. . .i played 3 Martins, 2 Taylors, a Breedlove, a Guild, and a Gibson. I played each one for 12 to 15 minutes then went to a final 3.
Played each one a few more minutes and had the Breedlove, two Martins and a Taylor.
Then i asked the manager to play each of them for me because i wanted to hear what they sounded like from in front of the guitar.
When he got done, he commented about how the Mahogany cutaway Martin played very easily and smoothly. Since that's what i thought already and i thought it sounded tied with the Breedlove for best, that's the one i bought.
I've also got a low end Martin 12, a Takamine natural series (tuned to Dm), a Giannini lute body (tuned to C9), and an old Harmony Ambassador 12 from when Harmony was still on North Avenue in Chicago. That one is tuned to open C. I've also got a cheapie (Estaban) that i bought for kicks to see if it was worth a darn. Not a great instrument but would be good for a new player. I've got that one tuned normal but with the 5th and 6 strings tuned one octave up. (Quasi bright tuned.)
I've never regretted my purchase of the Martin. Had to have one high end acoustic.
BTW: Also have 7 electrics, a 5 string bass and a mandolin.
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