The Martin thread

Col Mustard said:
I have owned two Martin guitars in my long and checkered life...
Both gave great service for years, and were played on large stages and small.
I still have my XC1T... but I cain't jump this high any more.
View attachment 100295
In spite of disparaging remarks made by ignorant persons or likewise by
guitar snobs who think that the only good Martin is one that cost more than $3000
this humble entry level instrument is actually a great guitar.

Mine has excellent tone, and the Fishman Elipse Blend pickup system makes it
easy to mix. This guitar has not been pampered, and so it has fallen on concrete and
been damaged and repaired. Because of this, I can't sell it... it's worth much more for
the music it makes. Any buyer would likely turn their nose up because of the visible
repairs (which were expertly done by Ann Arbor Guitars).

But the tone and the feel of this instrument are priceless. The laminated neck made of
"Stratabond" is great to play, renders remarkable tone and is VERY stable tuning wise.
The back and sides made of "High Pressure Laminate" make no difference to tone,
but a buyer might balk. So it's not for sale. It's a player.
View attachment 100296
Click to expand...
To a point I totally agree. Pretty much everything I own is an entry level guitar. But while I was on worship team, the other acoustic player had an entry level Martin and my same price point Ovation ran circles around her Martin. Which is why it's so important to walk into a store and try them out before purchase. There's always a diamond in the rough. Just gotta look.
 
A long time ago in a galaxy far away, I got a chance to buy a 1936 Martin 0-17 from
a woman who needed money. I said "Let's go down to Herb David's Guitar Studio and
ask him what a fair price would be."

We did this thing, and Herb looked the guitar over carefully and said he'd offer it for $800
in his shop. I gave that amount to the lady, and told her she could buy it back if she wanted
it badly... at any time and I would not gouge or cry any tears.

She never asked for it back. I played that instrument for about thirty years on many stages
and a number of recordings. She served me and my music well. I named her Rosebud.
She was all mahogany, a parlor guitar with a very big sound. She almost looks like a toy
in my hands, but what a fine instrument. This model also was intended as an entry level
guitar... original price in 1936 was $20.00... which was a week's pay for a working man
with a decent job. it was also a Gold Piece. One a them double eagles.
COFF 2011.jpg
I played Rosebud through microphones for a lot of the time I owned her.
I didn't want to "mod" an instrument with so much history and dignity.
But when I heard about the L.R. Baggs "Lyric" microphone, I bought one and
had my favorite luthier install it for me. It was pretty non-invasive and made
the guitar much easier to mix. Her tone was deep and clear, she didn't sound
like anyone else's guitar.

Once we got dependable ways to amplify the signal of an acoustic guitar,
we didn't need to schlep huge dreadnought guitars around any more.
The big sound of a dreadnought was invented in like 1916 to help guitarists
get their signal into the mix. A guitar was a rhythm instrument in those
days, and had to be in the back line with the bassist and the drums.
The front line was the trumpet player, and the clarinet and the trombone...
and they were gettin' all the chicks. So the race was on to make louder and louder
acoustic guitars... up until the invention of the Telecaster changed everything.
a womp bomp a loo bomp, a womb bam boom ...
Rosebud@BFG(M Anbinder)@100.jpg
Plug an old mahogany Martin guitar with a decent internal mic into a modern P.A. system
and you get a sound the makers could have never dreamed of. I could run her through
a reverb pedal and a chorus pedal with a Dyna Comp for a clean boost... great lows
mids and highs from this compact instrument. Once in a while someone would come up
and say... "if ya ever wanna sell that guitar, here's my card..."

And wouldn't you know... I got older and my wife got older and she was diagnosed with
a brain tumor, and suddenly my priorities all changed. I sold that baby because we were
trying to build up the war chest for the fight with cancer. I whispered into the ether
that Rosebud might be for sale, and somebody offered me too much money.
I gratefully took the cash... I was retiring from touring so I could take care of Cindy.
I'm sure I made hundreds of dollars playing that little Martin, and also my AAA sized
XC1T above.
 
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iblive said:
...on worship team, the other acoustic player had an entry level Martin and my same price point Ovation ran circles around her Martin. There's always a diamond in the rough. Just gotta look.
Click to expand...
she might have neglected to change her strings... many players don't change them till one breaks, then they replace that one. *grins

But you are right... tone is so subjective with acoustic guitars, it's actually silly to consider ordering one online, unplayed and unseen.
You have to go in person to a place where they sell them, and play all of them that they'll let you. Buy the one that comes alive in your hands.
I think it's this way with electrics too but most everybody else seems to "just order it, and if you don't care for the neck, send it back..."
Bizarro....
 
