Martin guitars...WTF ?

[Timmo]

I stopped into a new chain store that recently opened up in my city and on the wall were a decent selection of Martin acoustics of which I have been looking forward to playing.
Well, my bud and I begin to dig into some of these beauties and WOW ! Every last one of them was a complete DOG!
Toneless, vibeless, volumeless, you name it they DIDN'T HAVE IT!
We played models on the low side in price all the way up to the high side ( over $3,000 is high side to me ) and not one had anything whatsoever interesting about it.
How in the world does Martin Guitars stay in business nowadays with all these other builders putting out far superior products?
I am sorry to say but you new Martin guitar lovers are just plain "tone deaf" I guess. I am amazed Martin is still around.
LOUSY, lousy guitars! Pretty, but plain LOUSY!
Whew...........I just feel better now thank you.

[Bryan T]

Chain store + Martin acoustics = dead strings
Dead strings = no tone, vibe, or volume

I'm not a huge fan of Martin guitars, but I'd bet that a lot of those guitars would be much more inspiring with fresh strings. Other manufacturers ship with Elixirs that retain their tone for a lot longer.

Bryan

[stephenT]

I am a fan of Martin guitars and have owned a few low end models that were quite nice. Lot's of folks love 'em.

That being said, my Martin copy was built by the Merrill Bros.

[Doug]

Originally posted by Bryan T
Chain store + Martin acoustics = dead strings
Dead strings = no tone, vibe, or volume

I'm not a huge fan of Martin guitars, but I'd bet that a lot of those guitars would be much more inspiring with fresh strings. Other manufacturers ship with Elixirs that retain their tone for a lot longer.

Bryan

Ding ding! Martin strings aren't known for their long life to begin with. Old strings can indeed make the guitar sound dead as a doornail.

My dad bought a DX1 a couple of months ago. Best sounding $500 guitar on the market, IMO.

Doug

[clarkram]

hmmmmmm. I bought a new Martin (OMC Aura) a few months ago and it is not dead, toneless, etc. As a matter of fact it has a great rounded tone that makes my Taylor 810 sound anemic.

Clark

[Timmo]

Well, we more than made allowances for 'dead strings' but a shiny new set of strings wouldn't have helped these "toneless wonders". "Can't polish a turd" as the saying goes.
I cannot understand how you can spend so much time and energy on building a very pretty guitar and then not put any thought into how it is going to sound.
Building guitars is not rocket science nor is it magic as much as we all would like to think.
Just takes time, good materials and some freakin' common sense!

[riffmeister]

Timmo......speak with your wallet......don't buy one.

There are plenty of other choices out there.

[Timmo]

Originally posted by riffmeister
Timmo......speak with your wallet......don't buy one.

There are plenty of other choices out there.

Hey Riff:
I know, it's just I used to always want a MARTIN guitar and it was just a rude awakening.
I remember playing Martins years ago in stores and they seemed to be glorious.
Maybe they weren't. I don't know now...........

[JMintzer]

Originally posted by Timmo
I remember playing Martins years ago in stores and they seemed to be glorious.
Maybe they weren't. I don't know now...........

Were they also hanging on the wall for weeks with every greasy fingered pre-pubescent pimple popper mucking them up?

I know when I bought mine, they had me choose from more than a dozen cased guitars. They had been played little, if at all...


Jamie

[Timmo]

Originally posted by JMintzer
Were they also hanging on the wall for weeks with every greasy fingered pre-pubescent pimple popper mucking them up?

I know when I bought mine, they had me choose from more than a dozen cased guitars. They had been played little, if at all...


Jamie

I just don't buy this argument about 'strings and things'.
The other brands in the store while not awesome, kicked the Martins in the arse!
So, it goes WAY beyond hanging in a window with lousy strings etc. ALL guitars in a store go through that same scenario.
Nah, there's more to it than that. I just haven't come to my own conclusions on it yet.
I'm afraid my first impressions are what I'm going to conclude.................that Martins just are NOT for me anymore!

[Bryan T]

Originally posted by Timmo
I just don't buy this argument about 'strings and things'.
The other brands in the store while not awesome, kicked the Martins in the arse!

I would bet that the other brands had Elixir or some other coated strings. If you really care to see if you like Martins or not, go to a small acoustic shop that takes care of their guitars, including keeping them in fresh strings and in the correct humidity range. Dead strings and incorrect humidity levels can make a great guitar sound like a piece of cardboard. It could also be that Martins aren't for you, but your comments really make me blame the store rather than the manufacturer.

Bryan

[MichaelK]

I felt the same when I played a bunch. They left me absolutely cold, every one.

They're assembly line guitars, is all. There's no tone shaping during construction at all. There's a reason why handmade acoustics cost so much more.

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by Timmo
I know, it's just I used to always want a MARTIN guitar and it was just a rude awakening.....

Collings & Santa Cruz will put a larger dent in your wallet, but wow......they are everything Marting guitars ever *dreamed* of being!

[sanhozay]

I've owned a plain jane D28 for about five years and it's a total cannon. Sonorous, thunderous and indeed glorious. Must have been pot luck....

The D18's that I've tried have been impressive, too. I'm pretty sure, almost positive, just about certain I like them better. And although my wife's Gibson J45 is not an articulate and bright speaker it sure sounds wonderful going chucka-chucka-boom-boom, chucka-chucka-boom-boom, chucka-chucka-boom-boom.

[Chops]

I played a new D-18V(E) at a Guitar Center a few weeks ago that was awesome--I could easily live with it. A beautiful woody tone.