Thanks for listening, folks.
The usual apologies for absence .... sometimes 'real life' just gets so darn busy.
I do still check in almost daily and follow progress as much as I can. Thom, I read about all your problems and am so glad you have some sort of resolution. You deserve a break, mate.
Oren, Will,
here's the guitar story. Yes, better sound from new guitar. No other reason.
Oren, you heard right, brother. These are beautiful things.
Luckily for me there is a trader over here, who I have bought stuff from in the past, who must have acquired a bunch of demo stock from Bedells. When he puts them on Ebay he will put a few up at retail price and then a couple at low start auctions. These often go for quite high prices but I was lucky one day and snagged this baby at less than a third of full price.
It's their entry level model, the Discovery,
http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/NAMM_12_Bedell_Guitars_Discovery_Series_Modelswhich, I have to admit, I wasn't at all sure about when I first got it. But, not having much experience with NEW guitars, I hadn't really anticipated that there truly is a considerable break-in period. They really do 'play in' as the timber starts to season into the shape, developing tonal qualities as time goes on.
After a couple of months I'm getting to the point where I don't pick up any other guitar for straight acoustic work. It's a real beauty.
I hope to be able to give you more demonstrations of this soon.
James