Just an update............
I recently came across a listing for an NOS custom Gibson Songwriter model. Only 65 were made for Canada's largest guitar store chain, and one was still floating around but the price had been significantly reduced. The originating store refused to transfer it to my local store, so I contacted the company president who got the guitar into my local store in less than 72 hours.
I played it earlier today for a brief time (was in a hurry to get home from work but made a detour to pop into the store). From what I could tell today, it is a beautiful guitar. It has a red spruce top, and the back and sides are a lighter wood than I had expected. I am not sure which wood they are, but it is a nice look. The information at the link provided below says that the back and sides are mahogany, but I don't know that I have ever seen mahogany of that particular colour before. I am not saying it doesn't exist in that colour, just that I've never seen it. There isn't as much grain showing on the back as I normally like, but I'm not about to let that dissuade me.
The fretboard badly needs some lemon oil, but that is easy to deal with. It also needs new strings, which is also an easy fix. The guitar tech at that store is a good friend of mine so I will call him over the weekend to let him know it is there and he can take care of those things for me when he returns Tuesday.
The neck felt very comfortable, and the sound was very well balanced. It never became bassy or boomy, which can be a problem with some acoustics (at least for me as I try to transition to picking with thumb and first finger and as that technique continues to develop). When playing with fingers I find that some acoustics can sound a bit muffled, but this one didn't. It was also loud as hell when played with a pick.
Overall I was impressed, and it is a great deal (new, but for about $1800 less than normal after taxes). I just have to decide whether I am ready to drop $2500 (after taxes) on it. Right now, I am fairly certain that I am, but I want to play it a bit more before taking the final plunge. I will also put my Yamaha LL6 and its deluxe case up for sale to see if that will move because I do not need two acoustics.
I managed to find a listing for one of this model on reverb.com, and have included the link below so that people can see the exact model that I am talking about. The one pictured here shows more grain on the back than mine does, but is otherwise identical (except that this one is used). Here is the link:
https://reverb.com/item/18267490-gib...rondack-spruce