Okay, so I've just had a quick 1/2 hour play with the Martin and haven't yet opened the Gibson case. So this is a very preliminary report.
Before any visual inspection, I got out the tuner to check the intonation. Harmonics are perfectly in pitch. Fretted, the 6th string is spot on up to the 17th fret (can't practically reach much higher). All other strings are perfect up to the 12th fret and ever so slightly flat above that. I can't hear it, but that's what the meter is showing. There had previously been a noticeable intonation problem with the higher strings above the 9th fret, so this is definitely a great improvement.
The unwound strings (B, E) had been buzzing above the 7th or eighth fret to the point of not being playable. That buzz is gone. There's good and consistent clearance up and down the fretboard on all strings even though the action now seems a little bit lower.
To the touch, playing up and down the fretboard is noticeably smoother, to the point that all of the flaws in my playing are now clearly audible. Can't hide behind the guitar anymore.
The workmanship on the fret dressing is impeccable -- and no scratches anywhere from the machine.
Excuse me now while I take a break from the forum for while -- don't expect any more long posts on music theory from me for a while.
-Stuart
