i have played some new martine high end models recently and i was disapointed. rumour has it they ship the duds to canada--and maybe the uk. maybe you're better off with ebay from the usa.

on the other haqnd back in the ninties i played a few that were sizzling guitars.

howver in the uk there are a lot of very good guitar makers that aren't as expensive. i saw mathew ord playing a moon guitar at the sharp house and it was a great finger pickers instrument.

again the d 28s and d 18s are mostly flaypicker instruments. most don't have the balance between the trebble and bass that finger style guitarists want. the triple 0 models and the oms are more for finger style playing.

i have played a couple of newer laminate martins that i thought were great for the price but also a few that were dead as a doornail.

over there i would look closely at the uk makers. many have really developed there own great sound and construction techniques. however the high end martins do retain their resale value--people really collect them.