Anyway, the current results of this 30 year (or so) search is listed below...
Martin D-28 6 string acoustic guitar
I bought this guitar in May 1989 and it has a great sound, very powerful but capable of dealing with gentle finger picking when necessary. In about 1995 I had an EMG AT93 under saddle pickup with the EMG APA-1 pre amp fitted by Alan Marshall of Northworthy Guitars. The particular model of pickup is still available although the pre amp has been updated and is now the APA-2...nearly 15 years on it's still going strong. The Martin is my main guitar and just gets better with age.
Martin D-35 6 string acoustic guitar
The most recent addition and a truly wonderful instrument. It already sounds amazing even though it's barely played in. I went back to Alan Marshall at Northworthy Guitars and had an EMG AT93 fitted (very similar setup to the one in the D28) and I'm really pleased with the sound. My beautiful old D28 is getting just a little bit jealous...
Gibson J-45 6 string acoustic guitar
Sadly not a vintage model but still a delight to play. Bought in 2006 it's become my favourite 'home guitar' and gets played most days. It doesn't have the raw power of the Martin but is really good for fingerstyle and has its own sound which is improving all the time. Not entirely happy with the amplified sound so may replace the factory fitted pickup with my favourite EMG AT93 at some stage.
G7th Performance Capos
Every guitarist who needs to use a capo searches for perfection. This is definitely the closest I've come to finding it so far. Not cheap but really good.
Martin FX Acoustic Phosphor Bronze Custom Light Strings 11-52
I like these, but any good phosphor bronze strings will do (except those 'long lasting' strings - don't like 'em). They all sound pretty good when new and lose that newly strung brilliance after a while. I change them every couple of gigs or so.
Shure SM58 Microphone
Someone in a music store once told me, "perfect for a loud old bloke like you" - they made the sale! Good solid sound and tough as old boots.
Bose L1 Model 1 Portable Line Array System Single Bass Package
Fantastic sound system. Sounds like me unamplified, but louder. It all goes in the boot of my Focus, takes ten minutes to set up, doesn't break my back and sounds great. Go to the Bose Musicians web site and check it out.