Furch Blue Gc-SW

Full-sounding Grand Auditorium guitar. Compared this in the store against various Dowina guitars, also a couple which were much more expensive. The Dowina's were all nice, but the Furch Blue sounded fuller, especially the base notes. Also compared the Blue with a spruce top against a Furch Yellow with a cedar top. The Yellow was beautiful, slightly warmer and more romantic sounding; great for fingerpicking. But: the Yellow is € 1,000 more expensive and the Blue, at least for me, has better playability since it's got a nut width of 45mm, against 43mm of the Yellow. So I took the Blue and haven't regretted it; it plays really easily (for a steelstring) and sounds terrific; pretty loud as well, which I like. At home, I plugged the Blue into a Fishman Loudbox Mini and I was surprised how good the LR Baggs systems sounds. Quite often, the amplified sounds of cheaper steelstrings sound kind of "plasticky", somehow burying the tone of the woods. Prior to purchase, I fully anticipated that at some point in time I would upgrade the pre-amp, but, actually, I'm totally satisfied as it is. Finally, a good word for Music Store Professional in Cologne. Large collection, easy access to most instruments, friendly staff, good playing rooms, ample time to search and compare. Well worth the 2 hour drive from the Netherlands. Thanks, guys.