I spent my 50-year-long career in engineering as a design engineer. And I have been playing guitar for 56 years now.
As a result, I can't help seeing this new guitar from Martin from two different directions. Would I be interesting in owning this? Probably not, since I already have about a dozen really great acoustic guitars. On the other hand, as a design engineer, I can't help being intrigued by what Martin has done with this new design. I think this is very cool in a lot of ways. The laminated koa back and sides certainly look very attractive. I don't even mind the "bolt-on neck" design. I think that looks pretty cool, too.
The sound through the pickup doesn't sound all that enticing, but plug that piezo output into a Fishman Aura Spectrum preamp and I bet it will sound good, just like my old 2002 Taylor 514CE does.
The acoustic sound is not my cup of tea, either, but then, I'm pretty sure they didn't design this guitar for me. I'm pretty sure they designed this for younger players, and for that market, I think this design will be a winner. My grandkids would like this guitar, I'm quite sure.
I can't help being excited for Martin. And this, coming from a company known for its stodgy, conservative guitar designs is rather refreshing to me.
- Glenn