Thanks for the generous comments, friends. Yes, I think the 800 series is just sweet, sweet in appearance, maybe the sweet spot of the whole Taylor line in the looks department. To each his/her own, though.
Yes, it's a Canon XSi and it does a great job. I have to say again that I feel very fortunate with the appearance of wood I got on the top of this guitar. It has just a little of that mineral look in it that sinker is so justifiably well known for. This is going to look really nice as it darkens up, I hope.
The rosewood is kinda dark, not abnormally so, but has great grain. The flash highlighted the grain although it's darker than the picture; however it sets off the maple binding just fantastically.
I should mention I was positively surprised by the sustain I'm getting, acoustically. Somehow I had assumed there wouldn't be much with the somewhat smaller body. It's there, though. Very nice.
Sorry about TinyPic. I don't "belong" to any of the photo hosting sites, because I can't figure out if they're going to spread my email address all over the universe or not. (Any comments on that welcome)
Maybe looks don't have anything to do with sound, but I think we all need to love the looks of our instruments.
This is my second Taylor....I traded my T5, but my first Taylor acoustic. I'm now in the club! Hey, I'm NOT infected with GAS, really, I'm not, I'm not!