I had to laugh at myself, looking back over this thread. If I were as changeable in my affections with women as I am with instruments, I would not have been married to the same lady for 43+ years. I doubt I would have stayed married for 43 weeks. All of the guitars I mention in any of my prior posts to this thread - the earliest almost 10 years ago - are gone, sold or traded off. Except the Collings 000-2H. That isn't leaving anytime soon.

I, also, acquired a Rainsong OM-1000, in August of '07, during a stop at Elderly on the way from Vermont to Montana. (Checking the map, you may see that Lansing, MI is not on a direct route between Vermont and Montana, and requires a substantial side trip. Yup.) That instrument has been the standard one for most playing outside of my own house, whether gigs, festivals, drunken brawls, or what have you. The sound is not as pleasing as the best wood guitars, but it's as good as 9/10 of them, and the instrument is very light, very loud for its size, and essentially immune to changes in temperature or humidity, and to impacts that would destroy a fine wooden guitar, and do noticeable damage to even a cheap plywood one.

For playing in the house, my favorite right at the moment is a little 12-fret slothead 00 size in Sitka and Mahogany, from Manuel & Patterson. That is, if I'm playing 6-string. The Apollo 12 is a category all its own.

Peter