Feb 5 2020 - I was browsing in a guitar shop on Denmark Street a few years ago, when an American came in and asked for an American Strat. The seller lifted one down from the wall and passed it over. The American said "OK, you can bag it up".
"What, don't you want to try it?"
"Nope"
I was always massively impressed by that guy.
I recalled him whilst I was frigging around for hours at the weekend trying different Martin Dreadnoughts. I'd tried too many and was now lost in sound. Brighter, treblier, duller, bassier. I tried double backed guitars and treble backed guitars, newer strings, older strings. One, crucially, was lighter, it was better to hold. I had a 1970s Gibson Explorer once hewn out of an oak tree, which weighed a tonne and gave me massive neck ache. My mate liked playing it luckily, and I used to play my green Ibanez Roadstar. I settled on the brighter, lighter, older Martin D 28. I'd overthought it. Of course there was no real objective. Bassier, treblier compared to what? It's all pretty relative. Maybe I'll try that guy's approach next time.
My new Martin D28