neverfoundthetime wrote:
I always enjoy a good guitar wars thread, especially with so many Taylor and Martin fans around
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I'm just as impressed by a name as anyone and Taylors and Martins are great guitars but my dream guitar is going to sound right, play right, feel right, look right, impress me with the workmanship and with all the beautiful woods its made of and ... then I'm going to check what brand name is on the headstock. That's the way, ah ha, ah ha, I like it!
Chris, I agree with what you say, and that is actually how I purchase my guitars. But then you go and ruin the good impression by putting that terrible tune into my head
Over-priced is relative. When I got my first Taylor, I had never heard of Taylor guitars other than Rick's comments on the forum here. I went to the biggest guitar shop in the country (Israel) and told the associate that I was looking for a good acoustic guitar up to $XXX (my actual budget was about 1.5 times that). He took me to the "nice" guitars room and started handing me guitars: Takamines, Gibsons, and Taylors (they don't carry any of the nicer Martins because they are imported by a rival chain). I quickly found that the wood combination I preferred was rosewood and spruce, and the guitar that caught my heart was a Taylor 814ce. But I didn't walk out with it--I went to the rival chain's main branch and auditioned a Martin with similar wood, shape, and appointments. It was a very nice guitar--I think it was a OMCPA1--but it cost about 20% more than the Taylor, and I preferred the tones, articulation, balance, and playability of the 814. I also tried a rosewood Larrivee but I preferred both the Martin and Taylor. So in my case, I think I got a lot more for my money with the Taylor than I would have with the Martin. And as soon as I signed the credit-slip, I didn't care any more about price. I don't pick up my 814 and think to my self "Hah! I would have had to spend another 20% to get the Martin! Anybody who got a Martin is a sucker!", I just enjoy playing it. I can also appreciate that another person might prefer the tone, articulation, balance, and playability of the Martin (or Cole Clark, or Maton, or Gibson, etc.)
That being said, the latest guitar I got was a rosewood and cedar Breedlove. I would love to have a chance to try out a Cole-Clark, Maton, Santa Cruz, or Lakewood, etc., but they just don't exist in my neck of the woods.
I think that people who have to put themselves on one side of a Coke/Pepsi, Beatles/Stones or Ibis/Intense dichotomy are missing out on a lot.
And always remember that no generalization is worth a d*mn (including this one).
Bowing out
