I was somewhat taken aback the other night when a player put his *small* Martin on my lap when he went out to have a smoke. This is a guitar that his older brother had had and my friend fished it out from under his bed.

I picked it for a bit (didn't strum) and couldn't make it sound right. It sounded tinny and timid to me- and yet it sounds great when he plays it.

Why is that? He is primarily a singer and the guitar backs him up superbly.

It wasn't just my perception either. After my friend returned and I picked up my own D35 again, another friend in the circle smiled at me. Sounds different, doesn't it, she said.