NAMM 2017: Product Preview - Martin Titanium Core Acoustic Guitar Strings

Aloha!

I headed into the Martin booth at this Year’s Winter NAMM to try out their new Titanium Core strings that I saw on the media preview day, and it was utter chaos. They have a lot of new products this year, so they were very busy. But, I did manage to flag down someone to talk about these strings and enjoyed a few strums on a guitar that was loaded up a set of their latest and greatest.

I have been using Martin strings on my acoustics for years, so I am pretty familiar with their products. In fact, they are my preferred acoustic strings and I have never had any complaints about them. The company’s goal with the Titanium Core strings is increased corrosion resistance (extended life), better stability, and increased playability due to reduced player fatigue. Who could argue with this?

Sets of light gauge Titanium Core strings will be available this spring (March 31), with other gauges to follow later. From what I could tell, these strings felt to be about the same tension as the Martin light gauge phosphor bronze strings that I usually use.

Overall, the fingertip feel was very normal for nickel strings (the titanium core is wire wrapped with nickel, and the plain strings are cryogenically treated stainless steel). The volume seemed to be a bit more than what I am used to with their conventional strings, with the caveat than NAMM is the worst place on the planet to evaluate anything acoustic.

I am not sure how the Titanium Core strings will live up to the rest of Martins promises, such as long life and better stability. One thing I do know is that for the price, they better last a really long time. These strings run $39.99 a set, and if the president makes a tariff on Mexican goods come true, the price might go up even more. Stay tuned, and I will let you know what I think after I get a set to try in the real world!

For more details go to martinguitar.com for more details.

Mahalo!

Goya G-312 Acoustic Guitar Review

Hello!

Today we are going to look at something a little different today - a pretty cool budget acoustic guitar that I picked up from Craigslist. This is an early 1990s Goya G-312 6-string dreadnaught.

Goya guitars were an offshoot of Sweden’s Levin, and were an effort for the company to enter the US Market. Martin bought the Goya brand in 1976 and used it to produce budget instruments overseas. This was particularly important to them as around that time many Japanese companies were building guitars that looked just like theirs, and it was hurting their business. So, the Goya brand was Martin’s effort to fight back. Initial production was in Japan, and eventually was moved to Korea. Martin gave up on this experiment in 1996 and eventually sold the name to a food company. Goyas are generally good guitars, though they were not wildly successful.

The G-312 guitar that we are looking at today was probably built in Korea, though it is hard to get an exact date as there is no serial number and very little information about these instruments online. I am thinking it is from the early 1990s. The model name is a complete mystery, as this is pretty much a copy of the Martin D-18 dreadnaught and nothing seems to correspond to this. The “G” might stand for “guitar” or “Goya” or “good enough.” Who knows? As far as the “312,” that is anybody’s guess.

The triple-bound body has the traditional broad-shouldered shape, and there are 14 frets clear from the body. The top appears to be solid spruce, and the back and sides are mahogany, though I cannot tell if it is solid or a laminate. I am going with laminate until I figure out otherwise. The neck is mahogany with a rosewood overlay and a silkscreen inlaid logo that is fading, and the fretboard is rosewood too. The bridge is painted to look like ebony. Sad.

This guitar had been played regularly and was kept in a loving home, so it did not really need much attention when I got it. It has a good set-up and there are no repairs or unsightly damage to speak of.

It plays very well. The neck has a pleasantly rounded profile that is fairly slim and fast, and the tone is very rich and loud. The sounds is well balanced from string to string, though I think it would be nice to find a compensated bridge saddle as the intonation is just a touch off. Also, the sealed tuners are cheap and do not hold as well as I would like them to. But, it is certainly good enough for anything I will be doing with it, especially at the bargain basement price I paid for it.

I rarely see Goya guitars on the market as once players get their hands on them they do not let them go. Generally they are solid instruments, but it is a good idea to try before you buy (be careful with eBay), as I have run into a few clunkers and shoddy repairs. If you have one, post a comment below, I am curious what you think!

Mahalo!

1990s Sigma SDM-18 Acoustic Guitar Review

Hiya!

We are going to look at something a little different today - a pretty cool budget acoustic guitar that I picked up at the monthly flea market they have by my house. This is an early 1990s Sigma SDM-18 6-string dreadnaught.

Sigma guitars were introduced in 1970 as an attempt by the venerable Marin guitar company to get a toehold into the entry level guitar market by licensing the production of instruments from overseas. This was particularly important to them as around that time many Japanese companies were building guitars that looked just like theirs, and it was hurting their business. So, the Sigma brand was their effort to fight back.