It’s possible with the strings. She was more keyboards than guitar. I’m sure the guitar got neglected to a point. I have played Martins in stores and I played hers. And what I was missing on hers vs the more expensive ones I’d played in the stores….. the back of the body against my belly. I wasn’t getting the same vibrations. Almost muted. Actually. A lot like the plastic back on the Ovation.

A very good friend of mine had a dad who owned a pre war Martin. Jammed with him one day somewhere back in the 80s. His Martin. My Ovation. That Martin sounded awesome. He was more than a little protective of it and never offered to let me play it. I respected that and never pushed the issue. And now that my Ovation has hit the 50 year old mark…. I sorta get it. I’m more protective of it today than even 10 years ago. Not to the point of not letting someone else play it…. Just more careful.

But oh man….. that Martin would have been cool to play.
 
Col Mustard said:
A long time ago in a galaxy far away, I got a chance to buy a 1936 Martin 0-17 from
a woman who needed money. I said "Let's go down to Herb David's Guitar Studio and
ask him what a fair price would be."

We did this thing, and Herb looked the guitar over carefully and said he'd offer it for $800
in his shop. I gave that amount to the lady, and told her she could buy it back if she wanted
it badly... at any time and I would not gouge or cry any tears.

She never asked for it back. I played that instrument for about thirty years on many stages
and a number of recordings. She served me and my music well. I named her Rosebud.
She was all mahogany, a parlor guitar with a very big sound. She almost looks like a toy
in my hands, but what a fine instrument. This model also was intended as an entry level
guitar... original price in 1936 was $20.00... which was a week's pay for a working man
with a decent job. it was also a Gold Piece. One a them double eagles.
View attachment 100297
I played Rosebud through microphones for a lot of the time I owned her.
I didn't want to "mod" an instrument with so much history and dignity.
But when I heard about the L.R. Baggs "Lyric" microphone, I bought one and
had my favorite luthier install it for me. It was pretty non-invasive and made
the guitar much easier to mix. Her tone was deep and clear, she didn't sound
like anyone else's guitar.

Once we got dependable ways to amplify the signal of an acoustic guitar,
we didn't need to schlep huge dreadnought guitars around any more.
The big sound of a dreadnought was invented in like 1916 to help guitarists
get their signal into the mix. A guitar was a rhythm instrument in those
days, and had to be in the back line with the bassist and the drums.
The front line was the trumpet player, and the clarinet and the trombone...
and they were gettin' all the chicks. So the race was on to make louder and louder
acoustic guitars... up until the invention of the Telecaster changed everything.
a womp bomp a loo bomp, a womb bam boom ...
View attachment 100298
Plug an old mahogany Martin guitar with a decent internal mic into a modern P.A. system
and you get a sound the makers could have never dreamed of. I could run her through
a reverb pedal and a chorus pedal with a Dyna Comp for a clean boost... great lows
mids and highs from this compact instrument. Once in a while someone would come up
and say... "if ya ever wanna sell that guitar, here's my card..."

And wouldn't you know... I got older and my wife got older and she was diagnosed with
a brain tumor, and suddenly my priorities all changed. I sold that baby because we were
trying to build up the war chest for the fight with cancer. I whispered into the ether
that Rosebud might be for sale, and somebody offered me too much money.
I gratefully took the cash... I was retiring from touring so I could take care of Cindy.
I'm sure I made hundreds of dollars playing that little Martin, and also my AAA sized
XC1T above.
Click to expand...
I had 1 of those x series
Couldn't agree more
Love the neck + the sound (acousticly)
Couldn't control the feedback plugged in
 
now we’re talking! My kind of thread. Like all of you, love love Martins. Aint nothing like a nice sounding acoustic and at the same time, ain’t nothing like a nice sounding MARTIN acoustic!

Here’s my beloved D35. it’s a 1988 model, the first year they did the truss rod and narrow neck.

35 years old and man o man does it sound nice! Ringing overtones, lush chords and a booming bass


iCloud Photos - Apple iCloud
 
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EC Strat said:
now we’re talking! My kind of thread. Like all of you, love love Martins. Aint nothing like a nice sounding acoustic and at the same time, ain’t nothing like a nice sounding MARTIN acoustic!

