Ew!

[Captain Jim]

There are some choices in life: blondes or brunettes? Mac or PC? Cat or dog? Nikon or Canon?

In the wooden acoustic guitar world, it is: Taylor or Martin? Oh, sure there are other manufacturers (hey, I have a Gibson, too). But, I get the whole Taylor thing... I like how they sound. The neck feels like home. The woods, the finish... Taylor just makes some great guitars.

A couple times a year, I pick up a Martin when I'm in a guitar shop... it just isn't the same. I know there are a lot of Martin players out there who are on the other side of this.

When I bought the RainSong Shorty last year, I appreciated it for its own sound. Didn't hurt that the size is really close to a Taylor 812 12-fret.

Sometimes you just feel the need to change things up. Oh, I am Elixir string guy, too. Last time I was buying strings, I had the guy toss in a set of Martin SPs, too. See? That's me livin' on the edge. I thought I'd put those strings on my 814... just to give 'em a try. Hey, I put some D'addarios on the GSmini, and it sounds good.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I put those Martin SPs on my RainSong. That crisp tone with lots of sustain was gone. I thought I perhaps just needed to let my ears adjust to the difference? Nope.

I put a set of Elixir 80/20 bronze nanowebs on the Shorty today... ahhhhhh! Nice to have that crisp tone back!