The Sigmas were good guitars, though not wildly successful, and in 1984 production moved to Korea. Seeking further reductions in labor costs, in 1994 they stated importing instruments from Taiwan, and then Indonesia by the time Martin folded the brand in 2007. A German company (AMI Musical Instruments GmbH) bought the name and started selling made in China guitars.

The SDM-18 guitar that we are looking at today was built in Korea, though it is hard to get an exact date as the serial numbers seem to have been issued with little rhyme or reason. The model name is a little easier to figure out, as this is pretty much a copy of the Martin D-18 dreadnaught. The “M” in the model name stands for mahogany side and back, and the “S” is a mystery. Maybe it stands for solid wood (top and/or back and sides), or maybe it means that there are scalloped braces, but I am not exactly seeing any in there…

The body has the traditional broad-shouldered shape, and there are 14 frets clear from the body. The top is solid spruce, and as I said earlier the back and sides are mahogany, though I cannot tell if it is solid or a laminate. I am going with laminate until I figure out otherwise. The neck is mahogany with a rosewood overlay and an inlaid logo, and the bridge and fretboard are rosewood too.

This guitar had been sitting for years before I got my mitts on it, and it came with a plastic case with foam that had completely disintegrated. So, there were little foam bits stuck all over it and piled up inside the body too. I did a quick cleanup on it, but when I am done with school it will need a more thorough cleaning and fret polish. It is otherwise in good shape with no cracks or repairs and the frets show very little wear. The spruce top has darkened nicely, and it is very attractive.

It plays very well, too. The neck has a pleasantly rounded profile that is fairly slim and fast, and the tone is very rich and loud. The sounds is pretty well balanced from string to string, though I think it would be nice to find a compensated bridge saddle as the intonation is just a touch off. It is certainly good enough for anything I will be doing with it, especially at the bargain basement price I paid for it.

I rarely see Japanese-built Sigma guitars on the market as once players get their hands on them they do not let them go. I di see Korean ones every now and then, and generally they are solid instruments, but it is a good idea to try before you buy (be careful with eBay), as I have run into a few clunkers and shoddy repairs. If you have one, post a comment below, I am curious what you think!

Mahalo!

Martin C1K Concert Ukulele Review

Aloha!

Though I have owned and played many Martin guitars over the years, I have only had experience with a few of their ukuleles, and today we are going to take a look at one of their more affordable offerings: the C1K concert-sized uke.

If you know anything about guitars, you are probably aware that Pennsylvania’s Martin Guitars is the premier mass-production luthier in the world. Every major artist has played their instruments at one time or another, from Eric Clapton to Johnny Cash to Elvis. Well, they make other instruments too, and they have been in the ukulele business for a long time, and they currently make instruments that cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $5000 and more.

The C1K is a handsome little ukulele, with a clear satin finish over the solid Hawaiian Koa body and top, with a nice network of Spruce bracing to keep to top in place. There is a Spartan aesthetic with no binding to be found anywhere, and a simple white and black rosette. No electronics are available, and you can get one of these as a lefty (I think).

The neck looks like Mahogany and it has a Morado(looks like Rosewood) fretboard. The fretwork on this one excellent, and I cannot ever imagine wearing them out with nylon uke strings. The bridge is also made of Morado, and there is a Tusq nut and compensated saddle. The machined Grover tuners are open gear, and they are just beautiful.

The C1K ukuleles are made in Mexico, but the quality appears to be about as good Martin’s domestically produced instruments, which is not something I would ordinarily say about some of their south of the border offerings. The finish is clear and even, the joints are tight, and this one came out of the box with a good set-up and ready to play. Don’t sniff at where they are made – there is no way Martin could hit this price point if these things were built in the America.

It plays very well, with good intonation, a sweet neck feel, and it is comfortable to hold. It also sounds very good, with nice projection and a sweet tone that makes it sound older than it is. The strings it comes with are pretty iffy, but they are easy enough to change. It is perfect companion for traveling, especially with the uber-nice TKL gig bag that it comes with.

The Martin C1K is a good instrument that comes in at a reasonable price (list = $629, street = $479), and I am glad that Martin stepped up and made a better instrument this time around. But, it is not as good of a value as the horde of medium-grade ukuleles that are coming out of China by the container load. Those instruments are at least $100 cheaper, are often prettier, and sound almost as good. You will not go wrong with the Martin, but you might want to compare before you buy.

Mahalo!

