I appreciate all of the input.
I confess to be totally ignorant about electric guitars. (But I still manage to have opinions. Go figure!)
I'm not buying the "Wood gives tone" argument. I watched the Fender video. But, although I will admit that striking the wood with a metal hammer yields different results, I am not at all convinced that those differences translate -- at all -- to the sound coming out of the electric coils. I would agree that in a sound lab setting, with an expert pointing out the differences, I might be able to pinpoint the sound change. But, without an A/B test, and with the sound going through a pre-amp, amp, and speaker, I would be shocked if 1 person in 50,000 could listen to one guitar playing, and tell you what wood it was made out of.
My reasoning is that I have a really great sounding DG40 acoustic. Great wood. 36 years old and seasoned. But when I put the piezo pickup on it, it instantly sounded pretty much like every other piezo amped acoustic out there. If you were close enough to the stage that you were getting the acoustic sound filling in, you could tell a difference. But an electric played on a solid body? I honestly don't see how. I would say that wood may contribute a small amount, but it seems to me that the pickup, tailpiece, and even the way the neck was joined probably make up 90+% of an electric's sound. I may be totally wrong, but it seems to me that it has to be so.
Buying a Guild because of the Logo is a fair reason, I guess, but I was hoping for more.
The guys talking about how they like the neck actually struck a chord with me (see what I did there?) My left hand is kind of used to the Guild shape. When I tried out a Martin last year it didn't go well for me at all -- and that was all about the neck. Also interesting to hear that some guys like the difference in the sound because of the pickups. I can see that may very well be true. I don't know what sounds I like on an electric yet. But I can see where Humbucker fatigue could set in for sure. I probably don't play out as much as you guys do, so that might not affect me as much. But I can understand it.
The "more for less" argument is always appealing to me. I wasn't sure if it were true in used Guild electrics though -- only because the market is so flooded with Strats and Les Pauls that I would expect the price for a used one to be pretty low. But I guess its like anything else. If you want a good one, you'll pay, eh?
Anyway, thanks again everyone for chiming in!
It isn't just an idle question. I've been thinking about trying some electric guitar. Part of me reminds myself of my schedule, and how I really have no time for the acoustics I already have. But, the other part of me has always wanted to try an electric and see how it is different. I've always put it off, because I thought: "Meh. I really don't like "shredding" songs,anyway". In fact most of the time I like electric-centric music is when they are making it sound kind of acoustic.
But lately, I am kind of getting into Mark Knopfler's music. And when I saw he was playing electric guitar as a bare fingerpicker, I was like: "Why did no one ever tell me that could be done?"
It will be awhile before I pull the trigger. But next question: What guitar would you suggest for an acoustic crossover player, as his first electric?