The budget acoustic guitar market is as competitive as they come, with a host of contenders retailing around the £100 mark all vying for your attention. In theory, it's at this price that the really ropey guitars are left behind and the ones that remain are the guitars which are inexpensive but also have pretentions to being good instruments, even if they lack the refinements (cheaper machine heads, less attention to detail and so on) that would take them into the top class bracket.

The first thing to note about this month's crop of acoustics is that happily, there's not a real turkey amongst them. They're all competent, playable and built to a reasonable standard, and they all look more or less the same and have almost identical dimensions. So you could safely buy any of them and not be vastly disappointed. However, having said that, some are definitely better than others, not least in the value for money stakes.

Starting at the top end, the most expensive acoustic here is the Yamaha FG-410. Over the years Yamaha have built up a good reputation for their acoustics, and in that context this one comes as a bit of a let-down. For the price you get the most precise heads of the bunch and far and away the nicest neck — fine and smooth and a godsend for people with small hands. The action is less laudable and gets progressively harder the further you go up the fretboard and yet is far from buzz free, especially if you veer towards a more vigorous style of playing. It's a loud guitar and projects well with a characteristic bright tone, but clarity seems to have been sacrificed in favour of volume.

Next in line is the Epiphone PR350S, an attempt at a bold guitar with the legend 'Epiphone by Gibson' emblazoned on the head. The head itself is fatter and has a few more curves than the others, and the fretboard markings are ornate, cross-shaped, mother-of-pearl type inlays. The attention to the detail of the cosmetic aspects of the guitar is unfortunately not matched by the technical aspects. The neck is fat but playable nevertheless and the action is low enough for an acoustic at this price, but the tone is poor. It lacks the brightness of a new acoustic and is surprisingly dull and tinny, which is a shame because care had obviously gone into making this guitar.

Onto the Hondo H18. Weighing in at just under the ton, it really is a basic, competent, no frills acoustic. With no flashy inlays or bold curves, the head features the statement 'Est 1969', surely not the sort of thing you'd want to boast about. Less than twenty years in business hardly qualifies a company for legendary status, and the H18 is not going to change that. Again it's a fat neck, a little clumsy although the action is a lot better than you might expect. It's a louder guitar than most but unfortunately tone is a shade dull and ragged, especially if you play hard.

The name Fender on a headstock usually implies big bucks, and when I first picked up the Gemini II I just presumed it would be the most expensive of this little lot. But no. For your £91 you get a sweet guitar for your money. Yes, corners have been cut and there are no fancy inlays, just a subtly curved Fender head. The neck is unremarkable, lying somewhere between the Yamaha and the Hondo and the action is high and takes some getting used to, but the real selling point is the tone. Bright, clear and loud, people in the office couldn't keep their grubby paws off it and expressed real surprise when told the price. My only real complaint is that near the nut the strings were in a shocking state, covered in some brown sticky goo which took a while to clean off, but presumably this was no more than an oversight.

And finally to the Hohner LW600N, the cheapest of the bunch. And surprisingly enough, far and away the best. There is an indefinable quality that some guitars have in that they just feel right when you pick them up, and the Hohner acoustic has that in abundance. The low price hasn't compromised the presentation of the guitar, with white inlays down both sides of the neck, wooden inlays around the edge and on the back of the guitar body, all covered in a classy lacquered finish. The neck is fine, smooth and eminently playable; the action is low and comfortable, but above all the guitar has a truly lovely tone. Full and warm, it's perhaps not as loud as some but is crystal clear and has none of the jagged noises that new acoustics sometimes make. Even not taking the price into consideration, this is my favourite of the bunch, but when you think of the £85, well...

So, a clear winner in a reasonably good field, and all the more reassuring when, and this doesn't happen very often, the cheapest guitar also turns out to be the nicest.

Epiphone PR350S £125
Fender Gemini II £91
Hohner LW600 £85
Hondo H18 £99
Yamaha FG-410 £129