Members Grant Harding Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 What's the best model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katopp Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 When I was in Nazareth a few years ago, I've had the Grand Tour with exclusive access to the museum. Was ble to play a D-100, which was very good. The Leonardo Guitar left me a bit cold, though. The D-100 was even better than the D-45's.My money would go to the D-100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 Best in absolute terms or best for the money? If the former, I honestly haven't played enough Martins to know. If the latter, I've heard good things about the OM-21. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blind Dog Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 SSC-OM35-15 EH Edit: with 5859 previous posts, I assumed op already knew replies would be subjective, and definitive enlightenment was unlikely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 I was just in Nazareth this past weekend. They didn't have the D-100 out to play. They did have an OM-28V which I thought would fit the bill for someone looking for the "one" and only Martin in their collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhandler Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 I don't believe there is a "best" model of anything, much less a guitar. Here's why I say that... Guitars are tools that help you do a job. Different jobs, require different tools. Sooooo... Sometimes a big dread is needed and other times a small parlor sized is what's required. Add in the player personal preferences and the options get multiplied by a zillion or more. It's whatever works for you at the time you need it to. "Best" is relative at best! Having said all that... Some of my personal favorites are the Golden Era and Authentic models. I'm still in love with my 000-18GE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chris Loeffler Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 I wouldn't say "the best", but to my ears, this is probably the most "Martin" sounding Martin https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/standard-series/hd-28/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 ^ try the "V" version with the forward shifted bracing. The neck may not be for most but the tone is - as they used to say in the early 2000s: PHAT (pretty hot and tempting) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigald18 Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 I think the best Martin is the one you like the best. I have owned a D28, a 000-15, and my own D18 copy. The only one I really liked was the D18 copy that I made. My favorite guitar of all steel strings was an Alvarez MF70? which had solid rosewood back and sides and a spruce top. It had a wonderful sound and playability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I wouldn't say "the best", but to my ears, this is probably the most "Martin" sounding Martin https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/standard-series/hd-28/ I agree that there's no "best" since everyone's needs and tastes vary, but if I was going to get a Martin, that's probably the one I'd want, or a variation thereof. My friend has a V-version of a D-18 that's pretty wonderful too. It sounds and records at least as good as my father in law's 1955 D-18. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chris Loeffler Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 By no means am I saying one is better, but to my ears- OM = TaylorDread = Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neal Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 No no no, the BEST Martin is that one with the wood stuff and that one guy plays that looks all cool and shnit. Y'know that one song that goes da-da dad-beeum-dum. It's really cool, and that's what we should be going after. I think it's got 6 or so strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neal Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 But seriously, the best Martin you'll find usually has a headstock that's flat on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Glenn F Posted October 17, 2016 Members Share Posted October 17, 2016 Martins are my favourite mass-produced guitars. I haven't played enough to know which one is 'the best,' but my D-28, OM-21, and 000-M are damn good guitars. However: their prices here have skyrocketed over the last 2 years. They went up so much that I had to reluctantly abort my plan to get one of the new D-18s (they went from about €1950 to €2,650 in TWO years). I could easily get back what I paid for for my D-28 and OM-21, but they will have to be pried from my cold dead hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigald18 Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 Prices for back and sides woods have skyrocketed because of environmental restrictions. A back and sides set dread size of good quality will set you back at least 200 (mahogany) and the more exotic woods can be 500. Just for the raw wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sdelsolray Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 What's the best model? There is no "best" model. There are subjective choices which some individuals making those choices will consider "best" (for them). Others will choose differently. For example, a D28 Authntic may be considered "best" by some bluegrass players. Ragtime/blues fingerstyle players could easily prefer a 000 12 fret with mahogany and Adirondack and shun the D28 Authentic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strayGoat Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 There are so many great ones, and they continue to conceive more of them. Saw a 00-DB Jeff Tweedy model when I was git shopping recently. That was unexpected. They had a nearly flawless display model there for about $1500. Not what I was looking for, but I gave it a play and damn... It's also much, much prettier than any of the pics I've seen online. I'm now a believer in the M/0000 series from Martin. I did not expect to end up with an M-36. Having bought and sold so many acoustics over the years, the latter generally out of brutal necessity, if necessary I would have spent a lot more than I did - my mindset being to find something I really love, no compromises, and hang onto it forever. But once I'd tried out the M-36, there was just no reason to spend more than its price. I was hooked. Still am. "Best" is too dang subjective for me. There are a lot of Martins I could love. The new (2012 and beyond) D-18 standard is an unbelievably great guitar and, IMHO, a serious bargain in that lineup. OM-21 has always been a killer. HD-28 is a glorious beast. Creating just one great model is an accomplishment. Martin has created scores of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FretFiend. Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 Although Martin makes some excellent smaller size guitars, they are most famous for their dreadnoughts, particularly the 'standard' line, or the 18 and above models. Anything under that? Meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 What's the best model? I don't think about it quite that way. Any maker is gonna mess up big time and produce at least one guitar I might stumble upon that gets two snaps from me, but I haven't touched a guitar in any store I've visited this past year when buying strings and thumbpicks. Guessing, my stumbling days are probably gone as well. Now, yesterday I was getting some D'Addario Pro-Arte EJ46 strings at a store that caters to music education and there was this too-cool metallic blue plated trombone hanging way up on the wall. That was one fancy spit-stick. On the guitar side they had some Breedloves that were quite handsome specimens of conventional-looking (Martin-esque) acoustics. I almost pulled one down but remembered I had a sock drawer to organize at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strayGoat Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 I almost pulled one down but remembered I had a sock drawer to organize at home. Those things are harder and more time consuming to organize than I think most people ever give them credit for. The problem, I find, is the inevitable rummaging in the morning for the right socks while you're in a rush. This creates a task for my evening self that preoccupies my mind during the day, sapping my energy and focus. Will these hardships never cease? Yet I soldier on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 Yes, and once accomplished and the brow cleansed of sweat, all reward is dashed by discovering a pair of odd socks the following morning. Breakfast, totally incongruous with the moment's angst, lies uneaten on the table to become the evening's clean-up. It's the beginning of a chain reaction physicists could learn something from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 In my opinion? J-40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tony Burns Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 the best model is what ever model you own -to me its my '06 OM28v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted October 18, 2016 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 Thanks guys. I'm going to sell off my OK acoustics and go for an astounding one this year. The absolute best acoustics I've played are both Gibsons, but my sample size is really low. I've played great Martins as well though and I've heard amazing ones. The stores here have a really limited range. I really want a cutaway, but not if it's going to destroy the unplugged sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Delmont Posted October 18, 2016 Members Share Posted October 18, 2016 Best in absolute terms or best for the money? If the former' date=' I honestly haven't played enough Martins to know. . . .[/quote'] And so say all of us. They have so many models these days that it's impossible to answer if you don't work for the company. The two most popular models have got to be the D-18 and D-28. Both are great guitars. The OM and 000 series are also very popular - again, for good reasons. It used to be that Martin's biggest competitor was Martin - so many people were buying used Martins that the company wasn't moving enough new ones. So they started all these new product lines - upscale, downscale, electrified, torrefied, traveler models, goth models, signature models, products for all kinds of niche markets. Personally, I'd be inclined to buy one of the tried-and-true models that established their reputation. You can't go wrong that way. Those guitars have been popular for so many years for a reason. Del www.thefullertons.net ( •)—::: Sent on my '71 D-28 PS - Just adding this: I called OMs and 000s series. They're not. They're sizes. What I meant was that smaller MODELS are also popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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