When it comes to steel string acoustic guitars , everybody likes the Martins, Gibsons , and the Guilds. Then in the mid 70's came The Gurians!!! Michael Gurian became my favorite of a new breed of luthiers. He designed and built some wonderful guitars that were somewhat smaller and lighter than others.
Then in the mid 80's....The Kleins!!!!! Now there's Santa Cruz and Collings and DeLorean...whoops!!!! Anyway,...what I've learned, as far as Steel String Acoustical Guitar Design is, you've got to find the balance between structure and acoustics. This has always been the goal, even before the advent of steel strings!! A guitar that isn't stable will tend to go out of tune because the top is flexing or the neck is moving. The guitar can actually try to fold up in the middle at the neck joint. If the guitar is too stiff, it won't respond and you'll have to work harder to get any sound out of it!!! Remember that much like a speaker cone, we're really just trying to move air!! Simplistic approaches to structural demands are just bold endeavors!! Over built and over braced instruments only benefit the warranty department.
Solid Body Electric Guitars are a completely different animal. Most of the current factory's approach to production of these are based on the Fender Stratocaster. I don't know how many Strats we need on the market but it is the basis for many new companies. Esoteric wood combinations and fad pickups seem to be enough to satisfy a lot of people. I work on many of these new brands and it's hard to believe that prices are in the $1800-$3000 range. The Fender Strats made in Mexico can be purchased at discount houses for about $250!!! Take one of these and apply my NEPTUNEinterval correction along with my POWERPLANTpickups and for about $500 in upgrades, you will have a very wonderful custom guitar!!
My acoustic guitars are built to be very strong at the neck/shoulder joint. I intentionally down size the upper bout to give inherent strength and open up the lower bout for the acoustical properties!!! Martin used a similar design on their OM models. This is standard construction for my CHEROKEE line of flat top acoustics.
My solid body APACHE guitars are carved top models and feature neck thru construction with the uniquePOWERPLANTcustom pickups. All my design work is calculated using Fibonacci Mathematics (Natures Algebra) to give ergonomics to the instruments feel and balance.