New Guitar

I bought a new guitar. I don't play much, just bang on it occasionally and make noise. But I enjoy it and missed not having either piano or guitar since moving back to Florida. (neither / nor? Not sure. Not...neither just doesn't sound right. Grammar police?)

So I hit the music store (Georges Music at the beach) this weekend, pretty certain that I wanted a Taylor acoustic of some sort. I played with several of them and they are great, then the sales guy said, "This is the guitar I have. It has a great sound."

I picked up the Martin, played a few chords, and wow! What a difference. The entry, bottom of the line model, has rich sound, slightly larger neck (which I like), and looks fantastic. It's a Martin DX1RAE, which I have learned stands for:

• D: Dreadnought
• X: X Series
• 1: 1 in the Series
• R: Rosewood
• A: Acoustic
• E: Electric

So far, I'm very happy with it. My fingers are a little sore after several years of not playing, but it's nice to just sit back and make some noise again.

It has a beautiful stratabond neck. Stratabond is some sort of laminating process that creates a very strong and stable piece of wood for the neck. No, it's not a solid wood guitar. However, from what I've read, the sturdier neck is a plus. Who knows. All I know is it sounds great, is fun to play, and didn't cost more than my first car.

More images randomly positioned below. Click images to see a larger version.

Enjoy!