularly, three of them are worth upwards of $1000 each.

Plus, as you shop around, you're going to find out that there is a world of difference between a $200 "starter pack" guitar, and a $600 instrument; better materials and better craftsmanship translate to easier to play and far better sound.  I've said it many times on this forum and others, and not everyone agrees with me, but take your time, and buy the best instrument that you can afford.  If you can afford $250, that's fine-- just use it wisely.  Decide what kind of music you want to play, what type of instrument fits that musical style, and then go out there and comparison shop.  Hit every music shop you can reach, and play every instrument you can get your hands on.  Haunt eBay and Craigslist, visit pawnshops.

What separates the various manufacturer's instruments from one another (outside of pricing) are sound and feel.  Body size, shape and style, neck shape, fretboard raduis, size of frets, quality of workmanship, look...  Once you get your hands on a few axes, you'll start to notice what's important to you in terms of feel.  I happen to like hollowbody electrics for sound, with a slim D-profile neck, 12" radius fretboard and jumbo frets (which all points to Gretsch).  In acoustics, I still like the neck profile, solid wood body with an "auditorium" shape over "dreadnought" and a strong low-end response (which pretty much all says Taylor).  You will have to touch and play them to find out what speaks to you.

Where to buy?  Wherever you find that special instrument.  You will find it, and you WILL know it when you do.

In this economy, you may well find a good bargain in a used guitar; be sure to try it first.  You can afford to be picky; waiting a little longer for the right instrument to come along simply means that you can save up more scratch to buy it when it does.  Though when you speak of "seasoning" in an instrument, that is usually reserved for the so-called "vintage" market, which is going to be light years out of your price range.  Don't get discouraged, and don't let some pushy salesperson sell you an instrument that your hands and ears don't think is right.

Oh yeah, welcome to Chordie!

"but will it affect my learning at all if the thing is as big of a piece as i suspect it is??"

Short answer: yes, it will; but allow me to qualify that.

As some have said, "nearly everyone" learns on a cheap guitar, and in many cases there is good reason for this.  I did it myself, but now that I know better I wish that I had done it a bit differently.

"Cheap" acoustic guitars are notorious for their high, stiff action which may be coupled with other quality shortcomings, all combining to make the instrument difficult to play.  Once you add in the weakness in beginner's fingers, it's no wonder why so many give it up in short order.  So, the cheap instrument will affect your ability to learn, but only in the sense that you are saddling yourself with the same obstacles that "almost everyone" faces.  You won't sound good at first, you'll struggle with sore fingers, and your subsequent willingness (and physical ability) to play will be limited.

In your situation, as someone who seems to know that you want this in your life, you should immediately begin shopping around for that next step up.  You've already bought the cheapo, so go ahead and use it as much as you can; but don't let that stop you from thinking about what kind of sound and feel that you WANT out of a guitar, and while you're struggling and saving up, check out some shops, ask advice, listen and try out instruments that seem to speak to you.  When you find the one that you can't stop staring at, that you can't keep your hands off of, whose voice is the music that you can't hear enough of, that's the one that will inspire you to play and REALLY learn on.  When I found that guitar, I went from 30 minutes a day of practice to 3 hours a day in the course of a month.  I'm still doing it.

Deadstring, truss rods may be designed to be adjusted at the headstock end.  See any solidbody or archtop guitar for examples. 

Cytania, it's my understanding that the major component of the sound quality in an acoustic guitar is determined by the tonewood of the guitar's top.  I know in the case of the Taylors that I auditioned before I bought mine that the cheaper models with laminate tops don't hold any sort of a candle to the more expensive models with solid tops.  I think that the effect you are hearing has to do with the fact that the Ovations with smaller holes at the top of the upper bout (Adamas model?) are probably much more expensive, solid topped guitars than the more traditional ones with central soundholes.  You might check Ovation's website for specs.

Yes, it certainly does.

The truss rod counteracts the pull of the strings on the neck, so tightening the truss rod will add backbow, generally straightening the neck. 

