Members Andrewrg Posted March 31, 2005 Members Share Posted March 31, 2005 You know what these sad souls are doing now?They want to send in their dollars to buy Mr Martin a nice 50th birthday present as a gesture of gratitude for"all the things he has done for the UMGF"and "being members of the family!" Get a friggin`life! No matter how charming,altruistic and charitable Mr Martin may be on a personal level,when it comes to business all he`s interested in is selling guitars and keeping his company afloat. So,I said I was gonna give Bill Gates some money for being such a great guy and letting me use a computer! I cant believe the fawning,bowing and scraping attitude I see there. Rant over. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members olyeller Posted March 31, 2005 Members Share Posted March 31, 2005 Yeah. In situations like this just follow the money trail ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted March 31, 2005 Members Share Posted March 31, 2005 Man, you are crackin' me up!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted March 31, 2005 Members Share Posted March 31, 2005 Hmm, do they still do that over the former Unofffical Taylor Guitar Forum too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solitaire Posted March 31, 2005 Members Share Posted March 31, 2005 Spot on! Having increased the output of acoustic guitars to 300,000 between 1999 and 2004 (that's 60,000 a year, 5,000 a month or 165 aday) I'm sure CFM has no cashflow problem. I'd give that money in charity to those who never even seen a Martin guitar but live only a stone throw away from trees to be used as tonewoods. To Chris that money is a drop in the ocean, to those indogent people that money could mean survival. I think I'd buy president G.W. Bush a nuclear device he could fiddle around with on his spare time, as a tribute to his successful liberation of the world [ironic]. Suppose I shouldn't put a label saying "What ever you do: don't push this button"; if I would I'm sure he would push it to see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hockeygabor Posted March 31, 2005 Members Share Posted March 31, 2005 I too was a bit surprised with what they did....it should be the opposite-Mr Martin should celebrate his birthday and his company's success by sending a set of free strings to all of his loyal customers.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Andrewrg Posted March 31, 2005 Author Members Share Posted March 31, 2005 Well,thank goodness I`m not the only one!For a moment I thought I was being mean and heartless. The reality is the guy is CEO of a multi-million dollar business and I doubt he gives a flying f***about birthday gifts from a thousand anonymous forum members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solitaire Posted March 31, 2005 Members Share Posted March 31, 2005 Originally posted by JasmineTea Man, you are crackin' me up!! Would that be Martin the guitar or Martin the family? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FingerBone Bill Posted April 1, 2005 Members Share Posted April 1, 2005 They're probably sucking up to Martin so he doesn't pull the plug on their forum like Bob Taylor did to the Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum. Probably got the idea from the Taylor forum too - they all chipped in to buy JR (their Admin) a cool guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guit30 Posted April 1, 2005 Members Share Posted April 1, 2005 -Really, come on now, Martin needs money, so he sell more jacked because they made in USA guitars, So he can buy some more clc machines to cut spruce wood. You really should check the unofficial Blueridge board(there is one) to hear about the complaints of toner color, string spacing and the guitars they really play (Martins) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted April 1, 2005 Members Share Posted April 1, 2005 Originally posted by solitaire Would that be Martin the guitar or Martin the family? Well I don't know much about the family, afraid if I did, I'd question the guitar's integrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members egordon99 Posted April 1, 2005 Members Share Posted April 1, 2005 Can we have that in English please? Originally posted by guit30 -Really, come on now, Martin needs money, so he sell more jacked because they made in USA guitars, So he can buy some more clc machines to cut spruce wood. You really should check the unofficial Blueridge board(there is one) to hear about the complaints of toner color, string spacing and the guitars they really play (Martins) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 35fingerpicker Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 "Well I don't know much about the family, afraid if I did, I'd question the guitar's integrity." If you and some of the other posters here did know a little more about the Martin family and the Legacy Chris is very succesfully continuing, you might not be so quick to criticize. "Integrity" and "Quality" are two words that get thrown around a lot in our current business world but at Martin, they actually mean something. Personally, I'm very impressed by any family owned company that can not only survive, but thrive, through six generations and stay at the top of its industry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 Personally I would just get the guy a nice set of golf clubs. He's probably SICK of looking at guitars all day! Now if they still want to give away a guitar - say an OM-21? - , then I'll be more than happy to take it off their hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 I think CFM aught to start a new line of git's: The 17-1/2 series; Guitars that sound like they cost $3000, but cheap enough that "musicians" can afford them...Can't tell you how many times I've met guys with ultra-expensive guitars who SUCK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 Originally posted by 35fingerpicker "Well I don't know much about the family, afraid if I did, I'd question the guitar's integrity." If you and some of the other posters here did know a little more about the Martin family and the Legacy Chris is very succesfully continuing, you might not be so quick to criticize. I own two Martins and like them very much. Thing is, with the low-end models(witch I own) you have to pick through a lot of them before you find