A String Change for Martin Guitars

[jbeecham]

A while back I was in my local GC store and commented on the old strings on a new Martin guitar. I was told that GC employees are not allowed to change the strings and that they have to wait for the visiting Martin rep to change the strings.

jerry

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by OneMansGuitar

.

I wonder if it mean a difference in guitar sales

Why would it? First time buyers won't know what the strings are supposed to sound like anyway.

Experienced buyers will know that a guitar that's been hanging around a store for a while will sound better if they put new strings on it anyway.

[henryp]

Originally Posted by OneMansGuitar

The goal of shipping Martins with Lifespans was to keep the tone of new guitars from getting dull in guitar shops from all the many people playing them, and because some shops rarely keep up on wiping strings down, or changing them on a regular basis.

But Martin has decided to heed the call from players who feel treated strings never have the same level of vibrancy as untreated strings.

Considering the rusted gunk-laden nightmare strings I found on an otherwise interesting Martin 12-string at a local GCC last year, if Martin wants to ensure the guitars in the stores represent their very best they should institute mandatory monthly string changes for all in-store guitars on pain of losing authorized retailer status.