Urban Hymns

As predicted a fortnight ago, I have succumbed to the lure of another guitar. This is a Taylor GTe Urban Ash, to give it its full title and it appealed for a few reasons.
Firstly, it’s a bit smaller, with a shorter scale, than the Martin which should make it a bit easier to play due to less string tension. Secondly - and this is something that is increasingly becoming more important to me - it is made of “eco-friendly” wood. Taylor have had a share in an ebony sawmill in Africa for some time. Whilst some of the wood harvested is used for the fretboards on their guitars, the rest is used to benefit the local economy. They are also committed to planting many more new trees for a sustainable future. But the new innovation on this guitar is what the body is made of. It’s known as Urban Ash and comes from trees that have been removed from the streets of California due to disease or weather damage. Rather than just go to landfill or be turned into chippings, this wood is now being repurposed.
Originally, I had hoped my usual guitar shop could source one of these guitars and I could do a part-ex deal. But they couldn’t track down anyone who had a spare one to sell in the trade, so I’ve ended up buying from an online retailer. Good service though - next day delivery and it arrived nicely set up and ready to go. Which gave me the chance to actually play both guitars back to back. As well as being physically easier to play, the Taylor just sounds “better” than the Martin. My untrained ear can’t really define what “better” sounds like - it just is! So this one’s a keeper (standard disclaimer:- a “keeper” is not necessarily for life) and the Martin is back in its case, ready to take to the guitar shop on Monday. They might not have been able to do the full package deal, but they’re more than happy to sell it on my behalf in return for a small commission. I should end up with what they would have offered in p/x anyway.