High-end Martin Acoustics

[Zaphod B]

About a year ago I played a Martin HD-28 and it made the hair stand up on my arms and neck. It was perfect for me. Powerful, powerful bass, silky smooth mids, and chiming highs.

Tadpui, I have owned a 1967 Martin D-28 since 1968 or 1969, and it has been a wonderful guitar, with a full bottom end and the classic Martin top-end presence. I plan on being buried with it. It's a stellar-sounding instrument.

A couple of years ago my younger brother bought a brand-new HD-28 and it sounds even marginally better than my old one - simply stunning. And beautiful, too, with the herringbone appointments.

I have always preferred D-28s to D-35s, -41s. and -45s because they are more sensitive to touch and more responsive with light picking. You have to pretty much beat up on the higher-numbered models to get the tone out of them.

To me a good D-28 is acoustic guitar heaven.

 

[Zaphod B]

Oh, one other thing.

In his post above Light mentioned that you might want to consider something other than a dreadnaught-sized guitar, and he makes a valid point.

I'll add that my D-28 is a little difficult to record in my home studio because of the pronounced bottom-end presence. What sounds full and brilliant in a live situation is a little bottom-heavy for my recording circumstances.

Just more grist for the mill.

 

[Tadpui]

Oh, one other thing.

In his post above Light mentioned that you might want to consider something other than a dreadnaught-sized guitar, and he makes a valid point.

I'll add that my D-28 is a little difficult to record in my home studio because of the pronounced bottom-end presence. What sounds full and brilliant in a live situation is a little bottom-heavy for my recording circumstances.

Just more grist for the mill.

One of the things that amazes me about the D-41 is that it has a TIGHT bass to it.

The bass of the HD-28 shook my chest cavity. I could feel the bass of that HD-28 in my chest, stomach, forearms, thighs...basically any place that had direct contact with the lower bout of the instrument.

But with this D-41, it honestly sounds more like an Orchestra Model than any of the other D series that I played. It's so balanced, so tight. The bass just doesn't take over like it did with the HD-28. I mean, I loved the HD-28 and I loved the low end on it, but I could easily see how it could pose problems in front of a microphone. I'm anxious to record my D-41 to see how it takes to a couple of pencil condensors or a mid-diaphragm condensor.

Victory Pete,
I'm not sure what material the bridge pins are. More than likely they're plastic. They have a little dot of abalone on each one. Nice touch. I'll dig up the specs and see what the nut, saddle, and bridge pins are made of. My first guess is plastic on all counts, but you never know with their higher-end models.

 

[Zaphod B]

That's a beauty, Tadpui!

I must confess that I skipped a few posts when I posted earlier (and repped you) and didn't see your post that you had bought a D-41. Wonderful guitar, and you are right about the bass being a lot tighter than on a D-28.

Can't go wrong with that one!

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Tadpui, I have owned a 1967 Martin D-28 since 1968 or 1969, and it has been a wonderful guitar, with a full bottom end and the classic Martin top-end presence. I plan on being buried with it. It's a stellar-sounding instrument.

It seems a shame to waste such a good guitar in the grave, Zap you old fart. Why not leave it to an appreciative young whippersnapper such as, oh, myself? And, while you're at it, maybe start spending some time hanging around at the base of tall buildings, or in deserted warehouses late at night...

 

[Tadpui]

Hahahaha! Plus if you're buried with it, after we rob your grave, we'll never get that rotting corpse smell out of that D-28! Do us a favor and be buried with a few open boxes of Arm & Hammer, will you?

 

[Zaphod B]

It seems a shame to waste such a good guitar in the grave, Zap you old fart. Why not leave it to an appreciative young whippersnapper such as, oh, myself? And, while you're at it, maybe start spending some time hanging around at the base of tall buildings, or in deserted warehouses late at night...

Hahahaha! Plus if you're buried with it, after we rob your grave, we'll never get that rotting corpse smell out of that D-28! Do us a favor and be buried with a few open boxes of Arm & Hammer, will you?

Hahahaha, dream on, fuckers! You'll have to wade in there to get it!

 

[Light]

Victory Pete,
I'm not sure what material the bridge pins are. More than likely they're plastic. They have a little dot of abalone on each one. Nice touch. I'll dig up the specs and see what the nut, saddle, and bridge pins are made of. My first guess is plastic on all counts, but you never know with their higher-end models.

