Happy Ending
The replacement instrument arrived Friday.
It is flawless. The Fishman electronics work very well, as I remembered. The guitar plays very well, with action low enough to fret notes comfortably and high enought that there is minimal fretting out or rattle from the
slide.
The resonator cone has a sweet balanced tone. Its mellow and not too nasal or whiney. This is not a loud resonator, it is a single spider cone. That worked for me since acousically I plan to play this instrument in my living room with other acoustic guitars. A tricone or a powerful National steel would drown out a Martin or Takamine acoustic. This Martin resonator will blend much better with an unamplified acoustic guitar. If I use it with the band, of course it has on board electronics. If you look at the picture of it, there is also a section in the upper bout that is perforated. That is a 'sweet spot' for mic placement either for studio recording or for live sound reinforcement. Pretty cool.
I'm fascinated that there isn't a single natural element in this instrument. The nut is corian, the body is hpl, the top is aliminum, yet it feels like my other Martins, the neck has that familiar profile, the frets are nicely finished.
It doesn't weigh as much as a brass bodied resonator (or cost as much as the 'name brands' either.
As with all Martins it has a lifetime warrantee. I know from past experience that Martin honors that agreement totally.
Elderly.com had the best price on this guitar and were a pleasure to deal with in every respect. I highly recommend them for anything music related.
So now I'm a resonator guy too. Scuse me while I dust my broom.