i wonder why martin does not simply stain the adirondack spruce in that reddish mahogany hue, and simply allow the grain character to show through. tacky concept (and i work in printing)...... it sounds like a D-18, so lovely martin props to that!
I played (and almost bought) a D-19 when I started getting back into guitars (opted for a rosewood at the same price). This guitar, with top that looks more like mahogany (to me, the original just like oddly stained spruce) is gorgeous and sounds great! Adi/mahogany seems hard to beat!
Beautiful guitar and beard what more could you ask for. stay groovy yall, love this channel and all the hard work you guys put in is valued by so many. Cheers friends ❤
Martin should paint a sunburst then paint a Swiss alp almost white moon harvest top and then relic it to death to expose it all like a beaten up strat! Call it the ROADKILL!
This is a beautiful sounding guitar and it makes sense as to why - great wood choices. But I just can't get over the idea of silkscreening some fake veneer on top of a real piece of wood - even if it is 'cosmetically challenges'. I think I'd prefer that Martin just find ways to stain the tops to make them look interesting and unique vs papering over the top with a photo of some other wood. Look at what Taylor did for striped ebony - they didn't try to put a silkscreen of black over it, they worked from a business and social/marketing perspective to share the story of Ebony and why they started using stripey Ebony, and now people are used to it and it's cool. What Martin is doing to this guitar is like buying a Cherry wood desk and then covering it in wallpaper. Seems silly to me and if I'm paying $4000 for a guitar I want to see the actual wood! Love your demos and your channel and content - happy holidays to you and Alejandro!!
Not a fan of a printed veneer or whatever you call it. It won't be easy to repair and match the rest of the top if you scratch it. Not sure how thick the printed part of the top is, but it sort of sounded to me like it suppressed some of the brightness you'd expect from the adi spruce top.
It sounds okay but not great. I think the printing is tacky. I’d rather have wood that doesn’t look up to snuff than to have a printed finish like that. Seems tacky. Even if it had some knots or some work holes they had to fill.
It's a fabulous LOOKING guitar if one is not going for the classic spruce top look. I'm not sure what Martin is trying to convey by adopting this technique. Are they saying there isn't enough stock left to produce what would have been considered a A or AA top for a typical guitar? Are they saying customers' willingness to pay won't cover the cost of material that would yield an A or AA top so THIS is what we've developed to meet the visual demand at a price point people can afford? Sound-wise, it seems to sound very distinct but kinda flat... It lacks the brightness I would expect, kinda like how it would sound if the strings were 6 months old. I have to say, I was a bit distracted during the video by that amber finish Stratocaster in the background. LOL
This is Martin leveraging its fine history to sell a mediocre guitar. At $4,000 it’s an embarrassment. This is how to damage a long, hard earned brand name. Hope their management wises up!
@Jeff But people with more dollars than sense will buy them so I think Martin will do just fine. It's sad what consumers will put up with and this is why companies will make crap like this.
I dislike the whole printing on pictures idea. Just stain the Adirondack and live with it. The original D29 wasn't all Mahogany......right? Why print it to make it looks Mahogany then?
Maybe I've just been listening to the boutique brands for too long on your live stream, but this guitar sounds like butt to me. Very thin sounding, and lacks depth to my ear. But maybe the video isn't doing it justice. Just seems to be lacking something.
C'mpn Martin, stop with the fake printing and just give us a natural wood top with all it's cosmetic imperfections and not OVERCHARGE us for it...geesh it does not even sound that good - real thin sounding.
Seriously, wtf is the point of printing a faux mahogany top on a spruce top unless they are super embarrassed that it's actually a low quality top? Martin is sure aware there's a sucker born every guitar minute lol! Next they'll be printing adi tops taken from pictures of Bouchers and putting them on their mahogany top guitars. What a total load of nonsense, and the Martinites lap it all up. They must also watch The View lol! A nice Adi top looks great, no need to cover them up, unless it's full of warts and pimples maybe.
I think this guitar will go down in history as a clown choice, A flop! Where it could have been one much sort after. Chris Martin clearly has no idea what Wabi is, or Rustic, Poor mans, Ugly but good, Classic old timer, Americana,,, I could go on with describing words of what it should have been. But he chooses a 1980's laminate kitchen bench top instead ??? Or Fake! Not holding high hopes for what the 200 year Martin guitar will be,,, It's definitely cheapened the brand
It sounds like a Martin (read: Guild stuffed with plastic shopping bags) which is about the only "redeeming" quality I can give it. Otherwise its an overpriced attempt to hoard good wood while simultaneously making laminate Brazilian backs as if that doesn't make any serious Martin player's soul cry.
i wonder why martin does not simply stain the adirondack spruce in that reddish mahogany hue, and simply allow the grain character to show through. tacky concept (and i work in printing)...... it sounds like a D-18, so lovely martin props to that!
Gotta love that "18" sound. Looks and sounds great.❤️
I played (and almost bought) a D-19 when I started getting back into guitars (opted for a rosewood at the same price). This guitar, with top that looks more like mahogany (to me, the original just like oddly stained spruce) is gorgeous and sounds great! Adi/mahogany seems hard to beat!
In my opinion it is one of the best sounding D-18s in the modern era from Martin, beautiful instrument.
