Happy Thanksgiving gcowboy!
I don't have much to tell you about the removable "cling" gaurd except that I personally can't stand the look (lol, not much help there, am I). But may I say that Taylor's finishes are
seriously durable and since you clearly prefer
the look of your guitar without a pg, I'd recommend you live without one for a while and periodically look at your top, "gauging" whatever wear you put on it. I know what you're likely thinking: "yeah, great advice, after I've scarred the top only then should I think about protecting it."
FWIW, I was in your very same shoes some time ago, and I opted to have the mothership put their clear pg on in (it was already seeing work at the factory anyway), while a Taylor at home remained sans pg. Guess what, these
several years later with
lots of play on them, the clear pg shows mild scratch wear on it while the guitar w/o the pg shows nary anything! My guess is that the
finish is harder (or more resistant to pick wear) than the plastic Taylor uses for their clear pg. And I am primarily a strummer/hybrid picker, where fingerstyle is maybe 2% of what I do, so my guitars get
lots of
real pick use.
So if your attack is more aggressive than mine, then perhaps your use merits a pg, but I simply found out that it's likely you won't with Taylor's finish, at least since the last decade. As for whatever surface marks you "may" see after some time (again, keep an eye on it, periodically determining potential wear), these light marks can always be buffed out to a like-new surface and a clear pg affixed at that time, and you'd never know the top was even played.
Sorry for the verbose response ...pre-cooking relaxation with a cup of java. But just thought I'd throw it out there that for those folks who prefer the sans-pg look of their Taylors, affixing a pg for "protection" isn't necessarily, um, necessary. Hope that gives you something to think about. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Edward
