Joe,

I completely understand the 'knock-about' aspect. This is specifically why I stated not to worry about a built-in tuner nor pickup. These are easily add-on purchases.

Buy the best knock-about guitar you can. You will enjoy playing it more and actually play better in the end as a result. Should you need to put a pickup in it, do so later, once you are comfortable with the instrument.

The problem with looking for something with both a tuner and pickup built-in is that the manufacturer is going to slight you on the build quality of the guitar first, to pay for the electronics. At least this is what I have found to be true in the price range you are looking in.

The clip on headstock tuners are quite nice and convenient and these days only cost 10-15 quid or so online. You can use them on multiple guitars. Mine pretty much stays on the headstock of my acoustic - it folds under the headstock and goes in the case just like that - no removal needed.

It cost about 30$. Had I purchased the 'convenience' of having one of these built-in, I would have paid 75$ or so.

Thomann has many models of clip on headstock tuners, most under 30 quid.

So my suggestion again is to take your budget that you've planned on - spend it all on the best quality acoustic you can find. Add in the tuner next, then if you really like the guitar, add in the pickup. In the end you'll have a more playable instrument.

-Scott

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