Here’s my beloved D35. it’s a 1988 model, the first year they did the truss rod and narrow neck.

35 years old and man o man does it sound nice! Ringing overtones, lush chords and a booming bass

(Can’t post a pic - too large??)
Click to expand...
Needs to be less than 2MB.
 
SG John said:
I've got a '95 D-16T that I bought about four years ago. This is my first "real" or nice acoustic. I've always had beaters that would turn me off of acoustic guitars. One day at my favorite used guitar store (Retro Music in Keene, NH), I asked if there was a guitar that just flew under everyone's radar that is a killer guitar. Doogle handed me a used '95 Martin D-16T, and said this guitar was a bargain, especially since it has had zero interest in a few months.

I played it, and it was amazing. I've never played an acoustic that was actually really smooth and so much fun to play. Because I was a long time customer and they know I always visit with cash, a nice price was decided on and I was the owner of a Martin acoustic. After doing some research on this particular model, the only complaints were that Martin discontinued it because it cut into D-28 sales. This purchase sent me into getting a second nice acoustic, and as an earlier post had mentioned, I am on the hunt for the "right" 12 string acoustic. I love my Rickenbacker 330/12, and would love to have a nice acoustic 12 string.

View attachment 99915
Click to expand...
I’m looking at the cracraAF SG.
 
This picture of me is from around 1980 when I worked at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. The Guitar I’m playing is the Pre-war D-28 originally owned by Hank Williams Sr and was used on most of his iconic records. At the time it was owned by Hank Williams Jr. It’s currently owned by Neil Young. It might be one of the most valuable Martin guitars ever made?

1717857450752.jpeg
 
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Scott Baxendale said:
I’m looking at the cracraAF SG.
Click to expand...
It is a John Cipollina inspired build by my friend Brian who goes by the name of Javamagic on many of the guitar forums. He built in back around 2008 in the early days of Everything SG. I was probably his biggest fanboy when he built it, as I'm a big fan of Quicksilver and many other San Francisco bands or the era. Over the years we developed a good friendship, I stayed with him at his house in Ireland, and we constantly get together when I am in London.

One time when I was heading to London for a few days, he asked me about bringing a guitar back to the states. I said "not a big deal", as I often transported guitars back and forth and never had a problem. I know he has a distant cousin on Cape Cod, and thought I would be bringing one of his builds back for the cousin. Well, when we met at Foyle's for coffee and book shopping before heading to the pub, he asked "Do you want to see what you're taking with you?" I said sure, and was in total shock when he opened the case. And remained that way for several days. He said it wasn't happy in the tropical rainforest in southwest Ireland, and would maybe like New England better. It's had some acclimation issues, as the extremes in weather are huge here. But, it's a fantastic guitar. I still can't believe it's mine.



Cipollina Hiwatt_Resize.JPG
 
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SG John said:
It is a John Cipollina inspired build by my friend Brian who goes by the name of Javamagic on many of the guitar forums. He built in back around 2008 in th eearly days of Everything SG. I was probably his biggest fanboy when he built it, as I'm a big fan of Quicksilver and many other San Francisco bands or the era. Over the years we developed a good friendship, I stayed with him at his house in Ireland, and we constantly get together when I am in London.

One time when I was heading to London for a few days, he asked me about bringing a guitar back to the states. I said "not a big deal", as I often transported guitars back and forth and never had a problem. I know he has a distant cousin on Cape Cod, and thought I would be binging on of his builds back for the cousin. Well, when we met at Foyle's for coffee and book shopping before heading to the pub, he asked "Do you want to see what you're taking with you?" I said sure, and was in total shock when he opened the case. And remained that way for several days. He said it wasn't happy in the tropical rainforest in southwest Ireland, and would maybe like New England better. It's had some acclimation issues, as the extremes in weather are huge here. But, it's a fantastic guitar. I still can't believe it's mine.



View attachment 100502
Click to expand...
The neck inlay is ridiculous!
 
