Guitars have their own personalities. Some players can make some makes
sound right for their style of playing. Their style may not work on all
brands. Each Martin has it's own personality and reason for being built.
Yamaha had a testing program in California where they attempted to
compare their brand with the Martin in an A.B. testing. The Yamaha had
a different tonal texture which would be desirable on certain musical styles.
The Martin on others.

The reason Martin is expensive is because they were there first. Over the
years they built quality instruments. I would never trade mine for any
other.

For example, when Josh White had his original Gibson guitar stolen, he
switched to the Martin 0021 which he played in later years. I played one
that he had owned at the time in possession of Bess Hawes and fell in love
with that instrument. I subsequently bought one and have stayed with it
for a long time. It sounds good with a Rare Earth going through a Sunrise pre-
amp and mixed with a standing mic.

Every player gets something different out of each instrument. To compare
good guitars against one another makes no sense. It comes down to
the player's style and personality.

Frank