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  #1  
Old 03-11-2015, 02:36 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Default Played a used Martin D45. Umm... Dissapointed

Today, I got to go to a guitar store on the way back from a client site. Couldn't help myself. It's a nice day outside, finally, so the short detour at lunch was fun. It is a well stocked and nice shop. I played some Martin guitars in the back for about an hour. I have switched my guitars over to Taylor, and wanted to A/B them again for kicks. It is a testament to the need to demo every guitar before buying, the Taylor 816ce they had in stock was very nice, but seemed to have less sustain than mine. Might be the strings, setup, or my replacement saddle. The latter point prompted me to start another thread about Taylor saddles.

Onto the Martin discussion... I am a big Martin appreciator and I have owned a few of their guitars. This is not a flame thread.

I wanted to try out the HD28V again, the HD28, D35, D41 and the D45. I really liked the tone on the HD28v (darn neck never agreed with me!) and the D35. I have always wanted to own a Martin D45, and still do. I felt that the D41, while lovely looking, was a bit on the bland side today. The D45 itself was only available used at nearly $9,000. I won't ever spend that kind of money on a guitar, but wanted to give one a whirl. I was disappointed. This guitar was certainly not worth 4x the cost of a D28. I suppose it was a case of this specific guitar, as I have heard nothing but praise for D45s, and have heard some excellent recordings of them. Since this was an expensive guitar, the shop had set it up and changed the strings.

Just thought I'd share my random guitar thoughts for the day.
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Old 03-11-2015, 02:53 PM
harmonics101 harmonics101 is offline
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I don't know what it is about Martins and Bling - but for me - the two don't go together. It's like Bo Derek in a Glam Suit ,

H
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Old 03-11-2015, 02:59 PM
PengyUMGF PengyUMGF is offline
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Are you in the USA? $9000 for a regular D-45?

Mike
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:07 PM
Ted @ LA Guitar Sales Ted @ LA Guitar Sales is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
Today, I got to go to a guitar store on the way back from a client site. Couldn't help myself. It's a nice day outside, finally, so the short detour at lunch was fun. It is a well stocked and nice shop. I played some Martin guitars in the back for about an hour. I have switched my guitars over to Taylor, and wanted to A/B them again for kicks. It is a testament to the need to demo every guitar before buying, the Taylor 816ce they had in stock was very nice, but seemed to have less sustain than mine. Might be the strings, setup, or my replacement saddle. The latter point prompted me to start another thread about Taylor saddles...
Always nice to hear someone point out the advantages of being able to play guitars first. Although we do most of our business long distance, many of the guitars we sell would be gone if brick and mortar stores go away.


Quote:
...Onto the Martin discussion... I am a big Martin appreciator and I have owned a few of their guitars. This is not a flame thread.

I wanted to try out the HD28V again, the HD28, D35, D41 and the D45. I really liked the tone on the HD28v (darn neck never agreed with me!) and the D35. I have always wanted to own a Martin D45, and still do. I felt that the D41, while lovely looking, was a bit on the bland side today. The D45 itself was only available used at nearly $9,000. I won't ever spend that kind of money on a guitar, but wanted to give one a whirl. I was disappointed. This guitar was certainly not worth 4x the cost of a D28. I suppose it was a case of this specific guitar, as I have heard nothing but praise for D45s, and have heard some excellent recordings of them. Since this was an expensive guitar, the shop had set it up and changed the strings.

Just thought I'd share my random guitar thoughts for the day.
When I was looking I to a D-45, before I was a Martin dealer, I tried a few at my local GC and also found the standard D-45 lack luster. Luckily they also had a D-45V which is anything but lack luster so I was able to get my D-45 fix and end up with a great guitar as well.

BTW, a used D-45 should be $5500, about 50% of the current retail price, while MAP on new is $8250. Are you sure the one you played was used?
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:18 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Dave, I've played a bunch of modern Martin D-45's, and honestly, I've never played one that made my heart go pitter pat. None of them have ever been musically compelling to me.

Which is kind of interesting, because from a musical standpoint I've really liked most of the D-42's I've played, and all of the D-42K's, with koa back and sides. But not the D-45's.

I'm sure part of it is that I simply don't have enough hands-on experience with enough Martin D-45's. I also suspect that many of these guitars are kept locked away in glass cases at the music stores and don't get as much playing time to loosen them up as the D-42's have had. On every occasion when I've played a D-45 in a store I've had to ask permission to play it, and the sales clerk who's helped me has then hovered nearby until I was done playing.

