in praise of the Martin DM..........yup, I said DM!!!!!

[rlouie]

due to some recent financial situations ( blown engine) I had to sell my Martin J-40 to defray some costs leaving me with only one dread, my D-17 that is in the shop right now being searched for an annoying buzz......well I went to my local GC Friday afternoon looking for a dread and I decided this time I was going to give every brand a chance.........I played all the Taylors on the wall and no offense to you Taylor owners not one of them had a decent low end to them so I quickly ruled them out.........played a few Gibsons, but they were all too muddy sounding, played some Yamahas and I was impressed with a few of these, played some Breedloves but they were all too thin sounding, Epiphones, too thin sounding and no sustain.........now, know that I am not knocking any of these brands, they just didn't sound good to me that particular day.............Takamines, wasn't impressed...............so finally made my way to the Martin wall....I played a HD-28VR, a HD-28, a D-35, a Martin Jumbo with a cutaway I forget the numbers, a D-16RGTE, D-16, MMV, and nothing blew me away, but finally right before I had given up I picked up a Martin DM (solid top mahogany laminate back/sides) and are you freakin kidding me !!!!!! it had the biggest sound I heard from any of the guitars I played and I really couldn't believe it.............so much so that I put it back on the wall and went home, guitar snobbery took over at that time...........well that guitar haunted me all night so I went back to GC the next morning ( I was there before the doors were unlocked) and asked my sales guy to re-string a Gibson AJ that I had been eyeing that was on sale hoping that some new strings would make a difference. While I waited for him to finish stringing the Gibson, I played the DM and well it wasn't an aberration cause that guitar still sounded incredible..........finally the sales guy brought the Gibson back and even the new strings didn't make it sound better than the DM that was less than half of the price of the Gibson. A gentleman that had been in the acoustic room with me all morning just looking at guitars got my attention as I was playing the Gibson and said " that other guitar you've been playing all morning sounds way better than that Gibson you're playing right now" well needless to say he was right sooooo you will never hear me say anything negative about a laminate or cheaper priced guitar from here on out. Oh I'm sure I'll be buying a more expensive Martin in the future but I finally learned that great sounding guitars can be found at every price range. I don't know if I just got a winner or if all Martins DM's sound this good but you can believe I'll be looking into the rosewood model of this same guitar........................

it's not one of the prettiest guitars I've owned, but you know what I don't care cause it's near the top of the list of the best sounding guitars that I've owned........

[Lawn Jockey]

Congrats!

I had a Martin 000-M (same Road Series) that was an exceptional guitar.

Enjoy!

[dberch]

Glad you found a guitar that speaks to you, Louie. That's what it's all about, after all. A good guitar doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Congrats, looks really nice.

Good luck on that D17. Hope they locate your buzz and take care of it.

David

[flip33]

Congratulations!

Yes, the DM is a good guitar. I too have played a DM in the store and found it better than the standards. It can get a very nice growl in the bottom end.

Laminate back and sides? Its still a good sounding guitar.

If I wanted another dread, I would seriously consider a used DM.

[chitz creek]

Yep, All DM's are that good!
I've owned one for over a year now and it's my GO TO guitar.

Sounds better than most 28's IMHO
(ouch that's gonna leave a mark)

[Glennwillow]

I remember having a similar experience once playing a Martin DM. I compared it with a D-28 and on that day with those two guitars, a bunch of us in that room all agreed that the DM sounded better.

Sometimes things just work out right on a guitar for a variety of reasons. So Louie, glad you lucked out on that guitar!

Regards, Glenn

[shawlie]

Congratulations on your new guitar!

I love my DM, have had it now for over seven years. I play my smaller om most of the time now, but still get out my DM quite often - they're great sounding guitars.

[LindaLoo]

There's a lesson there for all of us on this forum: leave your prejudices and pre-conceived ideas at the door when shopping for a guitar. Good for you Louie.

Play it til your fingers bleed.

[kwakatak]

WTG with the DM. They actually are pretty good-sounding guitars. FWIW I actually like the Road and X1 (solid spruce top/HPL back & sides) over the 16 series.

[jlott00]

i have a buddy that has one od the old DC-1e or something like that (they replaced them with DM's i think..?), its lam sides, and it is also one of the better martins i have played

[catdaddy]

Louie, I had virtually the same experience at a GC a few months back. The best guitar in the room was a Martin DM. Great big dread sound that just blew me away. Congrats and enjoy!

[PMC]

Congrats Louie!

Almost every DM I have played has been outstanding.

I own a Breedlove OM-R, which is sitka and eir and NOT a full gloss finish, but this OM is the best I have owned.

You dont always have to spend a lot of $$$$$$ to get a great sounding guitar.

Enjoy!

[Acoustic Rick]

Congrats Louie, I was in the local music store lock up room playing their high end Martins and Gibsons one day. I played a D28, HD28, D35, Gibson Songwriter, Gibson AJ, and then grabbed a Martin DM off the wall. It was the Rosewood model and to me it was the best sounding guitar on the wall of all that I tried. I didn't buy because it was laminate but man what a tone!

[rmyAddison]

Louie,

Congratulations, if it makes your ears happy that's all that matters. Enjoy your DM.

[jackstrat]

I too like the DM. I would buy one in a NY second if it had a wider neck.

Jack