I bought my Martin D-18 in 1969 and have never thought much about buying another guitar ~ certainly not another wooden guitar.; (I've had plenty of daydreams about steel-body resonators I could never afford.)

For quite a few years, I quit playing in public, and gradually quit playing very much at all. Not only was I not in the market to shop for guitars ~ I wasn't even part of a "scene" with anybody else shopping for guitars (acoustics, anyway).

When I first poked my nose into the Mudcat a couple of years ago, I began encountering new and unfamiliar guitar brand-names for the first time, including all those mentioned in this thread title (and most of the others mentioned within the thread, too). The last time I was in touch (in the mid-1970s), Yamaha and Ovation were the newest "names."

I'm still not seriously considering a purchase, but I've become somewhat interested and a bit more knowledgeable about these newer high-end nameplates. A few months ago, while my one-and-only was at the luthiers for new frets and a neck reset, I started hanging out in guitar-store showrooms, just to be able to play a few hours a week.

While I was mostly interested in getting my hands on as many different resonators as possible, both wood-body and metal, I took the opportunity to play some nice wooden instruments too. The only one that really spoke to me was a Lowden; if I could possibly have afforded it (i.e., if I could have spent the price of a decent used car on a second guitar), I would gladly have grabbed that Lowden.

None of the other guitars I tried seemed at all special to me, not even the new Martins. Not even the Eric Clapton signature-model Martin, for that matter.

The Lowden that I played that day ~ sorry, I have no idea of the model number, which woods it was made of, etc., etc. ~ was different enough from my own good old Martin for it to make sense to me as an alternate instrument: much lighter, a little smaller, with a very different, brighter sound. Fantastic sound, in fact. Not to mention newer and shinier, too, of course.

But I'm happy with the one guitar I have. Some of the comments above, specifically those endorsing the sound of the mahogany body as opposed to rosewood, etc., make me feel better than ever about owning such a wonderful intrument. When I bought the D-18, price was the main consideration ($495, I believe, in 1969). I figured I was being smart not to spend extra money on ivory and mother-of-pearl (frills in which I still have no interest), but didn't realize that part of the price differential was due to the 18's mahogany construction, as opposed to the rosewood used for the pricier dreadnaughts. Now I'm pretty much convinced that mahogany, while chaper than rosewood, is not at all inferior, just different, and to some tastes (including my own), it's better.