Posted by Norm on 6/25/2009, 8:17 am, in reply to "Re: Martin questions"
Hey Steve! I know you enjoy "sticking it to us" with Taylors. Hey-I'm seriously thinking of HD-28 land myself. Always happens with the "Mayville Afterglow." But Ken is spot-on with the revoiced former Taylor dreads, and their new D-1, D-2, 3, 4 series. Again, Bob T. gladly admits he LOVES them ol' Martins, and they are THE way to go in Americana, but he set out NOT to be just another Martin-clone company. Taylors DO produce their own tonal palette, which some like, some (like you) don't. But these new dreads are "not your Father's Taylor." Frankly, I thought their older dreads were impeccably built, plenty tune-full, but NOT my cup of tea if I WAS IN THE BLUEGRASS/FOLK DREAD MARKET. That's why my Taylor 855 is a rosewood JUMBO. Even my friend and super-luthier Jim Holler (who SELLS Martins, and built his first Dread that is a dead-on clone of a D-28) owns...as his only 12...a TAYLOR.
That being said, the Bluegrass groups that are prominent in the "under Boomer age group" (maybe 40's or so?) ARE toting more than Martins, although Martins still rule! Some handbuilts, like Clay Hess's John Mayes cannon. And trust me, it IS a cannon. A Chinese-imported Blueridge! Go figger on that. And yes, I spotted again TWO Taylor dreads on stage, in the mix, WITH the other guy playing-you guessed it-a Martin. Last year's flatpick champ won on a Taylor. I posted a pic a year ago (no pix this year--too busy!) with his prize, a handbuilt lutz spruce/EIR dread from our "friend" Glen DeRusha, and his wife holding HIS TAYLOR, as he held up the prize.
I don't ever expect Martin to be knocked off its pedestal as THE choice. As the bumper sticker Jim H. has in his shop says, "If It Ain't A Martin, It Ain't Bluegrass." Taylor isn't about to usurp that as a choice. But it IS a choice some are making. It's certainly not the pariah you enjoy making it out to be. 
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