holy crap, ponyone asking for gear help?? (nylon acoustic)

[PonyOne]

yeah, that's right. usually i seem to be the one to jump in and give advice, but, that's because the bulk of the stuff here is in regards to electric instruments which are more my forte.

i'm looking for an acoustic for the music course i'm going to be taking soon on classical/flamenco guitar. as much as i'd love to be the weird guy who shows up with his Bo Diddley unplugged to learn how to do fingerstyles, the course requires i have and show up with a classical nylon string guitar.

to be blunt i am totally out of my league.

i know next to nothing about the makers, what to look for, what to avoid, etc. i also am trying to stay within the sub-$300 range. i'm open to used. i've been reading reviews and it seems that Arias are fairly well-received, as are the SamAsh-generic Carlo Robellis; i can pick one of the latter up new for under $200 give or take. i know they won't be amazing sounding instruments, but, i just want something to start with.

so what are some recommendations? a lefty would be cool but since classical guitars by and large don't have pickguards i can cut a new bridge and nut for a rightie no problem to save cash.

[Cryptic Excretions]

You're right, this is pretty odd. But in any case, Martin guitars are pretty much out of the question. In all honesty I really don't know what to tell you as I've had very little experience with a nylon string and I'm basically just wasting your time. Have at it Tex.

[chucklivesoninmyheart]

Ive never considerd martins to be the high end standard for nylon/classical acoustics...

hmmm,all i'm getting is right handed nylons or lefty steel strings(searching MF.com)...no lefty nylon/classicals...That said,if you can cut a nut and such,I would check out a yamaha.Ive played a few of their acoustics and they are great for the money(and well under $300).Ive only played the steel stringers,but I imagine the build quality is the same.