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-   -   Interesting discussion. (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491947)

L20A 12-07-2017 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frances50 (Post 5561036)
I'm 63 and own two Taylors acoustics and two Gibson acoustics. No Martins, unless you count my antique 0-28. Just not into the Martin look. Being female, I like a little bling. I bought most of my guitars when I was just starting out on my guitar journey, and I've grown into the sound of each one nicely.

This a part of why I have a Guild D-55.
Love the looks and the tone. A great balance of both.
I also own a Martin D-35 and a Taylor 410 Mahogany.

gimme789 12-07-2017 07:39 PM

I'm 57 and have owned 2 Taylors and 2 Martins, I now own just 2 Martins. Taylors are nice though. Maybe we should just ask Taylor Martin !?!?!

Silly Moustache 12-07-2017 08:22 PM

I am 69 and 3/4, and my music is almost all American influenced although I( am a proud Brit.
I owe no allegiance t the US, but I have high regard for the designs by Martin and Gibson in the first third of the 20th century, so if it doesn't look like a Martin or a Gibson I'm not really interested.
My first sight of Taylors was a Nanci Griffith concert and I heard a thin nasal trebly sound, then I sat in a small church hall and watched Dan Crary, and that confirmed to me that they didn't look right and didn't soud right.

Personal opinion.

H165 12-07-2017 08:45 PM

Quote:

...Dan Crary, and that confirmed to me that they didn't look right and didn't sound right.
WOW - wasn't that a weird time? I was a Crary fan for years, and then I suddenly did not like his sound. It was the Taylors.

I have seen him often since that phase passed, and he's as good as ever.

tonyo 12-07-2017 10:27 PM

I'm 59 and more of a Taylor fan than a Martin fan. Having said that, I'd gladly buy a Martin if I was looking for a new guitar and it sounded good.

I've been playing for nearly six years now, after I'd been playing for about 18 months I decided to start looking at more upscale guitars than the Epiphone I was playing.

This was an interesting and enjoyable sojourn of visiting every guitar shop within several hours drive and playing as many as possible. For me, I enjoyed almost all of the Taylors I played and very few of the Martins. One of the Martins sounded bad because the strings were quite old and dead, would have thought a guitar shop would have done better than that.

Perhaps the 'brighter' sound of the Taylors was suited to me as I play fingerstyle without nails or picks, just the pads of my fingers.

I think some of the debate about Martin verses Taylor is like the Ford verses Chevy debate. And don't really have much time for bashing of either brand. I do like the design of the Taylor neck a LOT more than the Martin neck.

John Bartus 12-08-2017 12:05 AM

Interesting discussion... I'll add my $0.02!

My favorite acoustic guitar ever was a 1961 Martin D-18 that I played in a shop in Fredericksburg, VA in the early 1980s as a poor road musician. If I'd only had an extra $1,000 at the time...

At the risk of over-generalization, I would submit that most stipulate Martins are boomy cannons with great bottom end, while Taylors are more "balanced" across the mid- and high-sonic spectrum. But severely lacking in bottom. Now, my opinion... FWIW.

I always thought that Taylors in general lacked the bottom end I wanted in a guitar. Although, there were some high-end Taylors I played that were sonically amazing. Then, I found Breedlove. I don't know if it was the bridge truss, the graduated tops, the bracing, or what — but for years it bridged the gap between the Martin & Taylor sounds. Breedlove had the bottom of a Martin with the balanced mids and highs of a Taylor.

And while I still love my Breedloves, I picked up five Martins (four used, one new) over the past couple of years. Three dreads and two jumbos, rosewood and spruce (except for the one maple/spruce jumbo), and all with Fishman Aura electronics. I love them all. And they all seem to have the balance I loved in my Breedloves. (I'm not mentioning my Guild jumbo maple 12-string...)

I'm not sure there is an actual point to all this. Play what you love, but don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. You might find something you really like!

gitarro 12-08-2017 04:12 AM

I have never really been interested in acquiring an example of either modern Martins nor Taylors. Why spend the money on production factory made guitars when for a little more, you can check out used examples of solo luthier or small shop made guitars? YMMV obviously...

Samogitian 12-08-2017 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gitarro (Post 5561734)
I have never really been interested in acquiring an example of either modern Martins nor Taylors. Why spend the money on production factory made guitars when for a little more, you can check out used examples of solo luthier or small shop made guitars? YMMV obviously...

Well, some people buy all their furniture from boutique stores, but a lot of us are fine with Ikea. Most people are fine with factory made guitars especially in case of Taylor which is known for their consistent quality. When I bought my current Taylor I broke "the golden rule" - play the guitar before buying it. I didn't play it at all, but I did read/watch a crapload of reviews. In the end I was totally satisfied, but I'm a technical guy and that's just how I like to do things, it's not isolated to guitars.

The way I see it the whole Martin vs Taylor debate is really dread vs grand auditorium and classic vs modern debate. In my opinion these two brands specialize and excel at different things.

Steel and wood 12-08-2017 06:15 AM

I'm a 53 year old Australian and traditional non-cutaway Martins are mostly my thing.

KevWind 12-08-2017 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gitarro (Post 5561734)
I have never really been interested in acquiring an example of either modern Martins nor Taylors. Why spend the money on production factory made guitars when for a little more, you can check out used examples of solo luthier or small shop made guitars? YMMV obviously...

