the standard 910 was discontinued in 01 -
it was possible to the delete the cutaway & electronics on a 910ce
through 06 & the 910 legacy (& 810) were available from 07-10
the 910 legacy was shown as having standard II bracing on the last iteration of the website (11)
even though the model was discontinued (not on the 11 price list) & CV bracing was introduced
on some of the standard models in 09 (i could understand the legacy models keeping the standard II
bracing for tonal differentiation, as the appointments were sort of a 'throwback' to the 93-00 models)
i would suggest your friend give Taylor customer service a call tomorrow to verify that the
09-10 910 legacy models had CV bracing & then finding a 09 - current 910ce may give him
some idea of what to expect (bone nut & saddle) or a 810ce (different wood grade, Tusq) -
he should also be able to verify (or perhaps maybe not for a few more weeks)
if it will be possible to order a 910 (no c, no e) if he wants to go with a new one
spec-wise, the D28 has non-forward shifted unscalloped 5/16" bracing, the D35 has 1/4" bracing
the HD28 has scalloped bracing (5/16") & the HD35 has scalloped 1/4" (the MP models are available
with a slimmer neck profile, 1 3/4" nut & madagascar rosewood back & sides) & the HD28V & D42
have forward shifted scalloped 5/16" bracing - a good bit of difference in the bracing & likely tone also
not trying to 'steer' in one direction or the other, martin offers many more options in standard
spruce/rosewood dreadnoughts (there are others) which are likely to be able to found if a dealer
carries an extensive inventory, but in terms of consistency between models, it's possible that the
next D28 or D35 he tries could be 'it' (or not), but i'd give martin at least a couple more shots -
a set of 80/20 (GHS infinity bronze, perhaps) &/or a Tusq saddle may add a little clarity to the D28
