Thanks for the kind words, all! This guitar really is a lovely piece any way you look at it! Certainly in aesthetics, the level of detail the BTO folks afforded this one really is stunning to me.
And Michael, thanks for the insight on the inlays ...I was
guessing that the inclusion of green in the artist fret markers seemed intentional, but couldn't draw such a conclusion with not having much experience with Taylor's inlays (beyond their dots). Thanks for shedding some light there!
And yes, the tone is clear and big! Notes decay faster (as is characteristic to maple) than on RW or Mahog, to be sure, but the notes are crystal clear and oh-so well defined. There is nothing "blurred" about the tones here as the fundamentals seem to
leap off the guitar with authority, and harmonic overtones play a back seat. This is my new play-out guitar. I do wish it had the 2010 ES as do my GA7 and 410 (hint, someone buy these

), but definitely no funds to even entertain any fantasy of an ES upgrade. Not that I'm complaining, mind you ...that would clearly be silly

Edward