Red_Strat, eto nanaman tayo, hehe.
anyway, eto, most of the guitars at that price range, magkakatunog, promise. hehe.
ako ok sakin yung sigma, coz i've always wanted a martin, well a sigma might take me closer to martindom, hehehe. kasi it's a licensed martin copy, hehe. pero ang matinong sigma palang na nakita ko eh yung DM-1ST, that's the only solid topped sigma for sale here, pero wala shang pickup.
the oka schmidt, shadow (tama ba?) yung electronics nya. that's the same electronics they use with epiphone acoustic/electrics. so if you want a quick solution na maayos, go for this. it's not that expensive pa.
ibanez naman uses their own pickup/preamp. pero yung mas mid-end nila gamit fishman. so it's a step closer to medyo higher end guitars like taylor who also uses fishman pickups. so kung kaya mo pa magdagdag ng around 2k more, go ibanez. ganda pa ng craftsmanship.
ngayon, you also have the lower end acoustic/electrics like rockstar, fernando. both guitars use the same pickup/preamp (may built in tuner ah, hehe) and i've heard some naman, they sound nice. konting timplahan lang sa eq, which is built in dun sa guitars na yun, hehe. so kung 10k budget mo, makakabili ka ng 4-5k na rockstar or fernando, tapos pwede ka pa bumili ng amp, hehe.
applause, no offense to the applause/ovation users. i've had an applause before and 3 ovations. ok naman sha in terms of tibay. and the amplified sound naman is maayos, medyo matigas nga lang tunog nya, parang feeling ko kulang sa resonance ng wood. so with an applause/ovation, you might need to use effects with that, para mapalambot ng konte yung tunog.
pero as for more bang for the buck, i think oks yung oscar schmidt package. kasi kasama na lahat eh, hehe. may guitar, amp, strap and picks ka pa. sa sukli mo pwede mo pa libre yung friend mo na sasama sa pagbili mo, hehe.
pero maganda, kuha ka ng solid topped acoustic guitar lang, tapos gawin mong project guitar. buy a nice pickup for it along with a preamp onboard or outboard. yun, swabe tunog nun, hehe. or go for the ibanez artwoods if you have the extra money. i think they sell for around 15-20k. yun solid top na with fishman/ibanez electronics.
goodluck in finding your guitar!