What makes the tone of a guitar - Martin
 

Sorry if this has been discussed (please post link if I missed it on a search) but what makes a Martin sound like a Martin? What gives it that sound/tone that they all seem to have? As far as that is concerned, what gives any guitar a particular tone? Thanks Jed

Everything: bracing, shape, wood, etc...

185 years of getting it right. ;)

I truly believe that most builders today could replicate the tone/sound of a Martin if they chose to do so, but that's what I love about all the different guitar types. I love my Taylor for certain aspects and the tones it produces as it relates to the type of music I am playing at the time.... Same for my 12 string Guild. But I have to say that when it came time for me to purchase my first "Custom" it was Martin all the way! That is the guitar sound I have heard my whole life....

Yeah. It has a sound and tone that matches my ears I guess and I don't even have the high dollar one.

Lets get away from "Martin is the best" for this in not what the OP indicated.

You right. Just interested in how makers get a particular tone. I have very limited experience so I'm sure there are more out there I would like better or worst. I like a deep mellow tone and this Martin has that. I played a Gibson J15 a while back that also had a deep tone I liked. Should have bought it.

Every company has its "secret sauce". They develop their signature sounds and then seek ways to reproduce it with elements within their designs. If you haven't noticed, Martin seems to be changing their secret sauce with forward shifted bracing, wider nut widths. I maintain that the sound paradigm that we players expect has shifted and they're now looking for a new Martin sound that will remain relevant.

I'm starting to think it has some to do with how the braces meet and or connect to each other and the kerfing. As in are they made to touch or go over or under each other. All other things being equal that is. The neck joint is a big tone changer also.

to me they don't all have the same sound. my 0015m sure doesn't sound like my hd28. different woods, bodies, strings, etc.

play music!

What makes the tone of a guitar - Martin
 

Tonewoods, Tonewoods, Tonewoods.
The Tonewoods combined with construction create the tone of any guitar. Koa, Sapele, Mahogany all have different voices. That’s the tone of the guitars.

Primarily tone comes from construction.

The main influence is how the top vibrates, which is due to the bracing pattern, bracing shape, mass and extent of the bridge plate and materials used.

So what makes a Martin sound like a Martin is an X-brace and tone bars

What makes a Larrivee sound like a Larrivee is a parabolic X-brace and symmetric cross braces.


What makes a Martin D-35 sound different than a Martin D-28 is that the D-35 has narrower bracing.

What makes a Martin HD-28 sound different than a D-28 is the bracing is scalloped.

The materials matter of course, maple does not sound like rosewood, but the question was what gives a brand a distinctive sound, and that's primarily how the top vibrates.

Thanks. Jed

Well that's interesting. So you think that so many builder's copy to minute detail the size, shape and look of a Martin, but end there in wanting to copy/emulate that which they copy? I think that has been debunked for a long time. Builder's like Huss&Dalton, Collings, Santa Cruz (for example) certainly have their own sound but other builders, I believe, just aren't close in tone and sound. Similarly anyone can play Clapton or Hendrix but even in copying the notes, they sound nothing like the original.

In one form or another, this question is almost always on the first page of this forum. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing; just an observation.

My answer is always the same: It's everything. The thickness of the woods, the specific shape of the body, the exact placement, design and thickness of the braces. Even things like the density of a particular piece of wood can affect the tone of a guitar.

Guitars will change their tone over time in response to changes in temperature and humidity. As guitars age, the wood tends to dry out a bit and the fibers in the wood (according to some people) loosen up a bit, causing the tone to "open up."

A Martin sounds like a Martin because they are very consistent in the way they build their guitars, from the selection of the woods, to the placement of the braces, the types of glue used, the thickness of the tops and the sides, the design of the bridge, etc. To one degree or another, almost every aspect of the guitar's construction contributes to its tone. Some people even think the headstock shape and mass have a contribution to sustain and perhaps other aspects of a guitar's tone.

In my opinion, the top and braces play the biggest role in the tone of any guitar, but it's certainly not the only factor.

The day I received my Martin GP Road Series it was warm and humid outside and when I brought the guitar in the house and opened up the case and started playing, I was a bit disappointed in the muddy, dull sound of the guitar. After letting it sit overnight and acclimate to the room, it sounded 100 times better. A week later, it sounded much better than it did on day 2.

Also, don't forget the strings. You can alter the way any guitar sounds by putting on a fresh set of strings and the sound will differ from one brand and one type to another.