2014 Martin S1 Soprano Ukulele Review

Aloha!

As a Martin guitar fanboy, it is surprising that I have not reviewed any of their ukuleles yet. Over the next few months I am going to take care of this oversight, and today we are looking at one of the company’s more affordable models, the S1 soprano uke.

If you know anything about guitars, you are probably aware that Pennsylvania’s Martin Guitars is the premier mass-production luthiers in the world. Every major artist has played their instruments at one time or another, from Eric Clapton to Johnny Cash to Elvis. Well, they make other instruments too, and they have been in the ukulele business for a long time, and they currently make instruments that cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $5000 and more.

The S1 is a soprano uke, and it replaced the miserable S0 model a few years ago. The S0 had a slew of features, including a tinny sound, no fret markers, poor bracing, bridges that did not want to stay put, and a super-thin body that would crack if you looked at it funny. The S1 fixed all of that stuff!

It is a handsome little ukulele, with a clear satin finish over the all-mahogany body, that has more complete Spruce bracing than the model it replaces. There is a Spartan aesthetic with no binding to be found anywhere, and a simple white and black rosette. No electronics are available, and you can get one of these as a lefty, if you wish.

The neck is also mahogany and it has a rosewood (or is that Morado?) fretboard. The fretwork on this one excellent, and I cannot ever imagine wearing them out with nylon uke strings. The bridge is made of rosewood, and there is a Tusq nut and compensated saddle. The Grover tuners are basic straight pegs through the headstock, and they are adjustable for tension, fortunately.

The S1 ukuleles are made in Mexico, but the quality appears to be as Martin’s domestically produced instruments, which is not something I would say about the S0. The finish is clear and even, the joints are tight, and they come out of the box with a good set-up so they are ready to play. Don’t sniff at where they are made – there is no way Martin could hit this price point if these things were built in the America.

It plays very well, with good intonation, a sweet neck feel, and it is comfortable to hold. It also sounds very good, with nice projection and a sweet tone that makes it sound older than it is. Of course it is awfully small for a big guy like me, but this one is tiny so it is perfect for traveling, especially with the uber-nice TKL gig bag that it comes with. Let me also say that this is the lightest Martin instrument I have ever owned, coming in at round 13 ounces.

The Martin S1 is a good instrument that comes in at a reasonable price (list = $499, street = $379), and I am glad that Martin stepped up and made a better instrument this time around. But, it is not as good of a value as the horde of medium-grade ukuleles that are coming out of China by the container load. Those instruments are at least $100 cheaper, are often prettier, and sound almost as good. You will not go wrong with the Martin, but you might want to compare before you buy.

Mahalo!

2008 Martin HD-28V Custom Acoustic Guitar Review

Hiya!

Today we are looking at a guitar that unfortunately never stood a chance in my collection, a 2008 Martin HD-28V Custom acoustic, that was part of a special run of 10 that were produced for Gruhn Guitars of Nashville, Tennessee. This is not fault of the guitar, but rather is the victim of my return to school and the complete lack of time to play very much anymore – my D18-GE is still the number one guitar in my life. However, this is still a beautiful dreadnought that anyone in his or her right mind would be proud to possess.

The HD-28V is the most popular model in the Martin vintage series, and it is a fairly faithful replica of the original rosewood dreadnought. As I said, this is one of ten custom guitars that were built for Gruhn six years ago. They incorporated popular pre-war features into a vintage herringbone D-2 format, including: grained ivoroid bindings, forward-shifted scalloped bracing, butterbean tuning machines, and a diamond-and-squares fingerboard inlay. These combine to result in an exceptional pre-war re-creation in both tone and appearance.

For Gruhn, they went a step further and used an Adirondack spruce top, Indian Rosewood sides and back, Golden Era style Adirondack bracing and a thicker 1-3/4" nut width to make this HD-28V even better. Finished off with a gloss body finish, aging toner on top and a bevelled & polished tortoise pickguard this guitar became an instant classic.

This Adirondack top provides ample power suitable for most applications. The tone is punchy, bright, clear and loud. Additionally, the Adirondack top allows for lots of headroom and power when you need it. Adirondack is the stiffest tonewood and provides an instant attack and unmatched clarity, though it takes a bit more pick attack to drive it.

The body has zig-zag herringbone black and white binding, which always looks very nice, and it carries over to the purfling on the back. The V-shaped neck is a fine piece of workmanship. It is made of satin-finished hand-shaped mahogany with an ebony fretboard (the bridge base is ebony too). The neck is not bound, and 14 of its 20 frets are clear of the body, which is a change that Martin made in 1934. The neck has an easy and shallow profile, with a 16-inch radius. The nut and compensated bridge are both made of bone.

