is it just me when it comes to martin guitars

terada · July 2016

To be honest I love my HD35. Super lightly braced, wonderful bass and treble, it's a great instrument.

Before buying I played loads, they were all good, but some sounded better (to me) than others.

That said, in the shop Martins typically have poor action and can feel a bit laborious to play - they are sold with the intention that you'll get them set up to your liking.

AliGorie · July 2016

Supremely disappointing brand - which since the '80's seem to be continually caught up in an ever decreasing cycle of 'back to the future'.
Sure they still sell plenty and they're pricey, Americans love all the tradition stuff that CF IV continually regurgitates in his sales pitch videos.
I've said here before - I tried out a couple of the 'Authentic' because of all the 'fuss' about them over the pond, eh no.
Come to think about it the 'Authentics' and all the other reliance on replicating their own 'Pre war' spec was instigated by Eric Schoenberg along with TJ Thompson and Dana Bourgeois skills back in the '80's - an interesting read and one wonders what would have become of Martin guitars had they not went down the 'Retro' path. Which suggests they ran outa ideas for new product developments in the '40's.
As a company they just don't seem to have the confidence to innovate, and as the demand for 'modern' sounding guitars continues to evolve one can only assume Martin and traditional American sounding guitars will shrink.

Eric Schoenberg's site -
http://www.om28.com/custom/history.jsp

I prefer D Bourgeois work.

BigLicks67 · July 2016

To be honest I don't really understand the comparisons with say Collings. A standard D28 will set you back £1900 new and about £1200 used. Whilst a Collings D with rosewood will probably take you north of £3k, so by any estimation the Collings should be better and the mere fact that some of us actually prefer the D28, says a lot about Martin guitars. As for tradition, I don't see anything wrong with that and neither do the other guitar builders as they copy the style and shape of Martin guitars on a regular basis.

ToneControl · July 2016

Sassafras said:

There used to be a belief that an acoustic doesn't sound at it's best until it's been played for at least 20-30 years, which doesn't really help if you've got a gig that night.

I think it's 5-7 years
Some say guitars deteriorate after 30 years

I use a Tonerite to simulate aging. It does make a difference

JCA2550 · July 2016

I don't dispute that almost all well built instruments should improve with playing in, it's just that a great guitar should start out as a great guitar and, get even greater with playing! When I worked at Ivor Mairants in the late 80s, we sold pretty much more Martins in London than anyone else. There were some absolute stunners and some not so stunning guitars, but the Reps from the Dreadnought Guitar Company would always roll out the "yes but it's a Martin, and needs to be played to wake it up. Preferably with a flat pick"

ToneControl · July 2016

JCA2550 said:

I don't dispute that almost all well built instruments should improve with playing in, it's just that a great guitar should start out as a great guitar and, get even greater with playing! When I worked at Ivor Mairants in the late 80s, we sold pretty much more Martins in London than anyone else. There were some absolute stunners and some not so stunning guitars, but the Reps from the Dreadnought Guitar Company would always roll out the "yes but it's a Martin, and needs to be played to wake it up. Preferably with a flat pick"

Ivor Mairants use the ToneRite now - I assume some guitars need more of it
I understand that cedar-topped guitars need less of a break-in

JCA2550 · July 2016

Hmm ToneRite might have something

AliGorie · July 2016

I’m one of these boring kinda guys in that I think long and hard as to the things I need / want, do the ground work and eventually settle on a purchase.
I’ve got a guitar or two, one I’ve had for almost thirty years and another about fifteen, I remember how these two guitars were when I bought them and the process of playing them in, one with a cedar top took about two to three years and the other spruce about four to five years. Both guitars continued to get better over the years and the value of having an instrument that you know intimately is not to be underestimated.
Just something I think gets overlooked by those that feel the pressures of the need for continually changing.

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is it just me when it comes to martin guitars

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