quote:
Regardless of what you decide it will not be set up to play it’s best from the factory. Take it to a good luthier. Worth every penny. FretShack is great if your in BR.

This all day^. For me personally though,off the rack Taylors seem to be set up closer to my tastes,while the Martins,generally have the sound that I prefer,between those two choices.
That being said,I have never owned a Taylor,and The D-28 Martin I currently have,is the only Martin that I have ever owned. I also am not one to hang out in music stores trying out new guitars. I generally buy mine at pawn shops,jam sessions,yard sales,thrift stores,friends of friends..etc..
Nowadays,my acoustic that I pick up first,( I have a house full of guitars), is my Takamine cedar top N-10,I like it better than the D-28,and even after adding a Fishman pick up,I have less than $400 in it. When other pickers play it,they are in awe.Everything about it is perfect. I recently bought a Seagull,and have set it up exactly the same as The Takamine(The fret bars are slightly smaller diameter though,hammer ons/off not quite as effective),to use as a beater. It's a great guitar too,but doesn't have the solid (warmth? Feeling?)of the N-10. I just don't want to drag the Takamine around too much,I'd rather save it for recording and playing/writing at home.

I am just suggesting,that getting caught up in certain Name Brands,isn't always the way to go. Sure,it makes other guitar players ooh and ah,when you pull out your Martin or Taylor,but I think it is more important to find a great player,No matter what it says on the head stock.

I guess it's a bit like finding the perfect girl. If you make your parameters narrow,you will probably get what you expect. If you widen your parameters,you may find new things in yourself.

This post was edited on 12/21/17 at 7:16 am