I've passed my guitar around the room and played others just to hear the difference in sound. For the most part I can tell which guitar is being played. Of course I've heard a couple of them for 30+ years across from me so I recognize not only the sound but the musician's style.

I also tried sitting behind the instrument as others played it. Sound does travel backwards I've discovered and it is a bit different from what I hear in front. 20 feet is a long ways and I think 5-7 feet is about the norm for us when in a circle. I haven't tried it but I'm guessing that even a piano at 20 feet would get pretty generic. And I am not minimizing Rick's ear as he is one very good musician and has played enough to know a bit about these things.

My next venture will be to play a couple different instruments into a microphone and see if I can audibly tell a difference there. I've heard that some guitars don't record well because of increased sustain. At least in the ears of the artist it sounds that way.

Bottom line - I think we all play to entertain ourselves. So what sounds best to us is the sound we'll opt for. And I'm looking forward to hearing Rick's opinion of Justa's guitars.

Steve