Why? Well
I think the one obvious reason why would be the ratio of sheer numbers of "production" guitars vs boutique available to try or buy .

Not to mention many people are not interested in buying "used"

And then of course , the concept that there may be little to no real noticeable or actual difference in the sonics or quality of a top of the line "production" guitar and a boutique/luthier build, at any where near the same price point , or perhaps at any price point .

And then last but not least logically , objectively, and realistically the only reliable way to tell or know the above , would be to play both at the same time and in the same room. Which more often than not is logistically impossible.

Which are no reasons not to buy boutique, but certainly represent some reasons "why" most do not.

And yes individual "milage" indeed varies :)

smurph1 12-08-2017 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grasser (Post 5560645)
I'm in my late thirties, which isn't that young, but I prefer the Martin sound and look to Taylor. I also like old Ovations.

OVATIONS!! HERETIC!😊

Swamp Yankee 12-08-2017 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChapinFan (Post 5560737)
My guess is the guitar we pick is based on many things, and if we were honest, only a fraction of it is sound and playability.

There is an old saying that we buy based on emotions, and then we use logic to justify it.

I have no way of proving this, but I'll bet only about ten percent of the people on this forum could actually pick their guitar out in a blind "taste test." Blindfold them, have the same guitarist play a couple of things on five different (but similar) guitars, and I'll bet the guitar owner could pick his out about 20% of the time.

Playability is different of course, but many times playability comes down to what you are used to. A guy I play with has a Taylor. It was his dream guitar. He had to save up to buy and and now he can't imagine anything better. You could offer him anything, and he'd keep that Taylor. He's never played a Guild. But he's sure the Taylor is better.

So to get back to the OP, I think the segment who chooses a guitar based on what their favorite artists are playing (and there are more of those than we would like to admit) will probably choose Taylor, because that does seem to be the way it is breaking these days.

Those who choose their guitar on tradition -- or the memory of someone they know who used to play -- they probably choose Martin
.

And some will never choose Martin or Taylor, because they have to buy against trend.

That being said, it is always fun for me to watch Martin and Taylor guys argue about who's brand is better. Such a relief from listening to Republicans argue with Democrats, I'll tell you.

Pfft.. what you might have said was that those that choose Martins are emulating artists from "back in the day" before Taylors existed and just about every artist on stage playing an acoustic was either playing a Martin or a Gibson.

And the bit about the outliers being the ones that simply have to buck the trend is a bit too cynical for my taste, sorry.

When I first started playing guitar, back in the late 60s - I didn't have enough money to emulate the artists of the day and buy a Martin or a Gibson. I sold my one guitar off (an Aria) in the mid 70s and stopped playing altogether until much later in life.

One day I abut 4 years ago I was going to a GC to buy banjo strings and I got a notion to check out "travel" guitars. I tried everything they had on the wall, and fell in love with a Taylor GS Mini.

To be honest, having paid so little interest to the guitar scene over the decades, Taylor was a new name for me. I had no knowledge of any artist that played a Taylor... I just loved the way this guitar looked, sounded and most of all, how easily it played.

I think that someone walking into a shop with few preconceived notions about what they want will find that the typical Taylor hanging on the wall plays much more easily that most other guitars and, since the Elixir strings are usually in good shape, they sound great too. Contrast that with Martins, that typically need a setup and likely have old strings on them, and the idea that you might see a trend towards Taylors being chosen by new players is no surprise to me.

I'm not saying this is the case with every guitar purchase, and I agree that many are driven by "image". But what I disagree with is this notion that most Martin purchasers are above all that. They too are seeking an image as often as any other guitar purchaser might be - it's just a different image.

cu4life7 12-08-2017 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gitarro (Post 5561734)
I have never really been interested in acquiring an example of either modern Martins nor Taylors. Why spend the money on production factory made guitars when for a little more, you can check out used examples of solo luthier or small shop made guitars? YMMV obviously...



While I’m an advocate of buying used and have and will continue to go that route in the future, a part of me always wanted to allow my dollars to support a company that I love so they can keep making the guitars I love. The demand for acoustic guitars doesn’t appear to me to be going up, so to me there is something to be said for supporting great work so it may continue.

ChapinFan 12-08-2017 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swamp Yankee (Post 5561964)
Pfft.. what you might have said was that those that choose Martins are emulating artists from "back in the day" before Taylors existed and just about every artist on stage playing an acoustic was either playing a Martin or a Gibson.

Actually, I'm not saying that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swamp Yankee (Post 5561964)
But what I disagree with is this notion that most Martin purchasers are above all that. They too are seeking an image as often as any other guitar purchaser might be - it's just a different image.

This is actually more of what I am saying.

My point is that there are several category of guitar buyers. But (in my unscientific opinion) the smallest category out there is those that buy according to what they hear. Most have other reasons driving their decision and later justify it by what they hear.

Same way people go on an online dating site saying they are trying to find their perfect match, and then up spending all of their time looking at the pictures. When they find a picture they like, they start reading the profile hoping to find something they like there so they have something to talk about...

For the record, I own neither a Martin nor a Taylor. The guitar I bought 36 years ago (A Guild D40C) I still play -- and I bought it for the dumbest reason imaginable. But it worked out OK for me, because I still love playing that Guild...

Jambi 12-08-2017 11:50 AM

Hold my beer, I got this.


Some people like some things. Other people like other things.


Hope that helps... gimme my beer back.


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