I'm going to muddy the waters even more.

I like mahogany Martins and rosewood Taylors.

Yep.......72 year old youngster here, two Martins No Taylors

I've got a Taylor 710 that I've had for 23 years and I love it, but I'm not planning on buying another Taylor. I have 3 Martins that I really enjoy (especially the DM I added last week) but I'm not out searching for the Martin tone. Now the classic Gibson tone......mmmmmmmm. That one speaks to me, but life is made for variety so I like having several brands on hand. Oh and I'm 51.

I know tone, history, and workmanship, and I truly love America and I do love Martin. I also love Taylor more.

Exactly the same here!

I've actually heard the opposite. Something about how Taylors' high-frequency response appeals to the olds (i.e., those who've lost some high-frequency hearing). How young is young, btw?

Geez. I don't want to join a cult but I do love America. Help me pick, guys.

Let's try to keep this discussion polite... thanks.

I was a teenager in the late 90's (ya ya ya I know that is young around these parts) and for graduation my parents gave me 1,000 bucks to spend any way I wanted. I had saved 1,500 from working at a local grocery store so I withdrew everything and headed to GC.

I played several Martins and Taylors (Had no interest in anything else at the time) and I kept coming back to the Taylors and in particular an 814ce. I had only been playing a short while so Tone wasn't really entering the equation. My very inexperienced teenage self found the Taylors to be more comfortable to hold and they consistently had lower action. On top of that I do remember thinking they were "cooler" looking.

Fast forward 20 years and I'm all about variety, especially when it comes to tone. Each of my guitars are like a single color on a painters palette, with some being used more regularly than others.

That's confusing!:D

Not really sure, but I came up in a world dominated by Martin Dreads. So to my ears that is the sound of an acoustic guitar. Especially the D-18. My 2 cents. :)

I was going to point out that in this thread age doesn't really appear to be much of a factor, at least related to the OP's theory and given the number of replies from older players that play Taylors..... But I got to thinking that there might be one age related factor but more so when combined with the chronological aspect of having had the funds to purchase a Martin prior to when Taylor became a name in the acoustic guitar market.

This is arguably true in , but also does not really appear to have much to do with age per se . There is indeed sometimes cult pressure or air of self inflicted identification especially in Bluegrass , Folk a bit less . Several times I have been to Bluegrass Jambs and noticed a bit of a haughty indignant tone or glance when I pull my 810ce out of the case. But I have to admit such juvenile attitudes are amusing especially given that it often comes from the older (my age ) attendees .
I suppose some never escape their own insecurities .

And then there is also the fact that much of the Martin D28 Bluegrass tradition stems simply from the fact that it could be heard among banjo and fiddle

Interestingly enough, so did I. When you grew up you got your Martin. I got hijacked, I suppose.

Bob

Ditto. Four Taylors and no Martins...

Senior discounts????

There ya go ....
And the cool thing is like when I played in a duo and my buddy played a D28 and even when playing without one of us using a capo, the guitars could be a bit more easily heard to be distinct.
The only really confusing thing in that situation was he played a right hand Martin strung right handed but played left handed and upside down , so trying to follow his upside down chording was a nightmare :eek:

I have owned both in the past and currently do not own a Martin or a Taylor. In terms of generalizations in tone, always preferred the darker tones of most Martins that I have played rather than the brighter tones of most Taylors that I have played. But as we have learned on this forum over and over again, it really is all so subjective.

Best,
Jayne