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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Everyone should love their guitar and believe that it's the best guitar in the world for them. That's what keeps dozens and dozens of guitar makers in business.
Dave |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | Thanks for the posts, Dave. I've been a few hours away for my entire life and have never made it down to Nazareth. I'm going to make it a point to now.
But, rest assured, it won't replace Ct. |
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Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | I've been to the Martin factory tour in the past, and as Dave previously mentioned, their craft in guitar-building is about the same mix of technology and hand craftsmanship as the Ovation factory. The tour guide, at that time, mentioned that they do not have factory second guitars. If the guitar fails their final inspections [even cosmetic flaws], it is automatically destroyed, thus any so-called "blems" that are sold in the market at bargain prices are the sole responsibility of the dealer, and not the factory's. I guess, I'll just take her word for it? :rolleyes:
The tour lasted just a little over an hour, and my wife and I had to follow a certain path which were guided by arrows on the floor. I couldn't get past the plexiglass either. Overall, I was pleased by the tour, but the guitars that they had on display for everyone to play was downright terrible [playability and soundwise]. Perhaps, them guitars needed a set-up and fresher strings? Well, that's what I thought at that time.
Their museum was under construction went I went there ... perhaps, another trip in the future would be ideal.
Very nice pictures BTW. :) |
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Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | Originally posted by alpep:
[QB] i am pictured with a d 35. I own a late sixties d 35 the one I played did not hold a candle to the one I own AND the tak ef 75 would blow it out of the water any day of the week. /QB] According to John Bertsche at We Buy Guitars, who had been servicing my Ms on an on-going basis, he claimed that the Martin D-28 along with its variables [e.g. herringbone, V neck, slothead, forward-shift x bracing, scalloped x bracing, etc.], are pretty much their top of the line, in terms of sound, quality and craftsmanship. Anything beyond that, is purely for aesthetic purposes. He also added that the three-piece back on the D-35 [material and production-wise] is much cheaper, but for some unknown reason, it sells for much more than the 2-piece back of a D-28. |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | The interesting thing is that I think you need to see one (Ovation or Martin) to fully appreciate the other. For example at Ovation it's a pretty good trick how they stick the wood top to the plastic bowl and get the neck to sit correctly without a real neck block. You'd never appreciate this until you saw how relatively easy it is with the all wood dovetail that Martin uses. On the other hand Martin pays painstaking details to the rosette inlay where as for years Ovation just stuck on a plastic ring. Ovation pays a lot of attention and expense to the electronics, Martin could give a shit about electronics and does everything in their power to discourage cutting holes in the side of your guitar. Ovation is all about choices - colors, configurations, etc. How many different guitar config combinations did you see on the tour. Maybe 100? At Martin, I swear to god we saw thousands of guitars and NOT ONE sunburst, NOT ONE 12-string. Seriously!!!
The two tours accomplished one thing - made me want to invest in way more ovations and way more martins. I can't wait to visit Austin, TX.
Dave |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by ignimbyte:
he claimed that the Martin D-28 along with its variables [e.g. herringbone, V neck, slothead, forward-shift x bracing, scalloped x bracing, etc.], are pretty much their top of the line, in terms of sound, quality and craftsmanship. Anything beyond that, is purely for aesthetic purposes. I would agree and I think that's largly true of most guitar makers. A Custom Elite doesn't sound any different that an Elite, does it? People will pay good money for "bling" and knowing that they have something that's "top of the line".
Dave |
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Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | Besides John, Stan Jay at Mandolin Brothers told me something similar to that about the 28s being Martin's top of the line, and anything else beyond it is solely for "bling" and more money. That was a little over a year ago when he sold me my HD-28. Should I choose the gorgeous looks of the D-35 and over, Stan added that he'd be happy to sell it to me and take my money ... LOL |
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OT: PHOTOS OF MARTIN FACTORY TOUR
