I think the Furch wins on every level. Whether plectrum, fingerstyle, or strumming the Furch had better sustain, clearer note separation, and more power. Aesthetically, I prefer that beautiful white soundboard with the clear pickguard compared to the Martin look. Furch has me re-thinking my ideas of the guitar I want. I find it sad American legendary makers can no longer compete on the world stage with other makers unless you go to their model shop and have their best make the instrument and that costs much more than this Martin.
I stopped by a local music store to check out the Furch guitars they had. I played every instrument they had and kept coming back to the Vintage 2 OM-SR. I couldn’t leave without it even though I had absolutely no intention on buying a new guitar that day. As for this comparison to my ears the Martin sounds great and I would gladly give it a loving home if it needed one. However if I am spending my money I would pick the Furch every time even if they were priced the same.
The Furch sounds amazing, and is definitely more articulate. But I still love the warmth and tone of the Martin. I’m sure it depends on your style and ears.
Two beautiful sounding guitars. The Furch was amazingly expressionistic althroughout, maybe a sound I would have preferred in my younger years. At 74 Í’m quite content with a somewhat warmer and mellow sound that I heard in the Martin HD 28. Anybody walking out the door with either one must be assured these are some of the best guitars around. 😊
Dave…in this shoot out, i prefer the Furch. It sounds more forward and warm to my ear. It also sounds pretty new and will just get better from here. This Martin is a little bit scooped to me, i had an HD 28 and it was very,very good. Just shows ya gotta play em as they can all be a bit different.
I've never owned a guitar for many years or played a vintage instrument. I have been reading my out-of-print copy of A Life on The Road about the classical virtuoso Julien Bream. In chapter 3three, Bream discusses guitar construction and some of the famous classical guitar builders. At one point, Bream states: "Alas, fine guitars don't last forever. They mature for the first five years and may stay much the same for another five years. But then-and it may be sooner-they begin to lose their original vitality. The sound can still have a beautiful, veiled quality, but the wood eventually and inevitably loses its resilience." Is this true, just for classical guitars, or just an opinion of Julien Bream? Is this an example of a new Furch instrument vs an older Martin instrument?
I'll take one of each. Not really cause I have a hd-28 but would like to try the Furch in person. Sounds great on the video. There's more to consider than the tone. I know the quality of my Martin. Nice review but I've never regretted buying my Martin hd-28.
A very interesting comparison. I have several different guitars, including a Fender, a Yamaha and a Furch Orange, a higher model than the one shown in the video. I considered Martin, Taylor and Furch for a long time before purchasing them. Ultimately, I chose Furch, and the main deciding factor was the price. For a Martin HD 28 you can buy 3 Furch Green guitars. I also considered buying the Green version and the cheaper Blue version. Furch Orange defeated its cheaper brothers. Well, here's a little note, Furch Green compared in the video has a matte finish with open pores. Furch Orange has a glossy finish, but the varnish used is very specific, it is not an ordinary varnish used to paint guitars. There is a big difference in sound between the Green and Orange versions in favor of the Orange version and this guitar should be compared with the Martin, which also has a glossy finish, although the Martin is still twice as expensive as the Furch Orange, and there is also the Furch Red, price-wise close to Martin HD 28. The Furch has a fantastic sound, deep with a beautiful and long sustain. It is very selective and the bass strings sound great. It completely outclassed my other guitars. The guitar is very solid and beautifully made. It also has a completely different neck attachment, which clearly works. In the video you can hear that Furch had a much higher string action than Martin. Many times the strings were muted or buzzed, but not in the Martin. Well, let's not make it too sweet. In my new Furch Orange, costing around $3,500, the first thing I did was lower the action of the strings and the guitar started buzzing slightly. It turned out that it was optimally adjusted to its store condition. After a deeper analysis, I slightly sanded a few frets, because as it turned out, some of them were slightly sticking out. After polishing, I lowered the action even more and there is no buzzing, no ringing, and I can press it really hard while playing. Interestingly, frets 2, 3, 4 and 5 required correction, and not those in the area where the neck connects to the sound box, which proves that the Furch-patented neck mounting is very effective and does not cause its deformation. I don't know if such a situation also happens in Martin, or maybe I came across a "special" copy, but from what I see in the video, this Furch Green may have a similar problem, and the action can be lowered significantly. Currently, at the 12th fret I have about 2.1 mm on the E1 string, and on the initial frets between 0.4 and 0.5 - it is impossible to press a credit card, and the guitar tunes wonderfully at every fret. Coming back to the topic, Furch guitars are great guitars, solidly made and have a fantastic, very selective sound. Personally, I recommend it, and considering the much lower price... what more could you want. Listening to the sound of the Martin HD 28, it suits me perfectly to country music, it has this type of character, which the Furch does not have, but the Furch will work well in other types of music where the Martim's sound may be too expressive.
