[thegreatgumbino]

I had the opportunity to play a McPherson Touring & Sable in addition to a CA Cargo this weekend. I've been wanting a smaller travel/couch guitar and not wanting to give up too much of the tone of a larger bodied instrument. My current guitars are Gibson J200 and J45 Vintage. I was anticipating picking up a used CA Cargo, but after asking some questions about them in the CF Forum, I felt like I needed to explore the McPherson's. Luckily, Danny D's Guitar Hacienda in League City, TX is about an hour away, and they have a Sable and Touring in stock. It was my first time visiting Danny D's, and I was impressed. Great selection and really nice folks working. Additionally, there was a used CA Cargo RAW ELE for sale locally just around the corner. I was expecting to come home with the Cargo, but left sold on the Touring.

CA Cargo: Loved the smaller body thickness and the contours. Very fun little guitar with surprising sound quality even with old strings. I prefer the CA matte finish versus the gloss of the McPherson. Love the look of the open gear Hipshots. Seems like it would be difficult to hold without a strap. Sound quality not as good as the Touring, but I can't say the Touring is two times the price better sound.

Generally speaking, the McPherson's are amazing instruments. I'm sold on them. Build quality is evident and much better than the CA. Amazing tone from both of them. If blindfolded, I would have been hard pressed to say they aren't wood. I was really surprised by that fact. I love the necks on them. They weren't ask skinny as I was expecting, which is a good thing. I especially loved the bare feel of the McPherson CF neck compared to the finish on the CA Cargo.

Touring: This is the one I was most interested in playing. Standard top with black button Hipshot tuners and the nickel/silver fret wire. Loved the look and feel. Surprising sound out of such a small guitar. I played several other small bodied travel guitars including GS Mini, Mini Jumbo Guild, and a couple others I can't recall. The Touring sounded much fuller and refined than all of them.

Sable: Honeycomb and gold package. Quite a bit heavier than the Touring. Not a very big guitar size wise. The tone is more full and refined than the Touring, but not by a lot. I was surprised how much I liked the aesthetics of the honeycomb and gold hardware (I'm not a fan of gold hardware).

It seems like there have been some revisions to the McPhersons over the last few years, which leaves me with some questions.

1) At what point did they switch to Schaller tuners from the Hipshot?

2) Is 2018 when they rebranded them as McPherson vs Kevin Michael?

3) When did they change to the black nut and saddle? I know the saddle is Tusq, is the nut as well?

4) When did they change to the current LR Baggs Element with only volume control? I see several used Tourings with a two button volume/tone control.

5) Is there any discount from list price ala Martin? The Touring was $2,400 with no wiggle room plus tax. Is there a preferred dealer?

6) Have they always included two saddles or is that a recent change?

7) Are the Gold EVO frets harder than the nickel/silver? Any perceivable difference in sound between the two?

8) Are there other upgrades McPherson has done of late that I need to be aware of when deciding between new & used?

9) Anyone using Martin Retro Monels on their Sable/Touring? I use them exclusively and would appreciate any feedback.

10) Anyone tune down on their Touring? I like my guitars setup for D Standard tuning. I tried the Touring out in this tuning as well as a half step down and it sounded better at a half step IMO. Obviously the shorter scale length will make it more difficult to tune down a full step without playing with string gauges. I don't know if the Touring I tried had the Elixir mediums or not, though.