Hello friends! I am WAY behind in updating this thread (ahem, about 6 weeks) ... the good news is, the guitar arrived and it is BANANAS. It's tough to find the right words when it comes to things like this, but what I can say is that Marc exceeded all my (rather high) expectations. I have owned a few very nice guitars over the past 20 years (including 3 other Beneteaus) but I have never felt a bond like I'm forming with this one. The neck is absolutely sublime - meaty but manageable. It really drives home the fact that overly slim necks are not good for my hands. I can play all my most challenging repertoire with relative ease on this neck.
I told Marc I wanted a strong fundamental without too many overtones, keeping in mind that the primary use would be instrumental fingerstyle in a wide range of tuinings. I also told him I wanted to be able to use it for vocal accompaniment. I was originally going to ask him to make the guitar deeper than his website spec of 4.5" - as it turns out, he usually uses 4-1/4" depth for his jumbos. I was a bit concerned when I learned the guitar would be 4-1/4" at the tail, but now I believe this was a blessing in disguise. This depth combined with the bevel makes for the most comfortable jumbo I have ever held. And as far as I am concerned, it gives up NOTHING in tone. In fact, the shallower depth seems to be making it a lot easier to amplify without excessive boominess compared to previous guitars I have owned.
I need to work on getting some decent photos and clips of the finished product, but I'm glad to report that I couldn't be happier! If you are on the fence about ordering with Marc, I would encourage you not to hesitate as he is increasing his base price for the first time in over 10 years on Feb 1st.
