[whvick]

So I finally get a day off, and my wife suggests I drive 90 minutes to the big city and check out guitars. Never argue with a wonderful wife!
I am just now getting back into playing after nine years spending my spare time photographing 20 grandkids. But my wife got me a D-15 in April and that has stirred my interest again in both guitars and this forum.
I was particularly interested to check out the new Taylors and see if I could tell a difference in the V bracing, and
I hoped to look at a Grand Pacific.
First stop was Ciderville Music In Powell Tennessee. Great place to shop, with lots of Martins and some other brands. The friendly staff let me try them all.
The D-28’s and other high end Martins are great, but my ear is not. The lower end Martins sounded great also.
Then I drove a few more miles into Knoxville and tried the Guitar Center. I found basically the same thing with the Taylors, and a staff Too busy to chat with the customers, but it was not their fault as it was a busy day. And there was not a Grand Pacific there to try.
Another shop had a sign for a Labor Day sale but was closed at 2:30.
The other small shops were closed.
And what did I learn? I am even more impressed with the advanced players on the forum that can tell the nuances of tone and sound from different guitars and tone-woods. Perhaps with more time and a quite room I could tell more.
So I will designate myself as an intermediate player who appreciates having three good intermediate guitars suited for different types of music. And I will still enjoy listening on the opinions and advice of the players on the forum.