Scott Baxendale said:
The neck inlay is ridiculous!
Click to expand...
I remember when he did that. It took over a month to make all the inlays. He wasn't working at the time, and had most of the material on hand. All the lumber is reclaimed mahogany and ebony from tearing apart and restoring old buildings in either Ireland or England. All the lumber used for the guitar was over 100 years old. He made all the inlay patterns from photos, and cut each piece by hand. And several were victim of an "Oh Fvvvvvvvck!!!!!!" where they were done several times before they didn't break or came out as he wanted. When I visited him in Ireland the first time, many of the cardstock patterns were still laying about in his kitchen (workshop).
 
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I kind of miss my Martin 0-17, but am firmly moving on.
I believe I told her story in a previous post. But she was a hell of a guitar. Still is, very likely.

Here she is next to my 2007 Gibson SG... two mahogany guitars, built about 70 years apart.
Luna and Rosebud@100.jpg
...similar in size, the Gibbie was a "faded special" intended to look like an old one.
Luna and Rosebud... not kin at all, and totally different instruments for totally different songs.
But when Cindy got the bad news, I sold the Martin and kept the Gibson.
We thought we might need money for the fight with Cindy's cancer.

Rosebud went quickly, she is a very desirable guitar. I used her for nearly every song of mine
on the last recording I did with Mustard's Retreat: "Make Your own Luck" and the engineer
who was mixing it told me she was the best sounding guitar I'd ever brought into his
studio. Gotta hand it to Martin.
Rosebud_5x@100.jpg
Luna the SG is still the Queen of my music room. I've never played a guitar that sounds as good.
Well, yes I have... but it's wrong to compare them... That would be like comparing old lovers.
I have been blessed with fine instruments during my checkered career.
But I cain't compare the Gibson SG with the tone of the old Martin, or my beloved Mossman,
or my trusty Fender bass. So I remain thankful, and my SG faded special sounds and feels
so good that every time I put her down after playing, it's with the spoken or unspoken comment:
"What a great guitar."
 
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Scott Baxendale said:
This picture of me is from around 1980 when I worked at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. The Guitar I’m playing is the Pre-war D-28 originally owned by Hank Williams Sr and was used on most of his iconic records. At the time it was owned by Hank Williams Jr. It’s currently owned by Neil Young. It might be one of the most valuable Martin guitars ever made?
Click to expand...
Col says, "wow, just wow..." In my life I would never have a chance to ever even touch a guitar like that,
much less own one and play it.
I've seen Big Bill Broonzy's guitar, but it was in a glass case at the Old Town School of Music in Chicago.
We played there a few times. I'll bet that guitar still rings like a bell.
I've seen some pretty cool electric guitars that were labeled as having belonged to this super star
or that one... but they were in glass cases at Hard Rock Cafe, so they might have been replicas
made of rosin or tickle tackle for all I'd know.

But guitars like that are from some other galaxy IMHO. Some other place in Space and Time.
The rest of us need to work with what we have. ...and/or what we can afford, based on what musicians get paid...
*laughs
...a lot of things have changed over the years, but what musicians
get paid in the "journeyman Pro" category has NOT.
exposure bucks.jpg
All my guitars needed to pay for themselves, so paying too much for one was not an option.
I had to make business decisions based on how long any piece of equipment would need
in order to pay for itself.
When I bought my Mossman Flint Hills guitar in 1977, I paid about $600, which I thought
was a lot at that time. But I knew I needed a professional level instrument.
AND I knew that the tone was what was important, nothing else.

The Mossman Flint Hills was NOT a fancy Mossman. It was a working musician's guitar.
Nothing on the fretboard but dots. Nothing on the headstock but the Mossman Logo.
The best thing about that Mossman dreadnought was the tone, and the feel of the neck.
Decorations are not relevant when you're working gigs in dodgy dives where the beer is cold
and the chicks are hot.
You gotta play the gig as best you can, and get paid in cash and get outa there safe if you are smart,
and elusive.
I played my Mossman professionally from 1977 til I sold her in 2019.
I'm sure I made hundreds of dollars playing that guitar.

The Martin D-28 is like that too. It's a working musician's guitar, not overloaded with fancy inlays
and curly maple what.
Sure and Hank Williams played some sleazy honky tonks before he got famous enough to write his own ticket.
But how much did he pay for that D-28 when he bought it? The world wonders.
The only reason it's in such rarified air now is because of who owned it, and how many iconic hits were
written on it, and sung over it.
If yer not a Hank Williams fan (I'm not) then it's just another D-28. But I'll bet it still rings like a bell.
They all do. *grins
 
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