Bob Stokes, The Dublin Busker, took me to Newtone for the first time, and I bought a few sets. He was very excited at the time, but by the time he recorded his album he was saying that the Newtones wouldn't stand up to the heavy gigging schedule - not like the Martins did.

If you buy a couple of dozen d'adarrios at a time - the price on the net comes down to about £3. I think if you are going to pay the extra for Newtones you must feel quite strongly about them. And maybe they are for the kind of singer who isn't staggering round from one gig to the next - presumably doing a better class of gig.