Can you tell the difference between a $200 and a $200,000 guitar?

Some great comments here. Wonderful to have so many knowledgeable and talented audiophiles on the forum.

To state that the player makes a bigger difference than the guitar is stating the obvious.  However, if the suggestion is that it doesn’t matter if a great player is playing a great guitar or a mediocre one this is a false assertion.  Sure, a great player can make good music with a mediocre instrument, but he can make great music with a great instrument.  The comparison in the video clip:

The difference between the $200 and $2000 guitars is immediately obvious.  The $200 instrument sounds thin, almost ukulele like in the high register and lacking in color. The $2000 one is much richer sounding and with greater presence.  The differences between these two instruments is, to my ears, greater than those between the $2000, $20,000 and the $200,000.  My favorite is the $20,000 guitar.  The player in the video, hardly a guitar genius, seems the least comfortable with the $200 guitar and the most comfortable with the $20,000 one as demonstrated by his phrasing and overall musicality.

 It is very possible that a truly great player could coax the best sound out of the $200,000 instrument.  With all instrument families there is a difference between “playability” and ease of playing.  An instrument that is “easier” to play doesn’t always give one the best sound.  Some instruments demand the familiarity that only comes about by living with the instrument for a significant amount of time in order to learn how it responds best.

Note also that acoustic guitars really respond to being played frequently. Richard Hoover (Santa Cruz guitars) tells a story about a Stradavarius in Cremona that gets played a little every day to keep its tone "alive." Hoover also likes mahogany a lot, and will tell you you really have to play these guitars often to make 'em sing. There are gizmos that will vibrate a guitar for you to break it in which means maybe you don't have to play it at all...give your friends a break from your crappy guitar playing. I use my 3 fave acoustics on a rotating basis as they all sound great and utterly different from each other and I feel bad if one doesn't get played enough.

As some have said, a great player will make an average guitar sound good, but it's like asking Mario Andretti to drive a Yugo in a race.  Even a pair of $5000 guitars from the same luthier may sound different, as each piece of wood is unique.  Well aged and often played guitars also change in timbre over time, and generally for the better.  A well recorded classical or steel string guitar is a joy to listen to on a fine system.  

Inexpensive guitars built with plywood top, back and sides sound OK, but they won’t improve over time.  Solid wood guitars open up and get louder with playing time.  Vibration is causing some changes in solid wood.  Solid top is the most important since it produces 80% of sound.  Top in classical guitars is likely Cedar or Spruce (two materials with the highest strength to weight ratio), while back and sides in expensive classical guitars are most often solid Rosewood.  Even material for the fretboard or the neck affects the sound.  Harder fretboards made with Ebony make sound crispier (higher harmonics) than one made with Rosewood.  As for the “action”, they mentioned in the video, it is the gap between 12th fret and the bottom of the string.  In classical guitar it is almost always 4mm on the bass and 3mm on the treble end.  Reducing it makes playing easier, but it kills the sound.  Some classical guitarists set it even higher at 5mm.  Truss Rod to adjust relief in this $200 guitar is very unusual.  Pretty much all acoustic guitars have it, but it is very rare in classical guitars.