leftync

It was my understanding that they were lam b&s. It that's not the case, I can see where they'd command a higher price than lower-end Yamahas, etc., although $1200 seems excessive when you can buy a new Larrivee or Martin 15 or 16 for that. Are they that much better guitars than the Blueridges and Epiphone Masterbilts and I see for so much less? I can see the appeal of a quality guitar commissioned and partly built by Martin from Martin materials, and if that's the case, I might have bought one myself to save money. I still would hesitate to call it a real Martin, but of course it doesn't have to be a real Martin to be a good or great guitar. Totamus, my original point was the flip-side of the corksniffer you mention: I've found Shenandoah prices inflated because of the Martin connection. I like Martin guitars, some quite a lot, but all three of the all-solid guitars I've owned were Larrivees. I could argue that they rival any company's product in quality, but I'd hardly argue that even JCL's compelling story can match Martin's history.

I'm not questioning that it's a decent guitar. I would assume it's the equivalent of Yamaha's or Takamines at similar price points or Martin wouldn't have used its name. What I question is the prices being asked for decent, entry-level guitrs with lam b&s because people are confusing them with real Martin D-18s and D-28s. It's like Zager or Estaban; I had an Estaban years ago. I bought it just to restring so I could see if I preferred playing lefty. I paid $12 for it; if I paid $200 or more, I wouldn't have been as satisfied.

What's the deal with some of the asking prices on the bay for the Martin Shenandoah? Some of the prices are $800 and up. I remember a lefty a few months back going for about $1200. An all-solid Larrivee (which I later bought) couldn't get a bid at $1200. My understanding was that these were simply low-cost Martins largely built in Japan using laminates and solid tops. I'm sure they're fine as an inexpensive instrument, but a far cry from Martin's standard series and up. Are they collectible? Or are they being hyped so that people think they're really getting a Martin D-18 or D-28 special edition?

Neil Young. His stuff sounds great, and it's accessible to players. And while I've never seen either of them live, video of Tommy Emmanuel and Monte Montgomery knocked me out.