I recently found a 1979 (Ithink) Sigma DR-7 that had been hanging in a music store for about six months. After learning the Sigma story, I bought it. There was a wall full of pretty nice acoustics in the store, and with the dead strings and no setup, this guitar sounded as nice as they did, minus the dampning effect of the strings. I took it to a high quality luthier and told him to make it a "player". The nut and saddle had already been replaced with some very inexpensive plastic ones, so he made new ones out of bone, set the truss and string height, and did a nice intonation setup. I thought it was good when I bought it, now it rings like a bell! The increase in bass is incredible, and I now have a very nice guitar that sounds really nice, is very playable, looks great (not a scratch on it), stays in tune, and didn't break the bank. I'd put it up against alot of much more expensive models I have played and heard. If you can find one in good shape, and it has the solid spruce top and is made in Japan, buy it and get it professionally set up. You will not be disappointed.