They are plastic. If you like the look, don't change them. You will never actually hear the difference.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Tadpui]

They are plastic. If you like the look, don't change them. You will never actually hear the difference.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

OK, cool thanks. That was the one piece they didn't mention on the specs page on Martin's website. I was surprised to see that the nut and the saddle are both bone though. That makes me happy since this is the first bone nut and sadde I've ever had on a guitar. I'm not sure how much it contributes to what I love about this guitar's tone, but there's a "snap" to the attack of the strings that I really love.

I use a sharp pick (Dunlop Tortex Sharp yellow) on acoustic guitars so I'm used to a pretty bright, snappy attack. But this D-41 has something extra in its attack and decay. I'd love to attribute it to the bone nut and saddle but I have a feeling that the overall construction of the guitar is making most of the difference over my laminate spruce top Alvarez Regent that I've basically grown up with.

 

[Victory Pete]

OK, cool thanks. That was the one piece they didn't mention on the specs page on Martin's website. I was surprised to see that the nut and the saddle are both bone though. That makes me happy since this is the first bone nut and sadde I've ever had on a guitar. I'm not sure how much it contributes to what I love about this guitar's tone, but there's a "snap" to the attack of the strings that I really love.

I use a sharp pick (Dunlop Tortex Sharp yellow) on acoustic guitars so I'm used to a pretty bright, snappy attack. But this D-41 has something extra in its attack and decay. I'd love to attribute it to the bone nut and saddle but I have a feeling that the overall construction of the guitar is making most of the difference over my laminate spruce top Alvarez Regent that I've basically grown up with.

My 1998 HD-28 came with a corian nut and a micarta saddle. I have switched to bone for both and it is definately an improvement. I used to go to GC and play a new HD-28 and wondered why mine didnt sound like that. (they now use bone) It does now. I also installed ebony bridge pins and it made it louder and clearer. I did a test on my 12 string where on the same set of unisons I had the white plastic and ebony pins. It was like night and day, pun intended.
VP

 

[DrewPeterson7]

I switched from plastic pins to Graph-Tech Tusq pins, less out of concern with tone and more because I preferred the look of the abalone dots for cosmetic reasons.

I did hear a SLIGHT change in tone - the guitar was a little crisper and brighter. What I don't know was if this was because of the change in material, because the tusq was harder than the plastic and therefore gave a more secure fit (there was a little visible warping and bending on the plastic), or if it was straight up placebo effect. My suspicion is the second - that it just gave the string a more rigid connection with the top of the guitar, but it could have been any combination of the three.

What I CAN say is that I'm happy with the change, because the abalone is quite a bit sexier than the black dots that were on the original pins.

 

[c7sus]

You used to be able to get ivory saddles and nuts straight from the factory. My D-45L Custom came with factory ivory.

Those days are gone. The feds confiscated everything they had and destroyed it.

 

[Victory Pete]

You used to be able to get ivory saddles and nuts straight from the factory. My D-45L Custom came with factory ivory.

Those days are gone. The feds confiscated everything they had and destroyed it.

Do you know what kind of ivory that was? I am interested in the fossilized walrus ivory they get in Alaska. The price is ridiculous though, $125 for 6 pins!
VP

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Do you know what kind of ivory that was? I am interested in the fossilized walrus ivory they get in Alaska. The price is ridiculous though, $125 for 6 pins!
VP

Waste of time and money. If it's fossilized ivory, then it's no longer ivory, it's stone. You could try finding marble pins (but a quick google search didn't really turn up anything) or if you know a stoneworker commission a few, but I'd be worried about it being a bit brittle. If you want something thathard, just go for brass.

 

[Victory Pete]

Waste of time and money. If it's fossilized ivory, then it's no longer ivory, it's stone. You could try finding marble pins (but a quick google search didn't really turn up anything) or if you know a stoneworker commission a few, but I'd be worried about it being a bit brittle. If you want something thathard, just go for brass.

Have you tried them?

 

[Treeline]

I use a sharp pick (Dunlop Tortex Sharp yellow) on acoustic guitars so I'm used to a pretty bright, snappy attack. But this D-41 has something extra in its attack and decay. .