Of course the craftsmanship is first-rate. It came to me perfectly set up, and the nut and fretwork is unparalleled. It plays very smoothly, and it feels very comfortable even without any break-in period. It can be a very loud guitar, and the more you lean into it, the more you realize how well balanced it is from string to string. I go back and forth on whether I like the sound of mahogany or rosewood better, but the tone of this one is great, so rosewood it is…

The limited edition Gruhn guitars are all gone, but you can get close with a standard HD-28V if you are willing to pay the price. These guitars are fantastic, but not terribly cheap. A brand new Martin HD-28V has a list price of $4599 and a street price of $3499, which includes a nice hard case and a limited lifetime warranty for the original purchaser. Think of it as an investment in your future, as these guitars will last a lifetime if kept in a loving environment. By the way, a while back I went on the Martin factory tour and got to see first-hand the care that goes into building these guitars, and it made me proud to own one. If you are ever in Eastern Pennsylvania, I highly recommend that you stop by their factory for a tour.

Fortunately, I was able to find a good home for this fine instrument, and I am sure that I will come to regret selling it. But, guitars were meant to be played, and to have this one just siting in its case was certainly a crime.

Mahalo!

2002 Martin D-17 Acoustic Guitar Review

Hiya!

I am a big fan of Martin guitars, and given a choice I will pick one of their instruments over similar models from other makers. Today we are looking at something a little different from them, the all-mahogany D-17.

The first thing too note is that this is not the same guitar as the currently produced D-17M, nor the D-15M, which is similar in appearance. They discontinued this model many years back, but this particular instrument has a little bit of history behind it.

This guitar has a serial number that dates it to 2002 because it was started back then discovered last year somewhere in their huge factory, long after the model had been discontinued. Martin went ahead and finished it up and shipped it out to a guitar shop in Ohio, where it was finally retailed.

This D-17 features a glossy finish over its solid mahogany top, sides and back. This is different than the current D-17M, which uses a Sitka spruce top that is tinted to look like mahogany (and the cheaper-looking satin finish on the sides and back). This instrument has a classy faux tortoise shell binding black and white purfling around the top, and the rosette is the 17 type.

The neck on this guitar is hand-carved mahogany with a low oval profile, and it is topped with a black micarta fretboard that kind of looks like ebony. The front of the headstock has a nice piece of East Indian rosewood laminated onto it, and the Martin logo is presented in gold foil, which matches the gold-plated sealed tuners.

This was a fairly expensive guitar (list price around $2000), and the craftsmanship is worthy of the price. The fretwork is very good, all of the joints are solid and even, and the finish is clear and even (but not too thick). If you ever have the chance to go to the Martin Factory tour in Eastern Pennsylvania, make sure that you go. The pride that their employees have in what they are doing is impressive, and the facility is unbelievable.

It plays very easily, and the sound is unique when compared to other Martin dreadnaughts. There is more bass than my D-18 or HD-28, but the tone is still even and it has a very sweet sound. It has a relatively narrow 1 11/16-inch nut, and it is well-suited to either strumming of flat picking. I would prefer a bit wider nut for fingerpicking, though. It is a good bluegrass or blues guitar, but it also has a versatile enough tone that it could be used for jazz too, if that is your thing.

It is a winner.

This D-17 came with the original factory hardshell case, which is about as nice as they come. Things like this really round out the package and reinforce the quality of the instrument, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I was not be able to hold onto this fine instrument as I have two killer Martins (D-18 Golden Era and HD-28V Custom) that are just not getting enough play time. So I moved it along to a better home – too many guitars, and not enough time!

Mahalo!

Little Martin LX1E Acoustic Electric Parlour Guitar Review

Greetings!

Because I travel a lot for work, I usually take along a guitar to try to keep my fingers in shape. If you have flown lately, you know what a hassle it can be, so I try to bring along a smaller-profile instrument. I have experimented with different travel guitars, and my current favorite is the Little Martin LX1E.

My goal was to find something that would fit easily in the overhead bin, be reasonably priced, play well, and sound good. There are plenty of products on the market that do the first two things, but they often end up being miserable to play and/or sounding like crap (e.g. the Martin Backpacker or any of those crummy little Yamaha ¾ size acoustics). So the obvious choices were the Little Martin or the small-size Taylors. So, when it came time to pick up a 3/4 –size guitar, I did my due diligence, and A/B’d the Little Martin with the Baby Taylor and the Taylor Mini GS. Both of the Taylors are fantastic instruments, and played very well, but the Baby Taylor doe not sound good to me, and the GS is pretty close to a full-sized instrument.