the"good"one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GN-Nick Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 not to get too off topic..... Jasmine, that is EXACTLY what I'm talking about when people start talking about should they upgrade to a new guitar, or get fossilized pteradactyl claw bridge pins or how much difference does solid side vs laminate side make. The best guitar in the world will sound like crap if you don't know how to play it. What makes a guitar sound better? Practice. Rant over. I like the man's guitars. If he can make a pretty penny selling them, more power to him. I won't be contributing to the gift fund though. I'm saving up for a HD-28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 35fingerpicker Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 "I own two Martins and like them very much. Thing is, with the low-end models(witch I own) you have to pick through a lot of them before you find the"good"one." Your post points out what I believe to be the biggest marketing problem with Martins right now. It seems as though a lot of people (especially on this forum) have less than great opinions of Martin "quality" based on what they've seen at Guitar Center or Sam Ash and other megastores. I really can't blame these people for their perspective; I've seen what these stores do to their Martins, mainly through neglect. Pour setups, nasty crusty strings, and misinformed salespeople are pretty much the order of the day in a lot of these places. Since guitars are made of wood, a natural substance, there will be variations in tone, even within a particular model, but overall, the build quality of Martins is the same, regardless of the price. The fit and finish on my 000-15 is every bit as good as any factory built guitar I've ever played (and I've played for over 40 years). Does it look and/or sound as good as my OM-35? Of course not, but it does routinely blow away $2000-$3000 Taylors at open mics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 Originally posted by 35fingerpicker Your post points out what I believe to be the biggest marketing problem with Martins right now. I would'nt mind hearing a little more about that. "Every guitar is our BEST effort" -CFM. If this was true, I could get a D-1 that sounds as good as a Clarence White. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Andrewrg Posted April 2, 2005 Author Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 Originally posted by JasmineTea I would'nt mind hearing a little more about that. Martin grade the top woods out of 7.Typically styles 40 and above are graded 5/6.The grade is pencilled under the top down by the bottom bout and looks like S/5(sitka,grade 5),or,eg,A/4(adirondack,grade 4). Therefore the chances are very good that,cosmetic appointments aside,your D45 MAY sound better than your D28. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 I guess with a company that big, flukes are to be expected in both directions, high-end sounding crummy, low-end sounding great. I'd forgot about the top-gradeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chirpy_72 Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 Martin's grading system pertains more to the cosmetics of the cut of wood more than anything else ( straighter grain, amt of silking, bearclaw etc ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 35fingerpicker Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 "Every guitar is our BEST effort" -CFM." The effort Chris is referring to is the actual construction of the guitar. Like any commodity, a guitar's production cost is determined by more than the amount is costs to put it together. Your comparison of a D-1 and a D-28CW is an excellent illustration. Back and side woods-Solid Indian or Brazilian (CWB) Rosewood is a lot more expensive than laminated(or solid back) Mahogany. Fingerboards and bridges-Solid Black Ebony costs a lot more than In dian Rosewood. Top Woods- High Grade Adirondack Spruce costs a lot more than Lower Grade Sitka Spruce. Finishes- It takes a lot more time and labor to do a Nitrocellulose High Gloss Lacquer finish than a Catalyzed Lacquer Satin finish. Have you noticed that I haven't said anything about inlays yet? Why does the CW sound better? Tone is pretty subjective. Different woods produce different tones. A lot of people prefer the tone of Rosewood over Mahogany. I happen to like them both but traditionally, Martin's Mahogany guitars were of simpler designs so their prices were lower. The higher-end guitars do get higher grades of these woods also and, of course, straight grained, consistently colored,"prettier" woods cost more. Generally, stiffer top woods produce better tone and tighter grained Spruce tops tend to be stiffer. Martin says they grade their tops by appearance only but basically, better looking tops sound better (there is, however, certainly no consensus on this point). They have basically 4 grade "ranges" (my term, not Martin's) within each species of Spruce. They are 1/2, 3/4/, 5/6, and 7/8. The 7/8's are reserved for Vintage Series, Limited Editions, Signature Editions, and 40 Series guitars. It is possible to get a higher grade top in a "lower" series guitar by special ordering it (at additional cost) or, ocassionally there may be a temporary shortage of a given grade for a certain model so that guitar could receive a higher grade top than that specified for that model but it would never receive a lower than specified grade. Most of this information comes from the very knowledgeable "sad souls" that post on the UMGF but my personal experience has proven to be pretty consistent with what I've read there. I'm saving for a D-18VS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chirpy_72 Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 I don't doubt that a by-product of having a higher quality graded top ( cosmetically ) is in general a better sounding top .... I've got a D-41 and a OM28V that will attest to that ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted April 2, 2005 Members Share Posted April 2, 2005 Originally posted by Chirpy_72 Martin's grading system pertains more to the cosmetics of the cut of wood more than anything else ( straighter grain, amt of silking, bearclaw etc ) What about this: My 000-1 is loaded with bear-claw..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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