I've tried both the maple tops and the spruce tops. The spruce tops don't look as sexy, but I think they sound warmer with a bit more tang on the top end. Acoustically they are excellent- sound great and are inspiring to play. Electrically they're disappointing. The possibilities are impressive, but there is something going on with the pickup sensitivity and resonance. Some notes (on both the maple and spruce tops) really take off even at the lowest volumes. These discrepencies really become evident inside certain chord voicings. For example- a Dm7 played at the 5th fret. Acoustically it sounds great, but electrically (on both the maple and the spruce) the C on the 3rd string (minor 7th note) starts to feedback even at very low volume, and the D on the 5th string (root) gets lost. I love the way the guitars play and feel, but I think I'll be sending it back to Taylor. Maybe when they get it in their hands they'll believe these observations; instead of giving a lot of excuses over the telephone.