It's everything you would expect from a Martin total perfection.
I have a 2002 C15E Martin all Mahogany. and absolutely love it.
Beautiful guitar and beard what more could you ask for. stay groovy yall, love this channel and all the hard work you guys put in is valued by so many. Cheers friends ❤
Martin should paint a sunburst then paint a Swiss alp almost white moon harvest top and then relic it to death to expose it all like a beaten up strat! Call it the ROADKILL!
Really enjoyed the review & guitar sounds great!
It sounds amazing !
This is a beautiful sounding guitar and it makes sense as to why - great wood choices. But I just can't get over the idea of silkscreening some fake veneer on top of a real piece of wood - even if it is 'cosmetically challenges'. I think I'd prefer that Martin just find ways to stain the tops to make them look interesting and unique vs papering over the top with a photo of some other wood. Look at what Taylor did for striped ebony - they didn't try to put a silkscreen of black over it, they worked from a business and social/marketing perspective to share the story of Ebony and why they started using stripey Ebony, and now people are used to it and it's cool. What Martin is doing to this guitar is like buying a Cherry wood desk and then covering it in wallpaper. Seems silly to me and if I'm paying $4000 for a guitar I want to see the actual wood!
Love your demos and your channel and content - happy holidays to you and Alejandro!!
Lovely guitar!
Not a fan of a printed veneer or whatever you call it. It won't be easy to repair and match the rest of the top if you scratch it. Not sure how thick the printed part of the top is, but it sort of sounded to me like it suppressed some of the brightness you'd expect from the adi spruce top.
When Fender did the Foto-Flame, they got flamed. Now Martin is doing it??
So it's a D-18 for 4K? Good way for Martin to unload some not so good spruce at a high price.
I agree it’s overpriced but this is Adi spruce. Selling this as $3000 would at least be more compelling
Looks and sounds like a Martin to me!
Awesome!!!
@ Eddie's Just curious, what guitars do you play at home? You've so much insane guitars on your channel.
Thanks :)
It sounds okay but not great. I think the printing is tacky. I’d rather have wood that doesn’t look up to snuff than to have a printed finish like that. Seems tacky. Even if it had some knots or some work holes they had to fill.
@Joshua Spot on. Looks lousy and sounds marginal. $4000 for a fake printed top? Wow?!?! No thanks Martin.
It's a fabulous LOOKING guitar if one is not going for the classic spruce top look. I'm not sure what Martin is trying to convey by adopting this technique. Are they saying there isn't enough stock left to produce what would have been considered a A or AA top for a typical guitar? Are they saying customers' willingness to pay won't cover the cost of material that would yield an A or AA top so THIS is what we've developed to meet the visual demand at a price point people can afford? Sound-wise, it seems to sound very distinct but kinda flat... It lacks the brightness I would expect, kinda like how it would sound if the strings were 6 months old. I have to say, I was a bit distracted during the video by that amber finish Stratocaster in the background. LOL
This is Martin leveraging its fine history to sell a mediocre guitar. At $4,000 it’s an embarrassment. This is how to damage a long, hard earned brand name. Hope their management wises up!
@Jeff But people with more dollars than sense will buy them so I think Martin will do just fine. It's sad what consumers will put up with and this is why companies will make crap like this.
I dislike the whole printing on pictures idea. Just stain the Adirondack and live with it. The original D29 wasn't all Mahogany......right? Why print it to make it looks Mahogany then?
👍
I hate Martins printed false wood grain scene “It looks like” 🤮
Maybe I've just been listening to the boutique brands for too long on your live stream, but this guitar sounds like butt to me. Very thin sounding, and lacks depth to my ear. But maybe the video isn't doing it justice. Just seems to be lacking something.
C'mpn Martin, stop with the fake printing and just give us a natural wood top with all it's cosmetic imperfections and not OVERCHARGE us for it...geesh it does not even sound that good - real thin sounding.
Whoa, printed fake out?? Why? I dislike all things faux. Because that means fake, as in not really the thing. It reeks of less than great.
Seriously, wtf is the point of printing a faux mahogany top on a spruce top unless they are super embarrassed that it's actually a low quality top? Martin is sure aware there's a sucker born every guitar minute lol! Next they'll be printing adi tops taken from pictures of Bouchers and putting them on their mahogany top guitars. What a total load of nonsense, and the Martinites lap it all up. They must also watch The View lol! A nice Adi top looks great, no need to cover them up, unless it's full of warts and pimples maybe.
That's hilarious
I think this guitar will go down in history as a clown choice, A flop! Where it could have been one much sort after. Chris Martin clearly has no idea what Wabi is, or Rustic, Poor mans, Ugly but good, Classic old timer, Americana,,, I could go on with describing words of what it should have been. But he chooses a 1980's laminate kitchen bench top instead ??? Or Fake! Not holding high hopes for what the 200 year Martin guitar will be,,, It's definitely cheapened the brand
Nope.
It sounds like a Martin (read: Guild stuffed with plastic shopping bags) which is about the only "redeeming" quality I can give it.
Otherwise its an overpriced attempt to hoard good wood while simultaneously making laminate Brazilian backs as if that doesn't make any serious Martin player's soul cry.