woody b

You'll probably have better luck with a phone call or actual letter than an e-mail. I would recommend finding a Martin Authorized Repair Center instead of sending it to the factory anyway. The factories main job is to build guitars not to repair them. The Authorized Repair Centers job is to do repairs. What kind of repairs do you need? Are they warranty repairs? I'd recommend checking on the UMGF(Martin forum) and finding a good repair tech in your area.

Originally posted by hempomatic Also, as far as battery life, what should I expect? AA batteries are cheap, and now they have lithiums, so maybe that'll help. When I first got mine batteries wouldn't even last an entire gig, (usually 3 45 min. sets) I learned to change them after the second set. After Taylor repaired it(the first time) battery life got alot better. I could use the same set for a couple weeks. It will start sounding thin and distorted right before they die. Taylor claims the batteries should last 20 hours. If you leave it plugged in, even if you aren't playing it the batteries are still being used, but you probably know that.

Like wilsonmak said people either love or hate ES. There seems to be no inbetween. The earlier ES systems had ALOT of problems but I think the reliability problems are fixed now. The way the preamp for the ES is made I don't know of any way to uninstall it for a future upgrade. My ES quit on me 2 times but like I said those problems are supposed to be fixed now. Another problem mine had was "hotter" "B" and "E" strings, the unwound ones. In the end there are alot of great pickup systems out there that sound great and you don't have to destroy your guitar to install. I'd recommend buying a guitar without factory installed electronics but if it's a choice between these two Taylor's I go with the fishmann. It's reliable and the extra cost of the ES isn't worth it.