Best martin for blues, slide and some bluegrass

[Martinoils]

What style Martin ie, dreadnought,om etc for blues, slide and some flatpicking bluegrass?

[docwatsonfan]

D28
we all know a D28 works for bluegrass,
check out some blues on a D28 here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtKo8QDIxPU

[ecguitar44]

D-28

Not to shabby for fingerstyle either.

[BoneDigger]

Standard D28 is a great choice!

Todd

[rmyAddison]

Personally I would be looking at different guitars for blues and bluegrass, very different styles.

Bluegrass IMO locks you into a dread, and the standards (D-18,D-28) are the models that have the track record and history, and work better in a band setting than some of the other 28 variants with more complex voicing.

With blues I'd be looking at a smaller body like an 000-28EC or 000-18GE, but they aren't bluegrass boxes. So to me you have to compromise somewhat and the dreads do blues better than OM/000's do bluegrass.

If your pockets are deep enough I'd look at 18/28 series Authentic dreads, otherwise it's back to the tried and true D-18 or D-28.

[Teleman52]

D28, they're excellent fingerstyle guitars I don't care what anyone else says, that is if you can play fingerstyle with medium strings. I have no problem with that so it doesn't bother me. But to put light strings on a martin dread.... Well I will speak no more about that grievance

[zombywoof]

You can play the blues on anything and slide is more matter of tweaking string gauge and setup. I am not a Martin guy and do not play bluegrass but I would think something like a Martin D-28 would work fine. If not a Martin maybe something like a Guild D-55. If it were me though I would probably grab a Harmony Sovereign.

[Inked]

Any.

But my Custom Shop D18 sounds amazing for all of those. I'd listen to a D18 and a D28 and D35 side by side.

Some folks can hear a slight difference, some can't. Some say the 28 is brighter, others describe it as thinner.

You can put different string on any hog guitar and make it sound more rosewood.

It's really all about how it sounds to you. And always have someone play them for you so you can really hear how they sound to the audience, not just from above.

[Flatpicknation]

my om-21 is great for bluegrass, the "new" 2012 model with scalloped braces. Its loud and sounds amazing, i like it.

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

Personally I would be looking at different guitars for blues and bluegrass, very different styles.

Bluegrass IMO locks you into a dread, and the standards (D-18,D-28) are the models that have the track record and history, and work better in a band setting than some of the other 28 variants with more complex voicing.

With blues I'd be looking at a smaller body like an 000-28EC or 000-18GE, but they aren't bluegrass boxes. So to me you have to compromise somewhat and the dreads do blues better than OM/000's do bluegrass.

If your pockets are deep enough I'd look at 18/28 series Authentic dreads, otherwise it's back to the tried and true D-18 or D-28.

I'm still not sure. I just got a 000-15sm to complement my Martin SWDGT dreadnaught, and I was very concerned the 000 couldn't keep up in a bluegrass setting. Quite the contrary. That thing is an animal. With my dreadnaught, I always feel I have to dig in like crazy to be heard. And once I do, the sound seems to turn into a boomy mush. With the 000, I actually have to take things back a notch, which is quite a new experience for me. Plus, I can lean into it, and the sound still stays articulate. Great note separation. Same thing in my group lesson last week. The 000 against four dreadnoughts. At some point, the teacher turned to me and said, "Hey, can you point that thing away or something? I can't hear the other players."