Reviewed by:
st4m, on march 03, 2008
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 1134
Purchased from: Thomann Cyberstore
Features: Manufactured in USA, Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Mine was made in 2007. Neck solid mahogany, bridge & fingerboard solid east indian rosewood, 20 frets(14 clear). The neck is 1 11/16” wide at the nut and has a 25.4” scale. Back, sides and top are all solid mahogany with satin finish. Martin chrome tuners, auditorium size body. Hard shell case included. // 10
Sound: This instrument is a really great sounding one. The solid wood construction guarantees a rich tone, while the mahogany body gives the guitar a darker sound with deep, full bass with good midrange overtones and thin treble. It is a great instrument for blues and folk and could even been used as a slide guitar (I prefer glass slides'sound with it). It is a mostly fingerpicking guitar, as it's difficult to make maximum use of it's wonderfull bass tones with a pick. If you want an acoustic guitar for strumming I recommend you go for one with a spruce top. The sound is definately a 10 for the music styles mentioned above, however because it doesn't respond as well to all different styles I'll give it a 9. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: As you'd probably expect from a Martin, the craftsmanship is professionally done. No buzzes or rattles when you check the joints and the guitar plays well as it comes from the factory. The mahogany neck can initially be hard to get used to, especially if you played a maple one before. No flaws at constuction at all. // 10
Reliability & Durability: The "Martin" tag on it can be a lifetime warranty. It is said that solid wood guitars are like wines-they get better as they old. Solid wood guitars also get even better sounding through the years as the wood seasons, however, they require more care and the included hard shell case should help you do that. For live playing I think the use of a mic, even for small/medium audiences, because even though the body is jumbo style made, it's auditorium sized. // 9
Impression: I have been playing guitar for about 3 years and got to admit that from all the guitars I have owned/played/heard this is my favorite one. A great hand built instrument and if you are looking for a top quality acoustic with no extremes in price then I recommend you give this one a look. // 10
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