Good news Chris - any chance of a photo of you wearing it...?
As for the guitar - I've been having a look at these and they're pretty interesting. There are 3 different models but basically there's two types - one which replicates the feel of a steel strung acoustic - narrower neck/fretboard and solid, 3-a-side headstock and the other replicates a nylon strung classical with a wider neck, flatter fretboard and a slotted, 3-a-side headstock. Both have onboard effects and a collapsible body. Simon's appears to be the former - steel strung acoustic SLG200S model as Pugwash pointed out. It's possibly a stand-in for his Godin being similar in concept but maybe Simon just liked it and wanted to add it to his collection (or thought it might be ideal for certain songs). Hopefully the man himself may enlighten us....are you out there Mr Nicol...??
Ooh! How long was I out?? Hello again!
Anyway, it's been pointed out that there was this little thread going on, and I can only confirm the supposition Pugwash made to kick it off. The Godin Acousticaster (c 1993) was showing signs of age in the electronics area and the customer service at that company is entirely a fiction: I primarily use the instrument for flyaway gigs where putting a 'proper' guitar into the hands of airline baggage handlers is just not worth the stress. But growing signs of unreliability required a replacement and the Yamaha (correctly identified by the sleuths on here) was just the ticket. One better, in fact as it will collapse to the point of fitting comfortably into the overhead locker.(In theory, this is: I will try for the first time in anger when we fly to Bilbao next month...)
Thanks for your interest and the informative commentary hereabouts: I was away so long, I had to recover my password...
