Martin tone comparison

[Fob Dylan]

My buddy's guitar is the guitar Center exclusive spruce/rosewood, satin finish with the d-15 a-frame bracing. The one thing i noticed was that my d-16rgt felt heavier and that may be due to my hybrid scalloped x-bracing vs a-frame bracing. What are the sound characteristics of these two bracing patterns anyways?

[ozshadow]

Do you have any idea what the humidity is where you keep your guitar ? Do you keep it in it's case or out ?

GC has a few custom models. One is a Custom D that can be had in rosewood. It has less binding on it, which reduces weight slightly. The next step is a DSR which adds more binding. The next step is their MMV which is all gloss and has most bells and whistles. It is heavier.

All of those 3 have the D-1 A bracing pattern. They sound good with a balanced tone. They will not have as much bass as a scalloped bracing setup or be as loud. The sound of those 3 gets a little more refined as you go up.

The D-16RGT uses a bracing pattern that is a cross between the standard line X bracing and the D1 A bracing. The A part is right under the fingerboard and is a relatively new design attempting to support this area better. The scalloping allows the top to resonate more - giving it more bass and volume.

I have played all 4 of those a number of times, and the D-16RGT always wins.

Control your humidity. Do not lay you arm on the top too firm. Let it resonate. Put the same brand/size strings on both new to compare. Listen to another play both. What strings were you both using and how old ? One upgrade you can do to your guitar is to order a bone saddle from Bob Colosi.

[rforman15]

Originally Posted by dylanheeg

i agree...in fact, I'd offer there is ZERO tonal difference based on the fretboard material...how can the fretboard affect the tone?...the string touches the fret, not the fretboard material....

this is another one of those things martin purists will argue...but i find it to be an empty argument...because there is never any proof as to why....smilarly to how i have hever heard any proof to explain why the dovetail neck thing could make a difference...I still have not learned 'why' they all think it makes a difference.

Well different things can affect tone for different reasons. Say for example micarta is more difficult to fret or more so or different from a wood fretboard, this can effect your playing which will effect tone. If it's not the micarta and it's not the neck joint and it's not the tone wood, then what. None of these design elements make a discernable difference in tone so it must be the sum effect of the combined cheap(er) elements that make it a lesser guitar. That is comparing Martin to Martin. And remember the OP is the one dissatisfied with his current Martin. And so I return to my initial advise which is to get a D-18V and be done searching for good.

[NVADeafie]

Originally Posted by wiesbaden53

......
Are your sure your friend had a D15? You state it was D-15 spruce rosewood. The D15s I've known had mahogany for sides, back and top (sapele in the newer D15s)....

MF and GC have Hog and RW dreds with Sitka tops that are are custom made and based on the D15. Some of them were/are marketed as being D15s and they all have bracing that is identical to the D15s.

I suspect that is the guitar to which the OP referred.

[rforman15]

yeah I heard about the spruce topped D-15s, and probably seen some at GC, to me a D-15 has a mahogany top.

[Hambone]

Every aspect of a guitar's construction affects tone. To dismiss something as significant as the neck joinery as having no impact on tone is irrational.

Years ago there was an article in Guitar Player that scientifically compared electric guitars with bolt on, set neck and neck through construction,

What was measured was sustain, string amplitude, initial attack and decay patterns of the various designs.

In a nutshell, bolt necks had a sharper iniitial attack (greater string amplitude when first struck = twangier) with quicker decay. Set necks had less initial string amplitude, but the decay was slower and longer sustain. The neck through had the lowest initial string amplitude and the longest sustain.

For those who have spent anytime around electrics it is pretty easy to tell the difference between the sound and feel of a humbucker equipped strat or tele, a les paul and a Carvin.

There are many differences between Taylor and Martin construction, but to say that it's all bracing is ludicrous. If you prefer the Taylor tone, then you also prefer how a bolt neck impacts tone.

Jimi Hendrix appreciated how a bolt neck impacted his tone, Peter Frampton prefers a set neck. It's all good, but it is different.