Martin Custom Shop advice - help me pull the trigger

[Earl49]

FWIW, my custom shop order a long time ago was based on a J-40 and came with the black pick guard -- my very strong preference. That model comes with a tortoise PG now, and as of the 2018 version a 1-3/4" nut width.

I wanted to go with the pearl logo inlay, but in those pre-laser, pre-CNC days, that was a $600 upgrade - hand cut. So I stuck with the old style decal instead. The large block letters were a bit too gaudy for my tastes.

[loco gringo]

Hide glue. If I were ordering a custom shop Martin, it would have hide glue. I don't care about the argument of whether it changes the tone or not, nor do I have an opinion on whether it does. If I'm buying a sight unseen, lifetime (your word) guitar, I'm going hide glue.

Plus it might impact who at the plant builds that part of the guitar.

[Coop47]

Thanks everyone for the help. I'm closing in on a final decision. Last thing to decide on is the finish. I've been searching everywhere and trying to find somewhere where I can see all of the sunburst finishes Martin offers. Push come to shove I'd probably just wind up going with a 1935 burst or a vintage burst, but I'd like to see what else is out there. Any suggestions?

[SalFromChatham]

Last year I ordered a custom shop Martin based on a standard D18. The only things I changed was the neck (I wanted the older style 1 11/16 neck/nut), and I personalized the headstock. I LOVE the guitar. It's all D18, with the neck I like, and a little personalization... I didnt go adi top, or VTS, as I just loved the sound of every standard D18 I played.

The one thing I kind of wish I ordered (blasphemy as this is a D18, not an HD28) is the herringbone binding (or whatever its called). I just love the way that looks.

[archerscreek]

Make sure you get the string spacing you want. I don’t think that has been mentioned.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

Originally Posted by Coop47

Thanks everyone for the help. I'm closing in on a final decision. Last thing to decide on is the finish. I've been searching everywhere and trying to find somewhere where I can see all of the sunburst finishes Martin offers. ...snip...

Here are the four sunbursts from the Custom Shop site as they look on the J-14 body shape. Hope this helps.

Left to right: Vintage, 1935, Amber Tone, and Teardrop

Martin-sunbursts.jpg

[Coop47]

UPDATE:
\
Just to close the loop on this, I put in the order a few days ago. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. Even if I didn't go with your suggestion, I gave it a lot of thought.

I wound up going with the 1935 finish, as it was the one that my eye kept going back to every time I was trying to research finishes.

For bracing, I decided to go with scalloped in the standard X. I thought about forward-shift bracing, I figure that between the VTS, the scalloping and the jumbo size, I'll have more than enough bass.

I managed to find a picture of a gold-foil logo on an ebony headplate and really liked the look, so decided to stay with that.

Mark at Reno's is making a trip to Nazareth to pick out the rosewood next week. Since I have no idea what constitutes a good pick in rosewood, I left it mostly up to him, but let him know I had a preference for reds and blacks if it came down to a choice between equally good pieces.

Speaking of Mark, he was very helpful in keeping me pretty well grounded in terms of what options made sense for me given what I was looking for and the budget I had in mind. He was very helpful over email, and we had a couple of phone conversations before I placed the order.

For those of you who have ordered a Custom Shop, what happens now? How do you deal with the 4-6 month wait? I've pledged to take more lessons and add some tricks to the arsenal, but honestly I think I'll probably succumb to retail therapy and buying things it will "need" (e.g. a new strap, humidifier, a ridiculously nice stand, its own bottle of Martin polish, some batteries for the pre-amp...) It's like I'm thinking of throwing it a baby shower. It's going to be a long 4-6 months....

Again, thanks to everyone for their help.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

Originally Posted by Coop47

UPDATE:
\
Just to close the loop on this, I put in the order a few days ago. ...snip...

Congratulations! Be sure to post pics once it arrives.

[D41Fan]

Coop47, first all congrats on a custom Martin. I like you have placed an order for a custom D41 and the wait had started back in the beginning of January. I figure I am maybe halfway through the wait.
I am keeping busy thinking about what new strings I will buy, I have been looking hard at microphones and at new amps. I figure by the time the guitar arrives, I might have made a decision on something.

Again, congrats, and try to occupy your time with gear related things.

Dan

[SalFromChatham]

The burst you picked is my favorite... it will be a stunner.

My simple custom still took well over five months, and it does go slow!

I don’t know your skill level, but six months is about as long as it took me to learn how to finger pick... alternating thumb style. It takes a lot of practice and playing Freight Train six thousand times. It opens up worlds, though. I don’t get bored playing guitar. I can strum, flatpick some, then go into the alternating thumb stuff. I try different songs different ways.

Anyway, I think that would be a swell way to prepare you for playing a queen like she should be played.

[Coop47]

Mark is in Nazareth picking out rosewood for my guitar as well as the one's he's ordering for Reno's. I'm pretty happy with this one.

[archerscreek]

Originally Posted by Coop47

Mark is in Nazareth picking out rosewood for my guitar as well as the one's he's ordering for Reno's. I'm pretty happy with this one.

Very cool. I wish I could see updates like that on mine. I also asked for a darker rosewood set (tonal quality prioritized of course) rather than a lighter brown which I see pop up every now and then.

[Don54]

Great looking Rosewood! Colors remind me of cocobolo. This will look even better under finish.

[Coop47]

Thanks everyone for the comments. For anyone who cares, the delivery date is November 9th. I'm planning to go down and pick it up at the factory (tour, etc.) I figure I'll drive down and drive it back.

[archerscreek]

Thanks for the update. So based on a late March order, that’s a little less than 8 months build time, which is in line with what I was told to expect. But I still wonder how they can quote a delivery time 4 months out. Maybe they’re being conservative.

I placed my order (HD-28 Adirondack, V neck) the second week of February and was told the guitar might be done in 6 months but that it also could take as long as 9 months. I haven’t contacted anyone (dealer or Martin) about it since the order. I read some with purported prior experiences suggest that doing so pushes things back. lol. Not sure why that would be unless the parties set a conservative date upon the customer’s request which they know they can make and then build accordingly to match it.

Anyhow, I’ve been strong through my wait, although I think about the guitar every day. What helped me cure my impatience was finding another guitar (D-18GE) I wanted on the used market and playing the snot out of it. Good luck.