Martin D-18 (2012) vs. Taylor 810 (revoiced 2014 models)

[Petty1818]

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for opinions on how these two guitars compare. I totally get that Taylor guitars have their own sound and it's nothing like what you would expect from a Martin. However, the new 2012 D-18's that I have tried, seem to have more of a hi-fi tone than I am used to with Martin dreads, which seems to be more comparable to Taylor tones. Some of them have sounded wonderful and others have been a bit too bright.

Anyway, I own a Taylor 310 that I quite like but I do often struggle with that bright, Taylor tone, which is why I have been trying more Gibson and Martin guitars lately. I did rush out and try the new revoiced Taylor guitars and although they were all great, the 810 impressed me the most. The enhanced projection and bass was evident from the first strum. I was very close to buying one but didn't want the ES2 system and I was also worried that the 810 still might be too bright.

Here's the thing, although I have tried both guitars, I have never had a chance to compare them. I did get a chance to compare the new 610 to the new D-18 and I was shocked to find that I actually found the D-18 to be a bit brighter. It's made me come back to the 810 vs. D18 decision. I am just looking for further opinions on this!

[cheer tunes]

For what it's worth...I have two of the post 2011 D18s. I REALLY REALLY like them both but they are different...

The 2012 has:
- a very sweet mellower tone/very balanced
- a shallower neck profile

The 2016 (Dreadnought Centennial) is:
- louder/more piano-like
- has a noticeably chunkier neck, seems like almost a satin like finish on the back of the neck.
- and very figured sides.

Same model, VERY different - hope that helps speak to the variation