Taylor/Martin Folks: Trade Taylor 355-12 for Marty 000-16

Scratch

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I recently listed my Taylor 355-12 on ebay. My only serious offer has been to trade even up for a '00 Martin 000-16. The owner and I agreed to ship the guitars to each other for a lookover and subsequent decision.

The Marty arrived via UPS yesterday (intact). The string action is a bit high at the 12th and can most-likely be fixed by tweaking the truss rod. No dings or cracks, but the finish requires some work based on a previous owner's carelessness. The present owner's description is: ..."recently rescued" from a coffee house where the proprietor was an artist and had added some henna designs and other artwork to the top and back. Fortunately, my luthier was able to remove the physical manifestations of it's earlier life with denatured alcohol, and it now looks back to it's previous state. To get it back to showroom state would mean wax on the top, and I kind of like the patina reminding me of it's roots, so I left it as restored but not refinished.

This is a player, and does show signs of it's previous life. But it's transformation is nothing less than remarkable, and the fellas at the shop I had it worked on commented that this is a real gem. It is set up for lights, and the neck is straight and true. It is solid structurally, plays like a dream, and is the first guitar I grab when I get to the studio...I am sure you know the type. As such, I hadn't considered in trading it, but I don't have a 12 string and a 355 would be the one if I were to add one to the fold...your's sounds ideal".

Bottom line: It sounds great; typical Martin sound in a 000-sized guitar. I've been wanting to add a 000 to the inventory and use it for airline travel (small enough that I could carry overhead vs. leaving with the airline baggage handling mafia.

I'm preparing to send my Taylor for his look-see. It is darn near mint; super smooth neck; easy to play, etc. with OHSC.

I think I can handle the minor tweak and live with the finish since this will be a 'travel player'. I found similar Martys priced around 800 to 900 online. The Taylor is appraised around 1000.00. I'm considering an offer of $150.00 difference so i can replace the soft case with a hardshell per Musician's Friend: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigati ... B&ZYXSEM=0

Thoughts/advice/comments welcomed... 8)

I'll close by saying: I'D RATHER HAVE FOUND A US 000-size GUILD. Good luck finding one!!! :shock:

Thoughts?
 

JazzyDaddy

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Well I bought a '94 Martin 000C-16 about 10 years ago and it's still my number one acoustic (although I love my '76 Guild D-25Ch). The 000s are just great for fingerstyle playing and I really enjoy it when I play acoustic jazz. It's an extremely comfortable guitar and mine is very easy to play - great action. And delicious tone; nothing like it.

Oh BTW - when I bought my Martin I actually had my heart set on a Taylor. But once I played the Martin...it was all over.

Just my $.02
 

Scratch

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Thanks Jazz. I've got the Marty here at the office and I'll probably use it for travel as well. Should be able to fit it in the overhead... Must admit it does sound very fine; quite a boomer for such a small bodied guitar. It is missing the endpin and could use a setup. It led a tough life in a NY coffee house and has minor battlescars to reflect it. It is a player, for sure.

The guy I shipped the Taylor 355-12 to is very happy with it. I told him, that although it plays easily, if he sits in a group with Guild 12ers, he'll get blown away...
 
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