muttley600
Banned
TelePaul said:
Educated guess would be Honduran or Brazilian. But it could be one of many other African mahoganys. Makore, Utile, etc. As it's Martin I'd go with my first guess. Its not Sapele at least not like any I've seen.
TelePaul
J to the R O C
muttley600 said:
Thanks alot man.
muttley600
Banned
No problem, show it to any cabinet maker or luthier they would give you a more informed id having it in front of them.
Light
New member
Well, the South American Mahogany is getting to be in pretty short supply, and it is getting REALLY expensive to buy, but there is probably a few years before it goes on the CITIES list. Honduran Mahogany (specifically) is already on the list, if I remember correctly, but the other South American species of mahogany are so similar it really doesn't matter. Sapele, which is usually called African Mahogany, is NOT actually a true mahogany (i.e., it is of genus Entandrophragma, not of genus Swietenia), but from the guitar builders point of view, it sounds the same, works the same, and I think it LOOKS even better (I like the striped appearance). There are true mahoganies in Africa and parts of the world other than South American, but they have not yet become popular commercially (which is probably a good thing, as they are, by their very nature, always going to be in short supply).
Sitka spruce is still in fine supply, and will be for the foreseeable future. Engelmann is also still in fine supply. Adirondack is in short supply (particularly for guitar quality wood), but even there it is not that the wood isn't there, only that it is not available. The large stands of wood from which the old 1930's Martin guitar tops were harvested still exist, but they are within a US National Park and are, as such, no longer available to harvest (fine with me, I don't really care much for Adirondack tops).
As for Rosewoods, well, Indian Rosewood is being well managed by the Indian Government, and is unlikely to ever become an issue. Other than that, they are a serious issue. Brazilian has been on the Category I CITES list for decades, which means that not only can you not transport raw wood, but you may not transport FINISHED GOODS. This means that, even if the wood was harvested before the CITES treaty was signed, you can not transport (for instance) a Brazilian Rosewood guitar across international boarders without getting a special permit from both countries FOR EACH BOARDER CROSSING. It is a very serious hassle to transport Category I materials. Personally, while I applaud the goals of the CITES treaty, I think the way it is enacted has some pretty serious problems.
Unfortunately, other than Indian, most of the "alternatives" to Brazilian, while not on the CITES treaty, are already in danger. The popular one these days is Cocobolo, which is already in short supply (unfortunately, because it makes GREAT guitars), and I've even heard some talk about putting it on the CITES list.
Another big one is Ebony, where we already are using substitute species, though it doesn't really matter as they are basically exactly like what was traditionally used; but the material which is available is clearly not as good as it used to be (smaller trees, and you will almost never find a quarter-sawn piece of ebony anymore), and even the substitute species are getting less and less available (which has lead to many companies using synthetic alternatives, including Martin on all guitars below the Style 28 line).
And of course, Koa was always in short supply, being as it is only grown on Hawaii. They are doing their best to manage the supply in a sensible way (in fact, you may not cut down wild Koa at all - any wood MUST come from dead trees), and they are doing plantation planting of it, but it will probably be at least 100 years or more before the plantations are ready to harvest, and it is questionable if the quality of to wood will be any good.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Sitka spruce is still in fine supply, and will be for the foreseeable future. Engelmann is also still in fine supply. Adirondack is in short supply (particularly for guitar quality wood), but even there it is not that the wood isn't there, only that it is not available. The large stands of wood from which the old 1930's Martin guitar tops were harvested still exist, but they are within a US National Park and are, as such, no longer available to harvest (fine with me, I don't really care much for Adirondack tops).
As for Rosewoods, well, Indian Rosewood is being well managed by the Indian Government, and is unlikely to ever become an issue. Other than that, they are a serious issue. Brazilian has been on the Category I CITES list for decades, which means that not only can you not transport raw wood, but you may not transport FINISHED GOODS. This means that, even if the wood was harvested before the CITES treaty was signed, you can not transport (for instance) a Brazilian Rosewood guitar across international boarders without getting a special permit from both countries FOR EACH BOARDER CROSSING. It is a very serious hassle to transport Category I materials. Personally, while I applaud the goals of the CITES treaty, I think the way it is enacted has some pretty serious problems.
