I'll be sure to do that once I find a few that sound great unplugged! Having a good acoustic guitar is my first priority; I need a great alternative to my Les Paul + Vox AC15 rig. I'd buy one of the new LP Standards, but I'm giving the Ovation I have back to a family friend (who gave it to me about five years ago when he didn't have time to play) so he can finally learn on it. I don't want to be without an acoustic, so I think it's time to pony up and get a good one. I don't have any acoustic amps, so the only thing I'd consider plugging into is a mixer that I run to my laptop. If I get to jam or play gigs with people when I move down to Austin later this year, I'd bet most places we'd go would be able to mic us as well. I've heard mixed things about Taylor electronics, but at the end of the day, it's not the most important feature to me.
As for Martins, well, I'm not a huge fan. I know a guy who has a Martin made of koa and I've played it a couple times. I have never been blown away by it. That said, I noticed that some of their Performing Artist series have some rosewood models, which I imagine I'd like, but they have those richlite boards. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I would much rather have a real plank of wood for a fretboard. I know I'm comparing apples to oranges here, but I played a Gibson Midtown with a richlite board and it didn't do anything for me. In contrast, the ebony boards on all of the Taylors I've handled have felt incredibly smooth. If I come across them when I head back to the store next week, I'll give them a chance, but again, I would really like to own a Taylor! Thanks for the input.
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