With this guitar, try a very heavy, relatively soft flat pick, like a Fender Heavy. I have a Taylor 815C and the heavy pick makes a huge difference - no pick sound and it pulls out the killer midrange.

 

[darrin_h2000]

I have recorded martins and they can be boomy...my favorite recording guitar is a Yamaha Compass series.

I allways see older martins on Craigslist all the time...I love a bluechip investment and any martin is a smart buy...an older one from a desparate seller who is willing to take a loss is an even smarter buy

 

[Tadpui]

I have recorded martins and they can be boomy...my favorite recording guitar is a Yamaha Compass series.

I allways see older martins on Craigslist all the time...I love a bluechip investment and any martin is a smart buy...an older one from a desparate seller who is willing to take a loss is an even smarter buy

I'm amazed at how many "vintage" Martins I saw hanging on walls during my guitar search (vintage being kind of a broad term, as I learned). Last year the little botique down the street had a couple of '60s and '70s Martins, which was pretty awesome. I wasn't particularly taken by them but they definitely had personality and character. This time around, there was beat-to-hell 1977 D something that really didn't woo me either. There was a 1970-something D-35 at Guitar Center but there was a crack clean through the neck at the first thru third frets...definitely a no-no.

But you know, when it came down to it, I thought of it like this. Every guitar has a story. The older the instrument, the more mystique gets attached to it. Where has it been? Where has it lived? Who owed it? Were they famous? Has it been passed from generation t generation?

Well, I decided that I want to START a vintage instrument. My ownership of this instrument is the first chapter. When I'm gone, hopefully it will be a well-cared-for and aged instrument with only one owner that's going to belong to my children or other family member, and would be a very desirabe instrument. And hopefully, if I've taught my (hersofar hypothetical) children well, they will keep it for the rest of their lives. And I hope they pass it on to their children...eventually, there will be a century-year-old Martin D-41 with a documented family tree and a true pedigree. Even though I wouldn't be aroudn to see it, hopefully it will be worth a fortune

 

[pohaku]

Hard to predict the future value of currently produced instruments - especially mass produced instruments. The vintage guitar market is a very fickle, sometimes trendy, and unpredictable market. Generally, Martins made before 1970 have some collectible value, with pre WWII dreads being the most valued. Martin (and Gibson) kicked up production in the 70s and arguably the resulting quality was not quite what it was previously. They also ceased using Brazilian rosewood at that time. 70s Martins and Gibsons certainly don't currently command the premium prices of earlier models. Maybe that will change. Maybe not. For better or worse, the "vintage" market is now slowly creeping into the 1970s, but that seems to apply primarily to certain electric guitar models (e.g., early 70s telecasters for instance which now fetch in the high 2K or low 3K range) rather than acoustics (perhaps with the exception of certain Guild models - although they have never commanded the prices of Martins or Gibsons). Just an observation.

 

[Victory Pete]

I'm amazed at how many "vintage" Martins I saw hanging on walls during my guitar search (vintage being kind of a broad term, as I learned). Last year the little botique down the street had a couple of '60s and '70s Martins, which was pretty awesome. I wasn't particularly taken by them but they definitely had personality and character. This time around, there was beat-to-hell 1977 D something that really didn't woo me either. There was a 1970-something D-35 at Guitar Center but there was a crack clean through the neck at the first thru third frets...definitely a no-no.

But you know, when it came down to it, I thought of it like this. Every guitar has a story. The older the instrument, the more mystique gets attached to it. Where has it been? Where has it lived? Who owed it? Were they famous? Has it been passed from generation t generation?

Well, I decided that I want to START a vintage instrument. My ownership of this instrument is the first chapter. When I'm gone, hopefully it will be a well-cared-for and aged instrument with only one owner that's going to belong to my children or other family member, and would be a very desirabe instrument. And hopefully, if I've taught my (hersofar hypothetical) children well, they will keep it for the rest of their lives. And I hope they pass it on to their children...eventually, there will be a century-year-old Martin D-41 with a documented family tree and a true pedigree. Even though I wouldn't be aroudn to see it, hopefully it will be worth a fortune

That is how I feel about my guitar collection, I now have 12 including 2 basses. They were all bought new so all of their history is mine. I think there is way too much hype with all this vintage nonsense. I think the guitars made recently are some of the best.
VP