The Little Martin is not assembled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, as this would be impossible at this price point due to higher labor costs here. Instead, it is put together (with parts made in the US) at their factory in Mexico, the same one that builds their lower end and Backpacker instruments. Also, the Little Martin does not use much in the way of solid woods. The top is Sitka spruce, but the back and sides are wood-patterned HPL, which stands for high-pressure laminate. The neck is what they call Stratabond, which is a laminated piece with about 35 strips of wood glued together. Martin markets these components as being environmentally responsible, but we all know that they use them because they are cheap. I don’t see too much of a downside with either one of these for a travel guitar, as these materials are quite sturdy and are stuck together well.

The top has X-series Sitka spruce bracing, like the cheaper Martin D-1 and DM models. This is a simpler, lightweight "A-frame" system that uses less braces. The cross braces are tapered drastically at the ends to improve flexibility at the edges of the top to improve bass response at the expense of the treble range. There is no free lunch, you know. the neck has a glued mortise and tenon joint, unlike some of its competitors that use bolt-on necks (Baby Taylor). The fretboard and bridge base are made of Richlite, which looks kind of like rosewood but is actually a composite material that has a phenolic resin injected under high pressure into some sort of fiber (god know what), and then baked. Kind of like fiberglass or carbon fiber, I guess. Anyway it is hard as a rock, and sounds nice. You will also find chrome-plated Gotoh Tuners and a classy-looking Martin logo on the peghead.

The overall look is rather Spartan, with no binding to be found anywhere and no pickguard. There is no glossy lacquer or poly here, either, just a hand-rubbed finish. If I hold onto this it might get a pickguard, just to church it up a little bit. Like I hold onto anything very long…

Though it is small, the Little Martin is easy to play. It has a 23-inch scale (about 2 1/2 inches shorter than a full-size guitar), so it is not too much of a transition to this instrument. The neck has a flat oval shape, and it is considerably easier to play than Martin’s miserable Backpacker models. With the 1 11/16-inch nut and a 16-inch radius fretboard fingerstyle is possible, and it is fun to play melody lines on it. The body is a modified 0-14 shape, and it is big enough that it can be comfortably played on the knee, though I still prefer to use a strap, even when sitting. There is no neck dive and It is nice to have a body to rest my right arm against – both of these are big minuses for the Backpacker.

I got rid of my Little Martin LXK2 to get this LX1E because of the E in the name, which means “electronics.” This instrument has a Fishman ISYS T onboard preamp system. It has Volume, Tone shaping, and Phase controls with a Fishman Sonicore pickup. It does not take up much space on the upper bout, and it even includes a kind of crummy tuner. There is a separate battery box down by the endpin, and it takes a conventional 9-volt battery.

Besides playing well, it sounds pretty nice, too, especially when plugged in. Though it lacks the bass and punch of a dreadnought, it is loud enough for practicing or around the campfire, plus it sounds less tinny than the small Taylors, and nothing like the nasally Backpacker model. Apparently their bracing system lives up to its promises. It does not have a very complicated or rich sound, but it has even volume from string to string, and … This particular guitar was very well put together by the folks down Mexico way, and the fretwork was very good. Intonation is pretty close to perfect. I picked it up secondhand from a pawnshop, and though it was pretty filthy it cleaned up nicely and has a good set-up with medium gauge strings.

The Little Martin sounds good enough and plays so well that I think this would be a great starter guitar for kids or people with small hands, and obviously it is a great instrument for the travelling business man. This guitar comes with a nice padded gig bag, which has worked well for travel, but there is one caveat. On small regional jets there is just not enough room in the overhead bins (and no closet), so I have had to gate check it a few times. It has handled all of this with no problems, so it is super-durable. But…it still makes me nervous enough that I ended up springing for an SKB molded hard case. Now this thing is ready to travel anywhere and I can have peace of mind. By the way, it weighs 3 pounds, 10 ounces, which is not too bad either.

I have save the best part for last, and that is the price. The Little Martin LX1E has a list price of $519 and a street price of $399, which includes the nice gig bag and a one-year warranty. This is a hundred bucks more than the model without a pickup, but I think the extra expense is worth it. You will get a lot of guitar for not much cash, so you should check one out if you get a chance.

Mahalo!