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Early in my playing days I read that when you paid more for an electric guitar you were usually paying for better playability, when paying more for an acoustic you were usually paying for better sound. I've always thought there's a lot of truth in it. Cheap electrics are much better made nowadays and it won't be as true as it was.
I can't help about the shape I'm in, I can't sing I ain't pretty and my legs are thin
But don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to
Volume isn't everything for flamenco guitarists though, IMO the most important factor for flamenco guitarists the one that more obsess over is playability and how crisp/punchy/percussive the guitar is. Amplification is being used for live performance now days.
I do toy with the idea of buying a flamenco or classical guitar and learning to play it a bit. One of these days I will probably do it. I'll ask advice here before I do.
It takes a lot more time to build a top level acoustic guitar, and AFAIK the skill levels needed are at a higher level too.
It should be possible to train up people in China and Vietnam to build to the same level, but generally you don't see high-level acoustic guitars being built there (with a few exceptions)
I played everything in coda last year and the sweet spot was around 2k.
I bought a Martin but still play my 40 year old Ovation as I leave it at the venue.
I've played quite a few acoustics over the years but one of the best was a 70s Washburn and I generally don't like Washburns.
Find a guitar within the budget you find achievable.
Ive currently got a Martin 00016E that is up there. Proper solid woods, Nazereth built etc but is it 7 times better? no.
Likewise, with electrics, you then move into the world of Martin and Taylor think Gibson/Fender, in a lot of cases their budget guitars are not all that and you could happily get a better-sounding instrument jumping back to category one. The cost rise here is the same as in electric US brands with more expensive overheads, labour and of course marketing and branding. If you don't need the brand name then Eastman is going to do you well for a better standard of Asian production. You now have the likes of Furch and Dowina reaching bigger markets as well made in small shop builds from Europe which is nice to see at good value prices.
Martin and Taylor can these days empty your pocket all the way to 10k and have pushed into the small shop-built market of the specialists like Santa Cruz ,Bourgeois, etc
Lurking in the ethereal world you have the strange world of boutique solo shop Luthiers. Who seem to have caught fire these days, their pricing was similar to top-end Martin plus a bit, back in the day. Now with the advent of the TNAG effect their prices have probably doubled or tripled over recent years and their upcharges, on anything but the standard range of woods in most cases are stratospheric. Strictly for those with time to sit on a 24-month waiting list and money.
So in essence these days there are acoustics for all of us at whatever price you need these are some golden years for the acoustic guitar.
The more expensive instruments tend to be played less because they are considered too precious for general use. If a guitar has been set up correctly, a better instrument with like for like dimensions is unlikely to improve your playing. A lot more improvements in sound can be made by focusing on an individual player's technique. I remember the late Julian Bream recounting a conversation in a workshop he was hosting. One of the attendees said something like "it is all right for you - you've got an expensive guitar". Mr. Bream then picked up the attendee's cheap instrument and made it sing.
That being said, I've spent quite a lot on expensive custom acoustics and also bought quite a few cheaper ones over the year. In every category there have been some I've liked more than others - and some, if not getting played, I've moved on. Personally, I've never considered any one a waste of money because I've learnt something from it and often met some very nice and interesting people in the process.
However, I cannot say that the late Mrs. GTC was totally convinced by this philosphy !!
why not simply ask "is an expensive guitar a waste of money?"
just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
There is no way to counter the OP's view than to state that, if you don't get it and really believe that a bit of bling and a name on the headstock is all you get as an upgrade on an £800 guitar, then only time and experience will help. Even better, go tell an experienced, successful, time served luthier that a decent set up on a lower end factory churned guitar will be every bit as good as the expensive stuff they are turning out and, if you make it that far, have a listen to what they have to say about their craft.
There is a hell of a lot goes into producing a high end guitar, even before the build has started, in terms of understanding the way each piece of material will react and how it will need to be worked to achieve the right results. CNC thinning hundreds of boards a day regardless of whether or not they may be fit for purpose and then turning them into guitar shaped things, is nothing close to actually selecting for tonal quality, and strength while excluding anything which does not meet the necessary criteria.
So my answer to the OP's question is, no not a waste of money, so long as you understand why you are paying the price and can get use from it as an instrument.
Strangely enough, one of my favourite and well gigged acoustics, doesn't have any bling and doesn't even have the makers name on the headstock, but would be eye wateringly expensive for some, but the maker has one hell of a waiting list because his customers know what to expect in terms of build and performance.
I feel a bit torn on that starting point. On the one hand, I simply cannot see how it is possible to noticeably improve an electric beyond a certain point - that point being easily reachable on a budget of ... oh .. say £1000, £1500 tops, and sensibly achievable if you leave out the bling and use a single pickup for perhaps £500.
Let's face it, you need a decent fretboard, well-fretted, on a neck angled somewhere within a bull's roar of straight, a hunk of wood (or the other material of choice) to put the bridge and pickups on, and some tuning pegs. You don't even have to get the neck angle or the pickup height or the intonation right, as these are all user-adjustable. No need at all for carefully selected tonewoods, thinned to precisely the right depth, braced and shaved by a master of the art, and all so lightly built that physical integrity is at risk if it is not done exactly right.
On the other hand, I don't play electric, so what would I know?
And on the other, other hand, amps are a whole different game. I can see the need to spend pretty serious money on an amp (though not for some of the damfoolishness that infects the top end of any bespoke manufacturing. Cue hi-fi buffs.)
https://youtu.be/n02tImce3AE
oh dear god not that old chestnut again * yawn *
just because you do, doesn't mean you should.