martin

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Light said:
Dude, a Drednaught is a huge body. There's really only one or two common flattop body styles which are larger (J-185 or J-200 style guitars), and dreds are one of the most bass heavy designs on the market.


Light

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



are you saying the d16 is a jumbo
 
The D16 is a dreadnought - The D signifies Dreadnought which is a large bodied acoustic guitar. If your sure that its a small body - then maybe its not a D.
Martin does make many small bodied acoustics including 0, 00, 000, OM, etc.
I own an OM-28V and its one of the most balanced, amazing tone monster I've ever played. Where as Dreads tend to be bass heavy the OMs are very well rounded and balanced.
I suggest checking out the Martin site or UMGF.com for tons of great info.
 
Zaphod B said:
Yes, although I have heard louder acoustics.
probably so! by "big" i meant "very present, nicely balanced and well-developed tone".......not necessarily "loud". :D

a friend has an HD28V that has to be one of the loudest guitars i've ever heard. it's a CANNON. and it's also very difficult to record from any distance other than several feet away due to its volume. get too close and the tonal complexity of that guitar washes into ugly boominess.

Zaphod B said:
It's a well-balanced sound that cuts through and is immediately recognizable.
YUM. i'd love to hear it sometime. that's what i like most about martin guitars is "that tone". there's no mistaking it.

my D15 records beautifully--it's got a very balanced tone (thanks to its all-mahogany build) that can either cut through or blend in depending on how it's miked. it doesn't have as much of that classic martin tone as a D28 does (given that it's not spruce and rosewood), but if you lay into it, that signature martin "whomp" is there.


cheers,
wade
 
oDD said:
The D16 is a dreadnought - The D signifies Dreadnought which is a large bodied acoustic guitar. If your sure that its a small body - then maybe its not a D.
Martin does make many small bodied acoustics including 0, 00, 000, OM, etc.
I own an OM-28V and its one of the most balanced, amazing tone monster I've ever played. Where as Dreads tend to be bass heavy the OMs are very well rounded and balanced.
I suggest checking out the Martin site or UMGF.com for tons of great info.


im sure your right

ill cheak it out at the next session, it was a small bodied guitar and im sure it was a model d16, strange, although there was alot of liquor drank the same night.... :o
 
I recently got a D16GT - it's a very nice guitar and I got it for pennies ($375). But I've also had a Seagull S6 for many years that is just every bit as nice sound wise.

I like having the 2 acoustics - I put K&K Pure Westerns in the Seagull and use that for live stuff. The Martin can stay at home and get played there. The biggest differences between the two is the neck width (the Seagull is slightly wider and slightly easier to finger pick) and finish (Martin is much nicer).

But if I had to pay normal street price for the Martin, I would not have bought it. There's really not a significant difference in sound quality. I have Martin Light (.009 or .010 can't remember) strings on both.
 
Zaphod B said:
That's what I'm talkin' about! :)
:D that's why i bought the D15--it got delicate and pretty sounding when fingerpicked, but when put it in double drop D and lay into it, the mahogany top overdrives really nicely. it's almost like 2 different guitars.


cheers,
wade
 
IMHO, Martin is currently making some very nice guitars. There was a period in the 70s and early 80s when their quality slid as they significantly increased production (blame CSNY - everyone had to have a Martin dread). But since then they seem to have recovered, although the sheer number of different models they now produce is kind of overwhelming - at least to me. Their custom shop and golden era models are particularly nice. I've got 4 Martins and most are smaller body models. I have a 1965 D-28 (yes, Brazillian), a 1926 2-17 (first Martin actually constructed for steel strings), a 1961 O-18, and a 1969 O-16NY. The O-18 and the O-16NY get played the most and record the best. The D-28 is nice, but it's a bit bass heavy for recording. It does have that bark for bluegrass though. My local guitar shop had Martin make a custom O-18 based on the measurements from my O-18 and it was really well done. In fact I liked it so much I almost bought it as well. Thankfully I was saved by someone else who purchased it first.

