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  #16  
Old 01-04-2007, 02:56 PM
macfawlty macfawlty is offline
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I would definitely buy another older Sigma DM5 or DR41 if I could play it first to be assured it was worthy. I need another guitar for the vacation home. It sounds a lot better than that new HD-28 I played at GC last night. I couldn't understand it. Must have been a dud. But truth is, I have wanted a Taylor for the last 3 years and those two guitars have at least kept me at bay while I decided on the model and came up with a way to pay for it without the wife getting all pissed.
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Taylor 815C, Taylor 410e, Taylor 314ce, Taylor 224ce-K DLX, Taylor 110e, Martin D-18GE, Martin D-14 Woodstock, Little Martin Felix II, Sigma DM-5, Sigma DR-41, Martin 000x1e, Washburn 314k Parlor-125th anniv, Yamaha FG730s, Liberty Mahogany resonator
Epiphone Emperor Joe Pass, Epiphone Sheraton II, Fender Amer. Std. SSH Strat, Ibanez SZ520
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  #17  
Old 01-04-2007, 04:34 PM
Rodeo Rick Rodeo Rick is offline
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Quote:
As for the 1970 Sigma, rarity has very little to do with commercial value when it comes not only to guitars but to pretty much anything else. Demand is the primary element in determining what something will sell for. Scarcity is secondary.
Jim, I agree completely. The guitar is never going to be valuable in a monetary sense, but as I noted in an above post, it does have powerful emotional value to me.

Quote:
I happened to stop by Guitar Center last night (because I am incapable of passing it when in the neighborhood). I played a variety of Martins. The new HD-28 I played sounded no better than a $400 Takamine. To be fair, I played the Martin D42 which sounded real good. Very similar to my DR-41 but with maybe the slightest edge soundwise. I tried a Taylor 612ce that sounded positively awful (even for maple, which I don't like anyway). Are Martins typically inconsistent that way?
Macfawlty, my opinion's nothing special here, but I've seen the same thing. I played an OMC-AURA at Guitar Center, and it was absolutely killer! Amazing action, tone and 'feel.' Then, I played another at WMC...and it was a dog. Higher action, dull strings, no fun no way! I was pretty wary....but the first one was so hot I ordered one, and picked it up at Martin. Drumroll please, as I opened it in their lobby...it was fantastic! Even better than the first. I took it home!

I have to believe they all leave the factory more or less on spec. My guess would be that hanging on a wall in a heavilly-traveled retail environment, being played by scores of people, strings being unchanged, humidity levels fluxuating, temperatures fluxuating...etc, etc....all can make a great instrument go dull.

Anyway, good luck with your search for the vacation home Sigma. I hope you find a jewel!
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1997 Martin D-45
1998 Collings 0001
1998 Huss & Dalton CM-R
2006 Martin OMC-AURA
1972 Ovation Folklore
1969 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe
1998 Spector NS2-4 Bass
1970 Sigma DR-7
1965 Welson Acoustic
1999 Baby Taylor
2006 Seagull Coastline Cedar Folk

Mesa Boogie Mark IV...Maple/Wicker
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  #18  
Old 01-04-2007, 06:05 PM
macfawlty macfawlty is offline
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Originally Posted by Rodeo Rick View Post
Anyway, good luck with your search for the vacation home Sigma. I hope you find a jewel!
For an inexpensive extra guitar I like the Takamine Gs330. I play them periodically at GC and it's a great sounding guitar for under $300. Sounds better than a lot of their more expensive models. The all cedar warms out the typical thin, hollow tones of cheap guitars.

