Thread: Martin binding
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Old 05-05-2013, 08:14 AM
Zigeuner Zigeuner is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DRodgers View Post
First off, I know aesthetics are secondary to tone, but are any of you upset that white boltaron is used on the standard series? I love Martin, so I'm not bashing. The extreme example would be the d-45. It is $10,599.00 msrp. How sad would it be to spend that money and have that binding. I know the older guitars have ivoroid, which I think looks better.
I'm not certain whether Ivoroid was ever made from vinyl but I do know that the original version was made from nitrocellulose base. Although I agree that it is prettier than the Boltaron, if it is nitrocellulose, it has a number of negative issues associated with it.

It is highly flammable. This is not much of a problem for a guitar that is kept in its case or away from flame, although I've seen cigarette burns on Martin guitars. There is however a big problem storing it in a factory and working with it. It's dangerous when storef in large quantities in one place.

It also has a time limit on it. After 50 years or so, it will deteriorate. Even before that, it can crack and need replacement due to the solvents with which it's made drying out.

None of this applies if they are using Ivoroid that is made from Vinyl. I really don't know so I can only guess. Vinyl makes a perfectly good substitute for nitrocellulose, however.

So, there are probably more reasons why Martin and other companies have changed. In any case, I won't be paying $10,000 for any guitar. It's not in the cards for me. I've heard some great music played on D-18's and D-28's so I don't see any need for added bling with more glue and extra binding.
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