Unfortunately, other than Indian, most of the "alternatives" to Brazilian, while not on the CITES treaty, are already in danger. The popular one these days is Cocobolo, which is already in short supply (unfortunately, because it makes GREAT guitars), and I've even heard some talk about putting it on the CITES list.
Another big one is Ebony, where we already are using substitute species, though it doesn't really matter as they are basically exactly like what was traditionally used; but the material which is available is clearly not as good as it used to be (smaller trees, and you will almost never find a quarter-sawn piece of ebony anymore), and even the substitute species are getting less and less available (which has lead to many companies using synthetic alternatives, including Martin on all guitars below the Style 28 line).
And of course, Koa was always in short supply, being as it is only grown on Hawaii. They are doing their best to manage the supply in a sensible way (in fact, you may not cut down wild Koa at all - any wood MUST come from dead trees), and they are doing plantation planting of it, but it will probably be at least 100 years or more before the plantations are ready to harvest, and it is questionable if the quality of to wood will be any good.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Light
New member
muttley600 said:
They are, for the time being, made of a South American Mahogany (NOT actual Honduran, as it is impossible to get actual Swietenia mahoganni anymore). I would guess that will not last too much longer, though, as the South American Mahoganies are getting outrageously expensive, which doesn't make much sense for a fairly budget priced guitar.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Outlaws
New member
I would just like to point out that I bought my D41 in 2002 for 27 or $2800 out the door. (I forget, but they ate the sales tax.)
Today it is $3400 on Musiciansfriend.com.
There could be a thousand reasons why it has gone up in price that much in 5 years, but I know one thing...I am not holding my breath on it ever being $2800 again.
Its got a nice deep orange color. Its nice wood IMO. I have nothing to complain about.
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Back
While I love the guitar, my only regret is not going all out for a D45 or D45V. The D45 is now more expensive than the D45V was back in 2003.
The value of the dollar has not dropped that much in 5 years.
Today it is $3400 on Musiciansfriend.com.
There could be a thousand reasons why it has gone up in price that much in 5 years, but I know one thing...I am not holding my breath on it ever being $2800 again.
Its got a nice deep orange color. Its nice wood IMO. I have nothing to complain about.
Top
Back
While I love the guitar, my only regret is not going all out for a D45 or D45V. The D45 is now more expensive than the D45V was back in 2003.
The value of the dollar has not dropped that much in 5 years.
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muttley600
Banned
That looks like Indian Rosewood Rosewood and nicely weathered Spruce to me . So not Mahogany at all. Could be the picture tho? That model always looks nice and I love the honey gold of the aged spruce.Outlaws said:
Light
New member
muttley600 said:
No, a 41 is Indian. It has a Mahogany neck, though.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Light
New member
muttley600 said:Um isn't that what I saidAll the d41' I've seen are Rosewood/spruce, except for a few specials.
Yeah, I was just saying it wasn't just the photo, that's all.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
muttley600
Banned
Ahh thats good. I thought I was going mad. What with all the rubbish being said in other threads. Must have just read it wrongLight said:
M
mrface2112
Well-known member
hey Paul, your D15 looks exactly like mine!TelePaul said:
what's the first 3 digits of your guitar's serial number? you can do a date lookup on Martin's website. mine was made in 2000. i LOVE my D15! records like a dream.
cheers,
wade
TelePaul
J to the R O C
mrface2112 said:hey Paul, your D15 looks exactly like mine!
i LOVE my D15! records like a dream.
cheers,
wade
I think it's 1126567. I like it but it needs a good clean and I end up changing the strings quite alot.
M
mrface2112
Well-known member
mine's 814666. they also had 814667, but i had to get the 666.TelePaul said:
i recently did the lemon oil/0000 steel wool thing on my fretboard and it really helped it a lot but the body just gets a dry lint-free cloth. i also find that i change the strings rather frequently. what are you using? i've found that the Martin SP Phosphor Bronze Lights sound really nice and last pretty well, but i'm always interested to hear what other folks are using.
cheers,
wade
TelePaul
J to the R O C
mrface2112 said:
Yup, the phosphor bronze are my choice too, but I also tried the Eric Clapton ones, apparently they are tighter wound.
M
mrface2112
Well-known member
i've got a set of those but i haven't tried em yet--it's been a while since i've restrung it, so i'll give em a go this weekend and see what i think.TelePaul said:
cheers,
wade