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#1
08-01-2011, 09:04 PM
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Martin Guitars...some thoughts on these:
I currently own a nice circa '70s Guild D35 in natural burst and it really is a lovely guitar, but I'm just going to have to buy myself a nice Martin someday and that day might be drawing closer so I've started looking.
Just wondering any opinions on some of the models available...namely so far I've seen the D28 (who hasn't), a D18 VS, and a Martin MMV Custom. For my money it looks like the D28 is a bit of an industry standard (a rather lovely one at that), the D18 VS looks like some something that might be even a class above the D28, and then the MMV Custom job looks like a very similar instrument to the D28...but all that is completely guess work I don't know much about Martins so I'm hoping someone can fill me in. Cheers, looking forward to my lesson 
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#3
08-02-2011, 09:03 AM
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readup!
http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/model.php http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/index.html http://www.umgf.com http://www.myfavoriteguitars.com http://www.maurysmusic.com Lots to choose from.. D-100 Deluxe D12-28 D-15M D-16 Adirondack D-16GT D-16RGT D-18 D-18 Authentic 1937 D-18 Authentic 1937 Sunburst D-18GE 1934 D-18GE Sunburst D-18P D-18 SS D-18V D-18VS D-1GT D-21 Special D-28 D-28CW D-28 Dan Tyminski D-28 Marquis D-28 Marquis Sunburst D-28 Museum Edition 1941 D-28P D-35 D-35 Johnny Cash D-35MP D-41 D-41 Special D-42 D-45 D-45 Authentic 1942 D-45V HD-16R Adirondack HD-16R LSH HD-28 HD-28MP HD-28V HD-28VS HD-35
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#4
08-02-2011, 11:14 AM
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The Vintage Series stuff like the HD-28V or the D-18V is a good place to start IMO. They sound a lot better too me then the standard series stuff. Most of the 70's model Martin's I have played don't sound too good too me. You have to go back to about 67 or so and then they get quite pricey. They went to an abnormally large rosewood bridge plate in the 70's that effectively took away a lot of the tone and responsiveness they had. They didn't fix the problem until the mid to late 80's switching back to the smaller maple bridge plate.
The Golden Era and Marquis series are my favorite Martin's by far. The D-28 Marquis is a force to be reckoned with!!! Major powerhouse guitars that are very light weight and responsive. Go to your local Guitar center and see if they have a D-18 Golden Ear or a D-28 Marquis, don't worry about the price just play them and see what you think compared to the standard or the MMV there is a big difference.
__________________
Gretsch Guitars, Top Hat Amps, Doerr Acoustics
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#5
08-02-2011, 11:22 AM
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Quote:
__________________
http://www.myspace.com/musicofanatic
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#6
08-02-2011, 11:32 AM
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I love my HD-35.
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#7
08-02-2011, 11:39 AM
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I have a 1986 D35 that I got from a fellow TGP'r and I love that guitar more than all my electrics.
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#8
08-02-2011, 11:41 AM
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Your 70s Guild D35 is kinda like a D18. I'd go the HD28 route, or one of its rosewood dread variations. In my mind, nothing's quite like a big rosewood martin doing its grand piano thing!
__________________
Electrics: '65 Guild Starfire VI, '76 Gibson Explorer LE, '79 Rickenbacker 360-12, '96 Fender Clapton Strat, '02 Guild Blues 90 Fleming CS Proto, '08 Rick Kelly Bowery Pine Tele, '11 Gibson LP Studio Baritone. Bass: '78 Yamaha BB1100S. Amps: '63 Fender 6G10 Harvard, '66 Fender Pro Reverb, '69 Fender Bronco, '11 D-Lab EMI. Acoustics: '46 Gibson J45, '69 Guild F312NT, '72 Martin D-28S, '73 Guild F30R. Current Pedalboard Link. Music Blog: http://thegenerationofmusic.wordpress.com/
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#9
08-02-2011, 05:44 PM
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Quote:
Well, I'm sure you have your reasons, but I actually sold off my rather fancy Martins and Gibsons in favour of Guilds finding these lusher and richer sounding. So my suggestion for you is play a few Martins so you know for sure this is what you want. A Martin is in no way a finer instrument per se, just a different flavour. And in reference to the Guild D35 being something of a Martin D18: the Martin is far brighter, snappier and kind of dryer sounding.
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#11
08-02-2011, 06:07 PM
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Just a thought, but as your Guild is a dread, maybe you should check out an OM or a 000? No matter what, the hunt for a new Martin is whole lot of fun. Get out and play as many as you can and one will most certainly speak to you.
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#12
08-02-2011, 10:13 PM
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The D-28 variants are the standard and a great place to start your search. What neck width and neck profile do you feel comfortably with and what bridge spacing do you prefer. Knowing that will narrow the field down a lot. I can't get comfortable with the martin modified v neck and I prefer the 1 11/16". Someone linked to it above but umgf is a great source of info. Martin also recently redid there website, starting there and getting a good handle on the differences in specs would be a good idea.
When it comes to acoustics I think everyone would recommend playing as many different guitars as you can get your hands on and take your time making a decision.
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#13
08-03-2011, 04:04 PM
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Some great advice here thanks so much everyone
 I definitely like my Guild and honestly I haven't even had it properly set up yet (I'm more of an electric guy so I'm just entering the serious acoustic world). The Martin thing just seems like a good way to score something decent second hand like a D28 that is kind of another serious acoustic benchmark model but with a different flavour and without the big price of something like a Taylor (which I love don't get me wrong). My other guitarist has a Taylor though so I can't be getting one of those too I do love the Taylor pickup system though but having said that I'm not getting an acoustic based on how it sounds plugged into a PA, if anything when playing live I'd rather just get a good mic and mic it up but I guess that's not always an easy option with a live band.I actually just really like the classic look and feel of a Martin, although honestly I haven't played many, but I figure I can't really go wrong if I'm looking for a good tried and tested acoustic if I start looking at something like a D28. That and I did get a chance to play a few very top shelf acoustic at an acoustic shop around the corner from where I work and I remember among the Guilds, Gibsons and Martins I played the Martin was by far the stand out (although I did love the others too I just remember the Martin having a certain "something" about it) and is the one I would have taken home with me if I had that much cash to splash...which I still don't for a new one  The Martin just didn't have all the fancy pants inlays and binding etc. that the others had that I was looking at, which is actually something else I liked about it, top quality but simple. I'm sure they have their fancy dressed up guitars too though I really don't know what I do and don't like with acoustic, all I know is that I love some of the fattest necks possibly on my electrics and I won't play anything with a thin neck anymore...I think "baseball bat neck" is the term people use for the neck size/type on my favorite electrics. I don't know how that translates to an acoustic though.
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#14
08-03-2011, 04:28 PM
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Quote:
I have a 00028-Eric Clapton and it the best acoustic I have ever owned. It is certainly not a "banjo killer", but has plenty of volume and the dynamics and tonal balance are to die for. Gibson may have originated the OM/000 size guitars, but Martin ran with the ball!
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