I'm going to bitch about Martin Guitars...

buying a guitar

This is a topic of much debate no matter where you read about it opionions differ now while this brings about good conversation
(sometimes) and usefull information it also has the opposite effect

C R I N G E V A L U E.

While i can totally understand a guys frustration about a large company behaving in this manner i have to say it does not suprise me at all.

What can any of us do then?

vote with our feet there are many many great custom builders out there more then willing to build for you a decent guitar at a fair price cant find them well i,ll list a few for you.

Gilet guitars............. Australia

http://www.braenet.com.au/~guitar/

DR Guitars......................France

http://www.daguetguitars.com/index.htm

collings guitars

http://www.collingsguitars.com/

Donmo...............Australia................ resonators

http://users.senet.com.au/~donjenny/index.htm

Hope someone who wants true quality finds one of these above guys i sure did and i have no complaints what so ever

:)

Wayne
Melbourne Australia
 
Octoruss, sory to ressurrect this thread after 4 days, but there's an "unofficial" Martin forum that you might want to post yer problem to...somebody there might have some connections, or at least somebody from Martin has probably visited or still visits the site, so it couldn't hurt to bring it up......

It's a fairly cool forum, I really only lurk there and never post, it's just very informative.......gibs

http://pub125.ezboard.com/ftheunofficialmartinguitarforumfrm4
 
interesting...

I bought a Martin DM new when they came out in around 1994 or 1995. Like an idiot I left it in the car on a hot day and the glue on the bridge came up. I went to an authorized Martin luthier and repair man named Mark Kieser in Franklin Ohio. I had heard he was really good. He took a look, and I showed him my Martin warranty card and he said no problem. He called Martin right there and described the problem to them, then I talked to them. They gave authorization for repair and he said come back in a week. Went back, and he had fixed and set up my guitar, and polished it and oiled the fretboard for me... all covered by the warranty work and not a penny out of my pocket. At that time a second call goes into Martin (from his shop by him, then hand the phone to me) at which they ask me "Are you satisfied with the repairs made to your guitar, and can we do anything else?" I was very satisfied with Marks work and have since taken all of my guitars only to him, though he is 3 hours away from me.

Anyways, this is the way it is supposed to work on any Martin with a Lifetime Warranty (which is all of their solid wood guitars), with the call pre-repair and the call post-repair. It's standard operating procedure with them, and if it didnt happen, it is your repair shop and not Martins fault you got crummy service.

Hope it has worked out for you.

H2H
 
Well, thanks for the response folks. Martin saw some of these threads and offered to expedite the repair if I send my guitar to them. Not the 6 month turnaround they were initially quoting. I still don't like having to shell out for shipping it to them, but I guess that's my only option. I'll let you know what happens....stay tuned. (no pun intended) :o
 
I hear yah brother.

Yeah, I went for the Taylor (714CE) and I love it. Martin, like many other of the big manufacturers, seem more bend on profit than on straightening out things. I went to a store and played every Martin they had and never found one, at any price, that I liked. I've been on a quest for the perfect guitar (subjective of course) for me for many years. I was in a music shop up in Washington one day, and bought some picks. I saw a bunch of Taylor guitars there and started playing them. I was astounded! The sound, the feel, everything was what I had been looking for. A bit on the pricey side, but I too will eat big macs and other such crap to make the purchases (must be why most guitar players are so friggin' skinny).

I bought a Taylor about a month ago and I can't put it down. I love this thing! I swear, I am a better player because of it. And that's always good.

I hope you can resolve this mess with Martin. I do know that what goes around comes around, and as David would say on "Six Feet Under", they always get it in the end...
 
I'm pretty sure the Martin Co. will handle the situation well now.....keep in mind that people that answer the phone or emails are hired help and they are not necessarily into music or instruments or service.........

Hey, btw, Vicstring, have you played the Martin D-16?...It's very cool, has a Martin tone, but a Taylor-style bracing.....seems the two companies have some mutual respect, which is equally cool...competition makes for some interesting, rather consumer-friendly results.......best of both worlds in the 16's...........(I don't own one....I've got a D-28 coming this week, after years of lust)

Both companies make really good guitars....but I have to say that (for me, only my opinion) Martin has mojo .............and that's what I was looking for.........gibs
 
Martin stuff

Yeah, I agree, the people who answer the phones are unfortunately representing the company. But, really in truth do not. I hope the Martin will make good on this and not just run around the block making excuses. I have a feeling they will do the right thing. Reputation is everything in this biz, and with so many other options (guitars) I think they are congnizant of that.

I liked the Martins, but like I said, I played everything they had, including the D-16 and I still think the Taylor kicks ass. Like I say it's all subjective anyway, whatver draws it out of you is what is the perfect instrument. I bought my Taylor because it has the cedar top which warms up the sound and takes away that all-too-present brightness that plagues so many other instruments.

Thanks for the reply and good luck to you! Great talking to another Big Mac and French fry kind-of a guy!


Vic
 
Hey Vicstring, I have the 714ce too, what an amazing guitar. I've had mine for over a year now, used at home and for gigging. All I can say is BE CAREFUL with it-- that cedar top is awfully soft, and takes barely more than a touch to scratch or dent it. I'm still in mourning from the day I dropped the needle nose pliers on it while changing strings...
When I was guitar shopping I was dead-set on NOT buying a Taylor... I wanted a handmade guitar, and was turned off to the fact that they were mostly machine-made. So I played Martins, Collings, Santa Cruz, Breedlove, Larrivee, Lowdens... most were more expensive than the Taylors I had played, without the sweet tone and nice feel. I bought the taylor.
Since then I've had the chance to visit the Taylor factory out in Cali. My attitude towards them has changed 100%. They use a lot of machinery, but all the important stuff is done by craftsmen. They've also done some really innovative things with guitars like their finishing and their neck construction, and they've shared all of it with other guitar companies... the day I was there there were people from Martin visiting the factory also. In short, they are a great company, I've been treated very well as one of their customers, and I'll probably be a customer for life if they keep it up.
 
laaronx, which Breedlove did you play? I've played just about every model they've made and I haven't found anything on earth sweeter than the Ed Gerhard Signature model. I'm not crazy about the Breedlove shape, though, but I might forego that personal preference for that awesome tone. I'm also going to have the Breedlove internal "sway bar" thing added to my current axe.
 
Hey JR, I think it was the breedlove C12 I played. It played beautifully, but the design was a little funky for my liking and it seemed like the taylor played equally well for a lower price. It was a strong 2nd, I liked it better than everything except the taylor I bought and one very expensive collings I played...
I would love to get my hands on one of those ed gerhardt's though, your the 2nd person I've heard rave about them.
 
Big Business or Little Business

Sounds like what I go through with about everything with big business, I hope my new Martin doesnt do that, hope you get it all sorted out...6 month is a long time, guess I would have to get a Rogue "toss away" for the absents of my Martin for that long...:mad:
 
Sounds like what I go through with about everything with big business, I hope my new Martin doesnt do that, hope you get it all sorted out...6 month is a long time, guess I would have to get a Rogue "toss away" for the absents of my Martin for that long...:mad:
"Hope you get it all sorted out"?

Hey JaySi - this thread is 6 years old. :D
 
eh, he/she is new.... no worries....
still, how many threads does one have to wade through to get six years deep into the archives? i would say.... a lot.
 
Back
Top