2008 Baden D-Style Mahogany Brand New, Original Hard, $799.00

TJ Baden was the Vice President of Taylor guitars, almost from their inception in the 1970s, and as such was a very important part of the growth of that top, top American guitar making company. He went out on his own in 2007 and started his own company, Baden Guitars, designing some unusual and extremely fine steel-string instruments, which he had made for him, quite meticulously, in Viet Nam, where some of the very finest, most detailed instruments in the world are made. This particular guitar, a “D-Style Mahogany” model, was sent to me by TJ Baden himself, unsolicited, in 2008, as an inducement to carry the line in our store. I tarried a bit, and before I knew it TJ had gone off into other enterprises outside the musical instrument industry, and as far as I know very few of these guitars were ever made or sold. The guitar itself is quite stunning in a very pure sort of way; its body contour is Dreadnaught-like but not quite so, a bit slimmer from end to end and sleeker than traditional Dreadnaughts. Its tone is bright and upbeat, with volume to match. The back and sides are solid mahogany, the top solid spruce, the fingerboard and bridge East Indian rosewood. The action is smooth and fast, perfectly set up, the same as the day it left the factory. It’s quite the lovely instrument, and has along with it its original hard shell case with factory destination labels, a full-color "Baden Guitars" catalog, and its original invoice, made out to my store, stating “Special discount for friends and family” and marked “PAID”, equalling it’s being sent at no charge. There is a printed label inside the guitar with “Matt…. Thanks for your friendship. TJ” hand-written on it in ink. The guitar is in immaculate, never-played condition, having arrived here unannounced in 2008 and been put away at that time. It has just surfaced from the collection of, well, a lot of stuff here and it is time for it to have a new home with a player who will appreciate it. Only $799 w/ohsc