If you were going to buy your first Martin.... - Page 7

sstaylor58 · #91 03-12-2018, 08:07 PM

Mine was an LA Guitars Custom OM-15. Love it’s all hog goodness! Would still leave you lots of change for something else too.

washburned · #92 03-12-2018, 08:46 PM

I have owned in order of purchase
MMV
HD28v
HD28lsv Sitka
HD28lsv. Adi
D28marquis
D18ge

The D18ge is the only one I still have and is by far my favorite so far. And should also mention that there was a collings, a couple bourgeois and a Santa Cruz not listed in the square shoulder Dred search as well.

dukebrot · #93 03-12-2018, 09:06 PM

Martin 000-18 or 000-28. Both are very versatile and if anything is lacking in either of those two guitars you would clearly know which direction to go from there for #2.

D.

guitarsnpucks · #94 03-13-2018, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RP

What would you get? Let’s assume a budget of $3000....

M-36. Best Martin I’ve played.

fatt-dad · #95 03-13-2018, 05:43 AM

a rosewood OM.

I think the 14-fret, long(er) scale guitars are most versatile. I prefer the size of the OM. I don't play bluegrass and don't play out (much).

I bought the OM-28Authentic.

f-d

jdr1014 · #96 03-13-2018, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

For me it was the D18 also but only after playing all of the contenders repeatedly which is also my suggestion to the OP.

This!!

.....which is exactly what I did. Play as many as you can and let your ears and hands decide what the best one is for you. D18 for me too.

backdoc · #97 03-13-2018, 04:53 PM

I tell you what, I would ONLY buy an acoustic guitar that I could play first from now on. I have a 000-18 that showed up brand new from a well known dealer out west needing a neck reset. So, before you drop a few grand on a guitar, play it first. Martin is going to fix it, but I'll be without it for many moons.

Played two Eastmans today in person. One was fabulous, the other was marginal. I took the fabulous one home. I won't buy another expensive guitar sight unseen again.

rwmct · #98 03-13-2018, 09:01 PM

It is a question I have been thinking about, since my next guitar will probably be a Martin (Unless somebody out there still has a NOS New Hartford D-55 when I am ready to pull the trigger).

I have a F-30 Std. which is mahogany so I suppose a rosewood model will make sense. OTH, I do consider the D-18 to be "the" Martin, and I like hog.

So who knows. Wont be for a year, now. This year's bonus, instead of going to a guitar, went to taxes and bills.

Dondoh · #99 03-13-2018, 09:13 PM

If it is $3000 for only one guitar, then the 00-28vs.
If it is $3000 for two guitars, then it is still the 00-28vs.
But I could be talked into the 000-15sm AND the D-18...

Shadowfox · #**100** 03-13-2018, 10:20 PM

A used Martin HD28-V.

RP · #**101** 03-14-2018, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baimo

....BTW There were a lot of people that suggested 000 and 00s but I read the OP and he was asking about Martin Dreads. I do love their 000/OM's also but that was not the question.

News to me. OP here, and I tried to make the question open-ended while geared to a Martin with a budget of $3000. While I didn't spell it out, let's assume that the choice is a single Martin and not a shopping spree....

Blueser · #**102** 03-14-2018, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RP

What would you get? Let’s assume a budget of $3000....

Tough to answer this without knowing what style of music you play. Do you play with a pick or are you primarily a fingerstyle player? If you're primarily a pick player, would you be doing more strumming or flatpicking?

I know you can play just about anything on just about any guitar, but some are better suited to certain musical and playing styles than others.

Regardless of your style, you can get a really beautiful "lifetime partner" with that kind of cash.

dariustdog · #**103** 03-15-2018, 05:13 PM

First time poster. I just went through this. Long time Taylor fan, have owned a 510, 712, GA3. Recently bought a D15 and J12-16G from my nephew to bail him out of a financial jam, and got the Martin itch. I thought I found a keeper in a 2016 D18, but when I brought her home and compared her to the GA3, there wasn’t enough difference to warrant the money. Yeah, the D18 sounded wonderful, and I’ve always been partial to hogs, with the most noticeable difference the warm but punchy low-end of the Dreadnought compared to the Grand Auditorium. Then I found a great little local Bluegrass shop with a 2018 HD28. Had to check it out. I brought the D18 in for comparison, and WOW I was impressed. I also compared to a 2017 HD28V and D35. Hands down, the reimagined HD28 was much better to my ears and hands. I ended up buying the 2018 HD28 and returning the D18. I couldn’t be happier. I think it is my dream guitar. The bass of the EIR body with the forward shifted scalloped bracing is amazing, without the muddiness I heard in the D18. Overall the HD28 is a way more elegant looking classic with a more even tone then the D18 (at least to me). It sounds exactly like my ears want a dreadnought to sound. Loud, clear, articulate, deep. I still love the midrange push and attack of mahogany, but I have a D15 that has that in spades. And fingerpicking on the reimagined HD28 sounds sooooo good.

To get to the point... I would try every Martin you can in your price range and below. I fell in love with the 2018 HD28.

Sands · #**104** 03-18-2018, 01:38 PM

Well, a coupe days ago I picked up a Taylor 414ce special edition with inlays and RW back and sides. It sounded incredible. Better than the 3 814s I’d tried and everything else. Then I read about their fragile tendencies. Coupled with seeing one that looked like someone say it, I gave in and returned it to another GC found an unlisted (online) Martin GPCPA1 and it blew everything else I’d tried away . Clearance at $1954. Yay.