Please note:  action is not the same as neck relief.  Check first for your neck relief by putting a capo on the 1st fret, hold the low E string down at the body fret, and check for daylight under the 7th fret.  If your neck isn't bowed, you will need to set the action at the nut and bridge saddle; these adjustments are best done by a technician.

If you find that you do have too much neck relief, you counteract the bow in the neck caused by string tension by tightening the truss rod.  Make small adjustments (an eighth of a turn or less) at a time, and allow the neck to 'settle' for several hours before continuing to adjust.  The adjustment should be easy, if you run into significant resistance, DON'T FORCE IT!  The hypothetical 'average' player should have neck relief around .013" (check with a feeler gauge), less if you play light, a bit more if you're very energetic (or playing slide).

If you have any doubts, please take the instrument to a competent tech for a set up.  A Broken truss rod is no fun for anyone.

The first and biggest tip for learning anything on the guitar, is to start doing it SLOWLY.  Make whatever motion you need to do in slow motion, slow enough that you cannot help but do it right, every time.  Next, do it a bazillion times, gradually getting faster.  Use a metronome, and start off at 60 bpm (or slower!) and take FOUR CLICKS to complete your motion.  Do that for a few minutes every day; after a few days, try doing your motion over two clicks.  If you can do it flawlessly, do it at that speed for a few days, and then try doing it in a single click.  If you have trouble, slow it back down for a day or two.  Once you're making your motion in one click at 60 bpm flawlessly for a few days, speed up to 80bpm, then 100.  Then back to 60, but do it in half a click.  You will soon find yourself at performance speed, and you'll do it flawlessly every time.

A trick for staying on the right string is to remove pressure from the finger, but keep it in slight contact with the string when you're making a large move on the fretboard.  You'll have to watch out for "finger squeak", but if you start slow and gradually build up, you'll soon find that you can lose contact with the string, but still wind up in the right position at the end.

The idea is to train the muscles in the fingers, hand and arm to make exactly the same motion each time; trouble is, it's just as easy to teach them to do it wrong as it is to do it right.  That's why you have to start slow enough to do it perfectly EVERY TIME.

Remember, practice doesn't make perfect.  PERFECT PRACTICE makes perfect.

Starter packages are meant for folks who want to get their feet wet, without jumping all the way in.  If you're not sure how interested you'll be in playing guitar in a year, something along those lines might be the way to go.  Most instruments around that price point are fine as far as it goes.

On the other hand, if you're pretty sure that playing guitar is something that is going to interest you for the long run, then the advice is: buy the absolute best instrument that you can afford.  Visit shops, and sample as many different instruments as strike your fancy; the feel of the axe is just as important as the sound.  When you find that right instrument, the one that sounds right to your ears, and that you just can't keep your hands off of, that's the one to buy.

The saying "buy cheap, by twice" fits here.

Weird Al Yankovic did a backwards mask on the song "Nature Trail to Hell" way back in the day, that supposedly said: "Satan is singing on this record."  I'm quite sure that it was a joke, a play on all the hype about that sort of thing.

If someone is spending their time looking for backwards messages in rock songs, then they've got too much time on their hands.  They should be practicing guitar more.

Something that's been useful to me has been 'bouncing' my fingers on the strings.  Get into your chord-form, and release some of your finger pressure, but keep the fingers in contact with the strings.  Bounce them from here to full pressure and back a few times, and gradually get less contact with the strings, until your fingertips are about 1/16 inch (a mm or two) off the strings, but still in the shape.  Move on to another problem chord shape, and do the same.  Spend 5-10 minutes a day doing that, and soon you'll be dive bombing those changes; your fingers will start hitting the shape as you approach the strings, almost like magic.

Hmmm, yeah.  The truss rod is used not so much for setting the action, but for setting neck relief-- how much the neck flexes with string tension.  Once you set the neck relief with the truss rod, THEN you adjust the action at the bridge and/or nut.

To check the neck relief, you're going to need to put a capo at the first fret, and hold the low E string down at the fret where the neck joins the body.  Use a feeler gauge to check how high the string is at the seventh fret; a "regular" player will want it at about 0.013", if you play really heavy, you might double that.

You can find a good essay (with photos) here:  http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Ge … tradj.html