I just discovered I like the Taylor 110s a lot too. I almost bought one today when I heard a guy playing it in the low-end room at GC. I was surprised at how much power it had. When he turned around I said, hey that sounds great for $XXX. He put it down, I picked it up and played it and was thinking... "this would be a good extra guitar to leave at the beach house". 10 seconds later the salesman comes back in to tell me I had to give it back because the guy decided to buy it. I should have said it sounded crappy.
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Taylor 815C, Taylor 410e, Taylor 314ce, Taylor 224ce-K DLX, Taylor 110e, Martin D-18GE, Martin D-14 Woodstock, Little Martin Felix II, Sigma DM-5, Sigma DR-41, Martin 000x1e, Washburn 314k Parlor-125th anniv, Yamaha FG730s, Liberty Mahogany resonator
Epiphone Emperor Joe Pass, Epiphone Sheraton II, Fender Amer. Std. SSH Strat, Ibanez SZ520

Last edited by macfawlty; 01-05-2007 at 04:11 PM.
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  #19  
Old 12-25-2007, 10:06 AM
valky guy valky guy is offline
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Default Sigma guitars

For Rodeo Rick (DR-7)
If you would like any information about Sigma guitars, there is a guy by the name Sterling Webb who probably knows more about them then anyone including the people at Martin. No disrespect to anyone at Martin. If you go to this link---www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=71908&messages=328
and scroll down till you find threads by Guest S webb or Sterling Webb.
I think you might be supprised by what he has to say. As far as the fellow with the DR-41, solid vs laminate, it will depend on when and where it was made.They started building Sigma guitars in Japan for Martin in 1970 thru 1980. The 1980 anniversary model 10 was the lasy of the all solid woon guitars as far as I know. Hope this helps any of the Sigma fans out there.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays
valky guy
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  #20  
Old 12-26-2007, 11:00 AM
Sir Tune-a-Lot Sir Tune-a-Lot is offline
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From my understanding, both Sigma and Shenandoah import Martins were made by Tokai Gakki of Nagoya, Japan, the makers of the Love Rock Les Paul Gibson replicas, and the Springy Sounds Fender Stratocaster replicas.

Here is a link to that info. from TOGPS, a member of the Tokai Forum (a very astute member, I might add, as he has traded Tokais for years in Germany). Be careful about opening the catalog images - when I tried I crashed my Mac.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic....ighlight=sigma

Hope this helps

Steve

Last edited by Sir Tune-a-Lot; 12-26-2007 at 11:11 AM. Reason: warning re: catalog photos
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  #21  
Old 08-01-2009, 10:40 PM
kimert kimert is offline
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Default Sigmas and value

I just picked up my first Sigma - a DR-7 Rosewood sides and 2 piece back and looks like spruce on the top.

Someone was giving it away on craigslist . . I happened to just be in the right place at the right time - the woman who owned it told me the strings were too far off the neck to be played, and a local music store said the neck was warped and couldn't be fixed.

Anyway, it ends up that the top is just bowed out a little behind the bridge and the neck isn't warped at all. Probably has been leaning on a wall for the last nn years with some Black Diamonds on it.

It sounds as big as a Martin and the workmanship is just fine. The serial number is in the 11,000's and it's the original style with the paper label and the sideways M on the head. Probably '73 or so?

I remember when Martin came out with the Sigmas. They didn't really strike me as being a "low end" guitar and were priced along with the high - mid range instruments. I mean - I bought a Martin D 12-20 for a little over $300 and the Martin D45's could be had for just over a thousand bucks at the time.

I buy and sell guitars mostly, but after looking at what these are going for on eBay (200-300) I'm gonna keep it. There is not a guitar out there anywhere that has the quality and big sound that this has for less than $1000 - and that's kind of iffy.....

I guess beauty is in the ear of the beholder. Maybe we should start a sorority or something.

bye

kimert
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  #22  
Old 08-02-2009, 07:19 AM
random works random works is offline
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I did some porch playing with some seasoned blue grass folks about 10 years ago. I had a fairly nice guitar. We played and a guy with a Fender acoustic said in a shocked manner that my Alvarez sounded better than his Fender ( I guess it was a shock because the Alvarez was not American made), anyway, I played someone' really old Sigma. I remember thinking it felt kind of clunky in my hands, but the sound was nicer than the Alvarez. The guy playing it also played the dobro, the mandolin, and the banjo, and he really liked the Sigma. The Sigma probably had medium gauge strings on it, but I would say it was a well broken in mellow sounding guitar that had good projection and tone.
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