I finally pulled the trigger on this guitar after seeing a few songwriters using this at writers rounds in Nashville. Here is why I am using this instead of my 2014 D-28 for gigging at bars/wineries/etc: This is a no-frills Taylor guitar with a solid top and has access to your 9V battery without having to loosen the strings to get inside the sound hole and all of that... also it has bass/treble/volume on the side which enables me to leave a feedback buster in 100% and didn't have to cut out a hole for a volume wheel or anything like that. I play about four 3-hour gigs every week. I unplug this guitar when I am on breaks after soundcheck. One 9V lasts me about 2 weeks of gigging. This guitar comes with a backpack gig bag which is where I can store a few extra 9Vs, packs of strings, picks, rag, fast fret, in ears, plus an iPad and some lemon oil. Also, this guitar doesn't have legit binding that is subject to pop off in extreme heat changes... like my D-28 has done time and time again. Do as I say and not as I do...... but I can keep this guitar in the car for a few days in the heat and the intonation/tuning/condition be 100% fine. For the price point - this was a no brainer! I have played 200+ shows on it now. It's bright but still got some depth to it. It is light weight and not a full dreadnought size. The matte black top is awesome! It's something different for me. Side note- if you perform outside in direct sunlight - the shiny black pickguard gets HOT in the summer time. I do not recommend being in direct hot sun when its like 80 degrees. It's burnt my fingers before for real hahahahha