Martin Experience

[rmyAddison]

Originally Posted by fongie

That is pretty bad GF, hope your recovery work out well.

Regarding the "Martin Experience" I have never experience this before and probably will never do so. I am from Australia.

Can someone give us Aussies a little about this "Martin Experience"? Is it all Martin? Can you make a purchase? What do they sell?

I hope we get something like this, very interesting.

Martin puts together different road teams, probably to give folks breaks, that go on a mini tour to scheduled dealers. They had some swag (t-shirts, brochures) and they bring a selection of guitars; new models, customs that dealer might have ordered, limited editions, etc.

Is it all Martin - yes
Can you make a purchase - yes, see post #3, I bought the very first GC custom OM-28 Alpine/Madi at a Martin Experience
What do they sell? - all the guitars they bring are for sale. I have wondered what they do if they sell a few guitars at every show, what happens at the later shows, do they get more stock from Nazareth?

They always have some sort of presentation, have a good player in their group to demo new models then it's open to play the guitars. You can play anything you want, and buy anything you want.

They always have guitars you won't see as regular stock and they introduce what's new at Martin. I'm sure Martin has folks who would volunteer to go to Australia if somebody pays the bill.................

[fongie]

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

Martin puts together different road teams, probably to give folks breaks, that go on a mini tour to scheduled dealers. They had some swag (t-shirts, brochures) and they bring a selection of guitars; new models, customs that dealer might have ordered, limited editions, etc.

Is it all Martin - yes
Can you make a purchase - yes, see post #3, I bought the very first GC custom OM-28 Alpine/Madi at a Martin Experience
What do they sell? - all the guitars they bring are for sale. I have wondered what they do if they sell a few guitars at every show, what happens at the later shows, do they get more stock from Nazareth?

They always have some sort of presentation, have a good player in their group to demo new models then it's open to play the guitars. You can play anything you want, and buy anything you want.

They always have guitars you won't see as regular stock and they introduce what's new at Martin. I'm sure Martin has folks who would volunteer to go to Australia if somebody pays the bill.................

Thank you very much Rich.

That would be nice having something like this in Australia. I am from Brisbane Aust. and our guitar stores are very limited regarding Martin. Most of my purchase is used and purchased on line/eBay. Hopefully I get to go to the US and visit the US stores in the near future. Thanks again Rich

[73Fender]

Originally Posted by Godfather

Thanks for the well wishes. 2 more weeks the cast comes off, the pins get yanked out abd i start using the guitar for rehab...cant wait.
All will be good.

Wishing you a successful recovery. I've found that a layoff from playing brings fresh ideas. Good luck.

[merlin666]

Originally Posted by 73Fender

Nice find. I would assume they would pick some winners to bring, all the more reason to attend. Is it the Martin Experience? Here is a link for future shows.
https://www.martinguitar.com/martin-experience/

Looks like a worthwhile event to attend. Too bad there aren't any in Canada or anywhere near me south of border. Though notably quite a few events in Czechia and Spain ...

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by fongie

Regarding the "Martin Experience" I have never experience this before and probably will never do so. I am from Australia.

Can someone give us Aussies a little about this "Martin Experience"? Is it all Martin? Can you make a purchase? What do they sell?

I hope we get something like this, very interesting.

We haven't had a 'Martin Experience' here in Australia but Martin clinician Diane Ponzio has been here showcasing some of their guitars and innovations. She was last here in November 2014.

[fongie]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

We haven't had a 'Martin Experience' here in Australia but Martin clinician Diane Ponzio has been here showcasing some of their guitars and innovations. She was last here in November 2014.

Hey 'Thanks' Bruce. I wished I knew about it, I'll have to wait for the next one. Tah mate.

[TJNies]

Don't ask me about the Martin experience...two years in a row I fell prey to their Custom Shop wares. Sneaky...

In 2015 they had a lot of nice guitars, but a Custom 00-30 (Adirondack / Madagascar, hide glue, scalloped braces) just rose head and shoulders above everything else, including some higher-priced acoustics.



In December I got a Custom 000-42 that was a NAMM show build. This was the sweetest- sounding guitar I had heard, period. It had this shimmer I have not noticed in any other guitar, even the standard 000-42 they had in the store.



This year, I figured I had my fill, but stopped in, hoping they brought an OM-28 Authentic as that was one I wanted to hear, given all the hype.

Lo and behold, tried a few nice guitars, but one caught me totally by surprise: a Custom 00-18. Light as a feather, had this sweet ringing tone that shocked and captivated me. Can play lightly, or strummed hard. Lots of tone and volume for such a small guitar.

My wife, ever the supportive sweetheart, said she was highly impressed by this Martin, and I really ought to buy it. It wasn't too expensive (unlike the other two), and has become a huge favorite of mine.

Oh, they DID bring an OM-28A, and I was reluctant to pick it up; if it outshone the 000-42 I'd be bummed. Good news is that I prefer the 000-42.

[Gmountain]

I went to one a few weeks ago and had no idea what to expect. I was very pleasantly surprised.

First the bad- the cookies they passed out were not that great. I know, it was the retailer, but better cookies would have been great. lol.

Seriously though, I was surprised at the attendance, or should I say surprised that only about 20-25 people were there. I suppose some filtered in and out over the course of 4 hours, but I was there for two hours and it never was crowded. So that is a big positive. Huge, in my book. Everyone had plenty of time to talk to the Martin folks and play all the guitars.

Really fun time. Guitars I hadn't seen at all price levels. I bought the 00-15m at the event. Good price and they through in 4 sets of strings and lots of swag. So it was a really fun evening and something I would definitely go to again.

[pszy22]

I attend the Martin event that was held in Detroit last night. It was ok, but not nearly as good as the Martin event I attended last year. Last year's event was at a different venue with a different presenter.

I thought last year's event was much more focused on education, this year's event seemed to be more focused as a sales pitch. My sense was last year's presenter was much more technically oriented in expertise, this year's presenter seemed to be a marketing/sales individual. The Martin performer who accompanied the presenter was the same individual at both events I attended. He was both informative and entertaining in both of his performances.

I was a bit surprised at the very light turn out this year, maybe 10 or 15 folks.

I guess you expect a bit of hyperbole at these types of events, but when the presenter said last night's venue was the finest music shop in the entire state of Michigan, maybe even the nation, that was a bit of a stretch. It may have been better than the other two venues in Michigan he attended on this campaign, but it's a big jump to say I visited three restaurant in the state, and now am prepared to declare the best place to eat in the entire nation. I think that's the difference between a technical person, and a marketing person.

Of course the Martin folks may have just been tired, this was the last stop on this swing, the presenter was headed back to PA and the performer had a gig out west.

[Pixguit]

Originally Posted by Ted @ LA Guitar Sales

Sounds like a good time. We had a Martin event in our store about six years ago, a lot of fun.

Hey Ted,

Sounds like its about time for another one!