As ususal, Justa has done the homework, presented the facts, and come to the sensible conclusion. Chris Martin has gone mad- for a guy running a privately-owned company he is acting like all other CEOs of Wall Street-owned companines. Why is it necessary to have a piece of ALL of the market? There are already guitars at the "low end" (price-wise) that are WOOD, highly playable, good-sounding, and attractive to look at. Go check out a few Seagulls or Blueridges- a few hundred bucks, and they ain't plastic! There are lots of "alternative" woods out there, folks, many of them used to make these guitars, and they ALL make better sounds than plastic. Kids entering the guitar market should not be entering with a Martin, even a cheapo Martin- that's bullshit. They should be getting a $150 Seagull or Yamaha, learning to play, then working their way up to the "holy grail" of guitars. That's what I did, and I am the better for it. And BTW, I work for Disney....I know something about milking and watering down the brand in the name of greater and greater profits. It sucks.