I have an old Sigma HD 28 made in Japan for Martin back in the early 1980's. It is an excellent guitar. It has a spruce top, rosewood back and sides, and a mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Made the old fashioned way before CNC and finished in lacquer rather than today's cheaper looking satin finishes that are common on popularly priced guitars. And I have it strung 10-46 like my electrics so I can do blues style bends. Despite the light gauge strings, it has a wonderful deep tone and almost never goes out of tune. I would not trade it for a modern day Martin or a Taylor. Today Sigma's are mostly machine-built mass-produced guitars, but back in the day they made a real effort to retain Martin standards of quality.
Guitar playing audiophiles, Martin or Taylor?
My "other half" is exploring the stress releiving effects of playing acoustic guitar. She's a great woman! She actually convinced me to buy a pair of Rowland model 9 monos w bps, instead of a boat. Thats my girl! Anyway, shes been playing for 1.5 yrs. Its a toss up between Martin ???? Koa wood, Taylor 314ce, Takamini GS330s, and a Tocoma???sound hole on top!!! All these models can be had "used" for around 900.00 All replys welcome, thanks Scot