NGD Connundrum!

electronpirate said:
One thing that gives me pause about the Taylor as well: Not one, but two separate individuals who I've talked to have spoken of issues with Taylor and bracing. Won't stay in tune, fret separation, reacts poorly to changes in climate, etc. Of course sales folks assure me 'oh, they've dealt with it, and it's all better now', but I don't want to get 3 years down the road and find that I've got a 3k guitar that doesn't perform better than a $300 Yamaha. The thing about Martin that I've seen is those things are bulletproof.
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R - I have a 2001 Hawaiian Koa KCE-314 without any tuning issues, in fact, it sounds phenomenal regardless of the string age... Taylor actually has a weird beauty about it that even if it's "out of tune" slightly, it sounds right and in tune. Is that just me or has someone else experienced that (maybe Luke)?

Personally my experience is not the greatest with Martin's and I've tried out many. The older production models sound better and more consistent with tuning. The newer ones just seem cheap to me for some reason... Good luck mate, I know it's not an easy choice!
 
Thanks for chiming in about Taylor's.

Even the 2 sales guys I spoke to (outside of other sources) admitted they had some issues in the past. Recent (this year) changes in their bracing system were made to alleviate this issue (which I'm sure cost them a pretty penny fixing guitars within warranty range.) This is clearly not indicative of Taylor's in general, but we all know how an issue with a select few seem bigger than it is (i.e. Axe FX II bricking anyone???)

Yes, it might be just a feeling, but the heavier weight of the Taylor I liked. The Martin was so light that it seemed strange.

Visually, I like the Martin, and I've been to their factory, which made an impression on me. But we'll see.

R
 
Once you own and play a Taylor, you'll always wonder how you went this long without one. I've had one since 2002 and it is still the greatest acoustic guitar I've ever heard.

Get the Taylor. You'll never regret it.
 
My next acoustic purchase will be a Martin D28. Just going to mic it up. Played a few over the last couple of years and the sound was lovely. Probably used to hearing them on all those albums when I was growing up.
 
And the answer is:

Martin GPCPA1 Plus!

I had mentioned that I went to GC and did a side by side of each of the guitars. The Taylor (then) was a winner by a nose, but felt because of the lousy strings, I was not REALLY hearing the Martin. The sales kid said he would change the strings, and I couldn't get back there until today.

It was like a different guitar. Easily on par with the Taylor now. With a true side by side, I spent 30 minutes going back and forth. The Taylor was louder, bigger bass response, and 'sang' is the closest word. With the new strings, the Martin had more versatility. Make a long boring side by side story short, I found the Martin to be a more 'even' guitar. Where the Taylor excelled in highs and lows and volume, the Martin was balanced in every way...nothing stuck out as overbearing or forward. It also had a 'chime' that was almost Matchless like. This is NOT to say that the Taylor did not sound glorious, but that for my taste, the Martin fit me better.

So into my hands it went.

Sidenote: This was by far one of the most pleasurable experiences I've had at GC. My initial sales kid (Matty...) was quick to go look up answers that he didn't have (rather than feed me some crap off the top of his head,) and while he was not there today, the head of the guitar department (Gino...) sat with me and answered questions with zero pressure. Also, after he dug out the guitar case for purchase (check the last photo), it was damaged. He responded with 'oh, I'll just get you another guitar and case.' So another is on the way from Nazereth and will call me when it arrives. I did respond that I would A/B them once it arrived and I'll take the one I think sounds best. I can be cynical and say that of course I got more of a VIP treatment because I was browsing 3K+ guitars, but I will give them their due.

Enough. To the pictures.





 
Nice. Congrats.

Somehow when I went shopping about 4 years ago for a Martin or Taylor in or close to that price range I ended up with a Gibson Hummingbird.

Never saw that coming at all.
 
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