Which makes sense. But the times I've played D-45's when they've been handed to me by their owners, they haven't really wowed me, either. And those guitars HAVE received some serious playing.

So, who knows? Not me. I'm certain there are some great sounding D-45's out there, but I haven't yet had a chance to play one.


Wade Hampton Miller
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:24 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harmonics101 View Post
I don't know what it is about Martins and Bling - but for me - the two don't go together. It's like Bo Derek in a Glam Suit ,

H
Thanks for the disturbing mental image! ;-)
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:25 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Originally Posted by PengyUMGF View Post
Are you in the USA? $9000 for a regular D-45?

Mike
Yes, in the Chicago area. $9,000 US for a used "standard" D45. Was definitely in "used" condition. Frankly, not sure what it was used for!
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:30 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Ted,

Wow, I am more than a little shocked! There is ZERO chance that the guitar I played was new. I have to assume it was a mistake on the price tag. It was about $8,850, from memory. To be honest, I wouldn't have paid $1,000 for it.

I worked for a guitar and music store owner as a young pup. I have an appreciation for your business. It is not an easy business. Seems like you have a good operation there.
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:30 PM
El Diablo El Diablo is offline
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Pound for pound, the best Martin for my money is a D-18.

The way I see it, if the bling doesn't help the sound, it's kinda' silly to pay for it.
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:32 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
Dave, I've played a bunch of modern Martin D-45's, and honestly, I've never played one that made my heart go pitter pat. None of them have ever been musically compelling to me.

Which is kind of interesting, because from a musical standpoint I've really liked most of the D-42's I've played, and all of the D-42K's, with koa back and sides. But not the D-45's.

I'm sure part of it is that I simply don't have enough hands-on experience with enough Martin D-45's. I also suspect that many of these guitars are kept locked away in glass cases at the music stores and don't get as much playing time to loosen them up as the D-42's have had. On every occasion when I've played a D-45 in a store I've had to ask permission to play it, and the sales clerk who's helped me has then hovered nearby until I was done playing.

Which makes sense. But the times I've played D-45's when they've been handed to me by their owners, they haven't really wowed me, either. And those guitars HAVE received some serious playing.

So, who knows? Not me. I'm certain there are some great sounding D-45's out there, but I haven't yet had a chance to play one.


Wade Hampton Miller
I guess I'm not crazy. And, as a matter of fact, the two D42s I have played were both very good. I will have to look up the differences between those models to see what they, and the 45V Ted mentioned, are.

Looks like the 42 and the 45V and the 45 Retro all have scalloped and forward shifted bracing. It would be similar to the tone of my HD28V. Of those options, the 45 Retro seems the most interesting. It has a nice neck and electronics. But, I can't see taking a $10,000 guitar to the local open mics and Irish sessions. I guess for a collector piece, I would have to go with Ted's 45V or a 42.
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Last edited by martingitdave; 03-11-2015 at 03:39 PM.
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:41 PM
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I take my expensive guitars out to gigs, festivals, and for general travel, even the ones that are more expensive than a D-45. An expensive guitar need not live such a sheltered life.
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:44 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by El Diablo View Post
Pound for pound, the best Martin for my money is a D-18.

The way I see it, if the bling doesn't help the sound, it's kinda' silly to pay for it.
But they're so purty! D-18 is a great guitar. More of a rosewood fan myself. But, there are some pickers that run circles (lets be honest- several laps) around me on some D-18s.
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:45 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Originally Posted by Todd Yates View Post
I take my expensive guitars out to gigs, festivals, and for general travel, even the ones that are more expensive than a D-45. An expensive guitar need not live such a sheltered life.
I do the same. I couldn't afford to replace either my McAlister baritone or my Klepper KJ, but both get gigged out as hard as any other instrument I own.


whm
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  #14  
Old 03-11-2015, 03:47 PM
piper_guitarist piper_guitarist is offline
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Lesson learned: expensive doesn't necessarily mean better.
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Old 03-11-2015, 03:59 PM
Montesdad Montesdad is offline
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Originally Posted by piper_guitarist View Post
Lesson learned: expensive doesn't necessarily mean better.
probably why it was for sale again -
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