Martin OM-45 disappointing audition

[egordon99]

Eek! Those pictures look awful. Yeah, that guitar has had a rough life and is no way typical of Martin quality.

[egordon99]

Yeah, if you get the action low enough, it will not sound that good (unless you play with an extremely light touch)

So nothing to see here, neglected old guitar doesn't sound good. Lol.

[Kalani]

Yep, beauty is only skin deep! Had a beautiful Taylor 814C back in the day which had a dead spot (note) that drove me crazy! Sold it for a Breedlove SC20 that I still have. Have tried many higher-end guitars that couldn’t compare to this Breedlove or my Martin 000C-RGTE (lower on the Martin cost spectrum)!

FWIW, I’ve also learned a lot of high-end guitars are richly laden with harmonics throughout the sound spectrum which sounds awesome when playing acoustic but becomes a problem when amplifying. A friend has a Steve Grimes work of art ($11,000) that sounds fabulous but he always struggles with eq when playing amplified.

[s2y]

Yeah, that looks pretty rough. I wouldn't entertain buying it unless it was dirt cheap. Could potentially be restored, which would obviously require time and money.

[fngrpck]

Not much break angle at saddle...neck reset time which would account for diminished sound.

[FingahPickah]

A particularly interesting thread, folks.

Over the past few decades, I, too, have played a few picture-perfect Martins (as well as others) that just didn't sound great (to me) as well as some plain-Janes that were amazing.

I've also come to believe that instruments do need to be played often to mature and optimize it's voice. It's true that actual duds do occasionally happen, but I've also handed a "dud" to another player that brought out a response that I apparently didn't, etc.. and vice versa.

Isn't it great that: one brand, one size, one wood combination, one set of strings, one pick, etc., does by no means fit every player?

On a separate note, especially regarding Martins: my oldest son has an M-36 that is an absolute "gem" and a old friend of mine has an mid-1980s MC-28 that sings. Nice guitars - with the right owners - is a beautiful thing.

[ewalling]

Originally Posted by FingahPickah

Isn't it great that: one brand, one size, one wood combination, one set of strings, one pick, etc., does by no means fit every player?.

Maybe. One issue, though, is that our brave new world of discount tax-free online stores drove many local stores out of business in the early 2000s, so a significant number of us are now reliant on the online stores. 'Go try a bunch and pick the one that speaks to you' used to be a line that was trotted out sagely here in times passed, but there's nowhere left for many of us to do that, so now we buy online and hope for the best. I think the American guitar playing world shot itself in the foot somewhat in its zeal for budget deals.

[Joe Beamish]

Each guitar is an individual, the brand and model notwithstanding.

[FingahPickah]

Originally Posted by ewalling

Maybe. One issue, though, is that our brave new world of discount tax-free online stores drove many local stores out of business in the early 2000s, so a significant number of us are now reliant on the online stores. 'Go try a bunch and pick the one that speaks to you' used to be a line that was trotted out sagely here in times passed, but there's nowhere left for many of us to do that, so now we buy online and hope for the best. I think the American guitar playing world shot itself in the foot somewhat in its zeal for budget deals.

May "our brave new world" never eliminate the opportunity of personal choice even if it has made it inconvenient.