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Whats so special about d-45
Recently watched a Martin workshop on their new retro series. Now I knew the D-28 was the standard against which other dreads were compared but in their retro series the price of their d-45 is more than twice the price of their HD-28 and their orchestra model (around $8000.00 for the 45). I am assuming it has something to do with the history of the d-45, but was wondering about what makes it (not the retro series version necessarily, but the original) so special that a repro would demand such a higher price than its brothers and sisters.
john |
#2
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John, although the 45 series features Martins highest grade wood sets, for the most part you are paying for the inlay work.
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#3
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So what makes you think is the difference ?
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#4
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What is so Special About a D-45?
I think they're mostly for people that need a special guitar to round out their vast collection. I'm sure they sound pretty good, but not much better than my D-35. Don't really know, however, because a D-45 is probably not in my future. Too much bling!
Glen
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#5
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Some folks will say 40 series are just 28's with "bling", I like to call those folks ....wrong!! And it seems like the folks who believe that never are owners, and the folks who do own them just smile.
I have owned a lot of Martins, including 42/45 series. They sound different than 28's, I play 28's and 45's every day. 45's cost more because they use the highest wood grades (even higher than 42's), and with the amount of inlay they are very labor intense, and everything is Martin's "best of the best". You can buy a Ford for $20K and the same model loaded close to $40K, no different with guitars. In my personal experinece 42/45 Martins are outstanding guitars, worth it to me, everyone needs to decide for themselves................
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Rich - rmyAddison Rich Macklin Soundclick Website http://www.youtube.com/rmyaddison Martin OM-18 Authentic '33 Adirondack/Mahogany Martin CS OM-28 Alpine/Madagascar Martin CS 00-42 Adirondack/Madagascar Martin OM-45TB (2005) Engelmann/Tasmanian Blackwood (#23 of 29) |
#6
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The $8000.00 retro sticker price compared to $3600-4000 for the others in the line. During the workshop, they also referred to it's special heritage and I didn't know what that was referring to.
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#7
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John, part of the mystery for many is why these guitars should cost so much more. Nowadays there's a laminated abalone shell product called "Ablam" that makes trimming guitars out with copious amounts of shell inlay cheaper, faster and infinitely easier.
So thanks to Ablam it's not at all difficult to find guitars selling for under a thousand dollars that have lots of abalone trim. But the Martin D-45's price reflects the extra amount of time and highly skilled labor it takes to inlay abalone around the edges of a guitar the old-fashioned way, with lots of tiny rectangles of shell hand cut and inlaid. It's very labor intensive to do it that way, hence the added cost. Hope that makes sense. Wade Hampton Miller |
#8
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If you went to the factory and saw how it was done, you would not be wondering about the cost. A quality build with lots of hand work takes time to do right. In the business world time = money.
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Roger Several Martins, 2 Guilds, a couple of kits and a Tilton (ever heard of those?), some ukes and a 1920s Vega tenor banjo Neil deGrasse Tyson — 'The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.' |
#9
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i may be wrong, but i believe Martin procures their 40 series wood from a different supplier than they use for their other guitars. if that's the case, the wood is probably considered, by Martin, to be superior in more ways than just cosmetic. someone correct me if i don't have that right.
on a personal note, i was never a "big" fan of Martin guitars. i like them and think they are good, but not great (in general, and, of course, just MHO). however, the 5 or 6 45's that i have auditioned appeared to be a cut above. they were really, really good sounding and playing instruments.
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#10
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#11
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#12
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I also believe there are different grades of Ablam when it is used, based on guitar series. The difference in Retro pricing for a 28 and 45 is really in line with standard pricing differences for a 28 and 45, Retros are standard models with the latest Fishman electronics. Even though Martins in general are very good at holding resale value, 42/45's are rock solid in that department, they're just not a lot of them and very desireable to Martin lovers.............
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Rich - rmyAddison Rich Macklin Soundclick Website http://www.youtube.com/rmyaddison Martin OM-18 Authentic '33 Adirondack/Mahogany Martin CS OM-28 Alpine/Madagascar Martin CS 00-42 Adirondack/Madagascar Martin OM-45TB (2005) Engelmann/Tasmanian Blackwood (#23 of 29) |
#13
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I've owned a D-45 but prefer the 28 I have now. I do believe the 40 series sound different (I've had a D-42 as well) to the 28s. I think the scalloped 28s are boomier while the 40s are more balanced. Perhaps there is more to abalone than folk think, or perhaps not.
I think the D-45 is a bit of a rip off however. Unless you find one that really really blows you away I think they vary just as much as your average 28, but they do sound different (in my experience anyway). |
#14
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Thanks for all your responses. Not sure if I'll ever own a 45, but given the lovely tone of my DCPA1, I'd love to hear and play one someday. thanks John |
#15
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I have heard some folk say that the abalone around the face of the guitar increases the stiffness at the edge which impacts the tone... sounds far fetched to me...
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