Excellent write-up and some really valuable info there. Thank you for putting all of this together! Does lowering the action make a noticeable difference in the tone you're getting? I know there are benefits to higher action right... So you're saying the higher action can lead to more buzzing? I never thought of this.
@@GrandpaJean I didn't notice any difference in sound after lowering the string action. It is also worth paying attention to the strings themselves. Furch has ELIXIR NANOWEB (12-53) PHOSPHOR BRONZE strings. Martin, on the other hand, uses strings of his own production. I played Martin strings for some time. They have a noticeably different sound, more expressive and stronger in the initial phase of sound. This effect disappears very quickly, a week or two is enough and the strings start to sound normal. ELIXIR strings have a more balanced sound. Moreover, from what I know, Martin very often installs 13 strings, not 12, which also has a huge impact on the sound. In a Yamaha guitar, I use strings 12-56 (hybrids, a combination of 3 strings from 12 and three from 13) to boost the Yamaha bass. When comparing guitars, it would also be worth putting the same strings on both, then the comparison would be 1:1.
I’ve been saving up for a Martin D-28 Modern Deluxe but this guy on Reddit posted his new endgame guitar. It’s a Furch Red GC-SR and it looks absolutely fantastic but I’m curious what the tonal qualities are. I’m not a big Taylor fan. I like a guitar with some bottom end to them. Hence the Martin. Does a grand auditorium with a cutaway Furch have more bass response than something like a Taylor 814ce?
I'd never heard of Furch before today. The Furch sounds like an Adirondack top, and is definitely louder. But, the Martin just has that sweet Martin tone. Very even volume from the low notes to the high. There is just "something" about a Martin. Rich, warm... I don't know.
I think the Furch wins on every level. Whether plectrum, fingerstyle, or strumming the Furch had better sustain, clearer note separation, and more power. Aesthetically, I prefer that beautiful white soundboard with the clear pickguard compared to the
Martin look. Furch has me re-thinking my ideas of the guitar I want. I find it sad American legendary makers can no longer compete on the world stage with other makers unless you go to their model shop and have their best make the instrument and that costs much more than this Martin.
I stopped by a local music store to check out the Furch guitars they had. I played every instrument they had and kept coming back to the Vintage 2 OM-SR. I couldn’t leave without it even though I had absolutely no intention on buying a new guitar that day. As for this comparison to my ears the Martin sounds great and I would gladly give it a loving home if it needed one. However if I am spending my money I would pick the Furch every time even if they were priced the same.
The Furch sounds amazing, and is definitely more articulate. But I still love the warmth and tone of the Martin. I’m sure it depends on your style and ears.
Two beautiful sounding guitars. The Furch was amazingly expressionistic althroughout, maybe a sound I would have preferred in my younger years. At 74 Í’m quite content with a somewhat warmer and mellow sound that I heard in the Martin HD 28. Anybody walking out the door with either one must be assured these are some of the best guitars around. 😊
Dave…in this shoot out, i prefer the Furch. It sounds more forward and warm to my ear. It also sounds pretty new and will just get better from here. This Martin is a little bit scooped to me, i had an HD 28 and it was very,very good. Just shows ya gotta play em as they can all be a bit different.
I've never owned a guitar for many years or played a vintage instrument. I have been reading my out-of-print copy of A Life on The Road about the classical virtuoso Julien Bream. In chapter 3three, Bream discusses guitar construction and some of the famous classical guitar builders. At one point, Bream states: "Alas, fine guitars don't last forever. They mature for the first five years and may stay much the same for another five years. But then-and it may be sooner-they begin to lose their original vitality. The sound can still have a beautiful, veiled quality, but the wood eventually and inevitably loses its resilience." Is this true, just for classical guitars, or just an opinion of Julien Bream? Is this an example of a new Furch instrument vs an older Martin instrument?
The Furch sings. I love the tone of Martins, but this Furch just sings.
I'll take one of each. Not really cause I have a hd-28 but would like to try the Furch in person. Sounds great on the video. There's more to consider than the tone. I know the quality of my Martin. Nice review but I've never regretted buying my Martin hd-28.
