Help me pick a new acoustic

[eddiegillan]

I'm going to play some used Martins tomorrow. A D18, a D35, and an HD35. I already have a Guild carved back maple dread that I use in my country rock four piece that cuts through pretty well. I'm looking for a differant sound, maybe to play solo acoustic. Any advice on what to listen for, or what to look for, ie what years are better than others, or D35 vs. D28?

[Ocelot]

The older (pre-70s) Martins tend to sound better, but that's a generalization. Use your ears. What sounds best to you is the best. A mahogany D-18 is going to be completely different from a rosewood D-35 though.

[eddiegillan]

I believe the guitars are all fairly recent vintage. I'm wondering generally if the D18 would be more of differant sound to my maple Guild than the D35 or HD35, or if a D28 would be more differant.

[Ocelot]

I'm not familiar with the Guild, but a Martin D-18 is going to sound very different from a Martin D-28 or D-35. A rosewood Martin is going to be very rich and bassy. A mahogany D-18 is going to be much brighter, with fewer overtones and with a more immediate response. Play the guitars and it will become self-evident to you. They're all great guitars.

[JSeth]

Check out some OM shaped instruments, or even 000/Grand Concert...

Another dreadnought? Maybe if ALL you do is strum... for single note lines and any hybrid/fingerpicking, a more "Jumbo-esque" shape would be a nice complement! I just received my new Goodall Grand Concert a couple months ago... and I am AMAZED at how loud this little guitar is!

As with ANY acoustic guitar, play it before you buy it! Good luck!

play on.........................................>

John

[AcousticDude]

It may depend on whether you want to flat pick, finger pick or do a combination. Some guitars just love to be finger picked, but can't hold a candle to a good dread or jumbo when flat picked. I have a Martin that is kind of a hybrid between a dread and a 000 called a JC16RE. It is more of the equivalent in size to a Taylor X16 series. Large, but not too large. I can flat pick and finger pick that one.

[sksmith66]

Originally Posted by eddiegillan

I believe the guitars are all fairly recent vintage. I'm wondering generally if the D18 would be more of differant sound to my maple Guild than the D35 or HD35, or if a D28 would be more differant.

honestly all of those guitars are going to sound VERY different from a carved maple back guitar. but i guess a rosewood backed guitar is almost like the polar opposite of maple backed guitar.

[eddiegillan]

Thanks for all of your input. At first I sat down with my Guild, an '07 D18, an '07 D28, and a '10 D35. After playing them and switching back and forth for about 20 minutes, I found the D18 to be pretty unremarkable. I countinued alternating the D28 and D35, and heard some subtle differances, but was almost ready to walk away, when I remembered they also had an "04 HD35. I noticed right off the bat that this guitar was head and shoulders above the other two, and differant than my Guild D30. I took the HD35 home with me.

[sksmith66]

without playing any of them that is the one I would have been most likely to pick too. you picked the only one of the bunch with scalloped bracing. IMO that is the difference you were hearing between the standard d28 and d35. to me the scalloped bracing gives the guitar a bigger voice, louder, richer, and even a tad bit of shimmer.

[frquent flyer]

I had a mint Santa Cruz D 12,the nicest guitar ever ,including my Martins. Find a used Santa Cruz. I have a Kinnaird 00012 which was custom made and I love that. See John Kinnaird's Site. Great bracing system. Good luck !

[eddiegillan]

Hi sksmith66. That is exactly what I heard. The shimmer was immediately noticeable, and what was missing in my Guild. I had heard about the scalloped bracing, but didn't know what to look for, or how it affected the sound. I think my Guild was still better than the others, but the HD35 had what I was looking for. Bonus for the Gibson style neck.

[eddiegillan]

Extra bonus. I was so absorbed in the sound of the guitar, I didn't even think about amplification. When I got home I noticed it had an under saddle pickup. I don't know what it is, but it is a nice bonus.