Like any guitar, though, you still have to play them first. I've certainly played very pretty, but mediocre sounding, Martins, as well as great ones. I was tempted by an early 60's OOO-18 in mint condition at one time, but it just didn't sound all that good. It eventually got sold to a Japanese collector. Wonder if he ever plays it?

A buddy of mine has the first Martin dreadnought produced - actually produced under the Ditson label. Bought off e-bay from the Scott Chinnery collection for a relative pittance. He's currently writing a book on the history of the dreadnought, with the cooperation of Martin. He gets to go through their attic and look at old letters and orders and the like, Fascinating for guitar geeks. :D
 
Last edited:
raven46 said:
are you saying the d16 is a jumbo


No, it's a Drednaught. A Martin (or, for that matter, a Gibson) J would be called a Jumbo, though some of the Gibson J's (J45's, 50's, 35's, Advanced Jumbos) would be called Slope Shoulder Drednaughts by most guys these days.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Fusioninspace said:
I have Martin Light (.009 or .010 can't remember) strings on both.


Acoustic Lights are .012 to .053.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
Acoustic Lights are .012 to .053.



Light

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

Just to clarify: I use the SP Extra Lights MSP4000 - .010
 
I don't own a Martin, but I live about 20 minutes from the factory. I plan to take the tour this summer. Anyone ever visit the factory?
 
I just got my new Guild last night a GAD G212 112 string made in China.
This baby has every bit of the same build quality as my Martin 000GTR.
Make me wonder what their top on the line American mades are like.
You sure get a lot of nice extra's with it, dual truss rods, wood binding, MOP snow flake inlays for marking and MOP inlays on head stock. The glue job and finish as great not to mention the sound. The only problem is this new guitar weighs a ton with my tore rotator cuff I have to use two hands to pick it up.
 
Fusioninspace said:
The biggest differences between the two is the neck width (the Seagull is slightly wider and slightly easier to finger pick) and finish (Martin is much nicer).
But if I had to pay normal street price for the Martin, I would not have bought it. There's really not a significant difference in sound quality. .

I too have a Seagull s6 and a Martin DC16-RGTE (Custom). I agree about the finger picking but sound wise my Martin is Waaaaay more rich in tone. Seagull S6 are more boxy w/ emphasis on the midrange. No where near the Lowend of a Martin... just like Taylors. If you haven't ever heard the expression, many people say that Seagulls are a Poor mans Taylor. I had my Seagull (great guitar for the price) for 10+ years before I got my Martin. I really like the contrast of the 2. Also the 16 series are braced to have a little less low end than the 28 or 35. So those that don't like the over powering low end characteristic of Martins just might like the 16 series.

B.
 
RandyW said:
I just got my new Guild last night a GAD G212 112 string made in China.
This baby has every bit of the same build quality as my Martin 000GTR.
Make me wonder what their top on the line American mades are like.
You sure get a lot of nice extra's with it, dual truss rods, wood binding, MOP snow flake inlays for marking and MOP inlays on head stock. The glue job and finish as great not to mention the sound. The only problem is this new guitar weighs a ton with my tore rotator cuff I have to use two hands to pick it up.

what did it cost
 
gvarko said:
I don't own a Martin, but I live about 20 minutes from the factory. I plan to take the tour this summer. Anyone ever visit the factory?


Yeah, but it was like 17 years ago, so things are much different these days. It was great though, `cause with our position as one of their major warranty centers, they wined and dined us, so it was much fun. Back then, though, they were still making all their necks by hand, and they didn't have a single CNC machine in the place. Things are MUCH different these days. They still make a few necks by hand, but only for custom orders.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
gvarko said:
I don't own a Martin, but I live about 20 minutes from the factory. I plan to take the tour this summer. Anyone ever visit the factory?
Worth the trip. I enjoyed seeing multi-million dollar CNC machines operating next to work stations where good old fashioned hands-on luthiery was being performed. Plus, you get a laser etched spruce sound hole cutout. What could be better?!! A couple of blocks away is the old shop which is now a luthier tools/supplies shop. My favorite part of the day by far!
 
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