A very interesting comparison. I have several different guitars, including a Fender, a Yamaha and a Furch Orange, a higher model than the one shown in the video. I considered Martin, Taylor and Furch for a long time before purchasing them. Ultimately, I chose Furch, and the main deciding factor was the price. For a Martin HD 28 you can buy 3 Furch Green guitars. I also considered buying the Green version and the cheaper Blue version. Furch Orange defeated its cheaper brothers. Well, here's a little note, Furch Green compared in the video has a matte finish with open pores. Furch Orange has a glossy finish, but the varnish used is very specific, it is not an ordinary varnish used to paint guitars. There is a big difference in sound between the Green and Orange versions in favor of the Orange version and this guitar should be compared with the Martin, which also has a glossy finish, although the Martin is still twice as expensive as the Furch Orange, and there is also the Furch Red, price-wise close to Martin HD 28.
The Furch has a fantastic sound, deep with a beautiful and long sustain. It is very selective and the bass strings sound great. It completely outclassed my other guitars. The guitar is very solid and beautifully made. It also has a completely different neck attachment, which clearly works.
In the video you can hear that Furch had a much higher string action than Martin. Many times the strings were muted or buzzed, but not in the Martin. Well, let's not make it too sweet. In my new Furch Orange, costing around $3,500, the first thing I did was lower the action of the strings and the guitar started buzzing slightly. It turned out that it was optimally adjusted to its store condition. After a deeper analysis, I slightly sanded a few frets, because as it turned out, some of them were slightly sticking out. After polishing, I lowered the action even more and there is no buzzing, no ringing, and I can press it really hard while playing. Interestingly, frets 2, 3, 4 and 5 required correction, and not those in the area where the neck connects to the sound box, which proves that the Furch-patented neck mounting is very effective and does not cause its deformation. I don't know if such a situation also happens in Martin, or maybe I came across a "special" copy, but from what I see in the video, this Furch Green may have a similar problem, and the action can be lowered significantly. Currently, at the 12th fret I have about 2.1 mm on the E1 string, and on the initial frets between 0.4 and 0.5 - it is impossible to press a credit card, and the guitar tunes wonderfully at every fret.
Coming back to the topic, Furch guitars are great guitars, solidly made and have a fantastic, very selective sound. Personally, I recommend it, and considering the much lower price... what more could you want. Listening to the sound of the Martin HD 28, it suits me perfectly to country music, it has this type of character, which the Furch does not have, but the Furch will work well in other types of music where the Martim's sound may be too expressive.
Excellent write-up and some really valuable info there. Thank you for putting all of this together! Does lowering the action make a noticeable difference in the tone you're getting? I know there are benefits to higher action right... So you're saying the higher action can lead to more buzzing? I never thought of this.
@@GrandpaJean I didn't notice any difference in sound after lowering the string action.
It is also worth paying attention to the strings themselves. Furch has ELIXIR NANOWEB (12-53) PHOSPHOR BRONZE strings. Martin, on the other hand, uses strings of his own production. I played Martin strings for some time. They have a noticeably different sound, more expressive and stronger in the initial phase of sound. This effect disappears very quickly, a week or two is enough and the strings start to sound normal. ELIXIR strings have a more balanced sound. Moreover, from what I know, Martin very often installs 13 strings, not 12, which also has a huge impact on the sound. In a Yamaha guitar, I use strings 12-56 (hybrids, a combination of 3 strings from 12 and three from 13) to boost the Yamaha bass.
When comparing guitars, it would also be worth putting the same strings on both, then the comparison would be 1:1.
I’ve been saving up for a Martin D-28 Modern Deluxe but this guy on Reddit posted his new endgame guitar. It’s a Furch Red GC-SR and it looks absolutely fantastic but I’m curious what the tonal qualities are. I’m not a big Taylor fan. I like a guitar with some bottom end to them. Hence the Martin. Does a grand auditorium with a cutaway Furch have more bass response than something like a Taylor 814ce?
I'd never heard of Furch before today. The Furch sounds like an Adirondack top, and is definitely louder. But, the Martin just has that sweet Martin tone. Very even volume from the low notes to the high. There is just "something" about a Martin. Rich, warm... I don't know.
The martin sounds like a 100 famous songs. The other one is awesome too, just a bit too bright for me. Good stuff.
Lol I like my E20D
Martin for me. It sounds…sweeter.
Furch by a mile
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