do D-45 appointments improve sound quality of a guitar ?
 

Thoughts ??
I am convinced that D-45 appointments improve the volume and clarity of an instrument versus a "standard" model.
Should adding 42/45 appointments be taken into consideration for "Voicing" of a custom build ?

Dictionary

confirmation bias
con·fir·ma·tion bi·as
noun
the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.

;)


Does the bling bring the zing? I am doubtful, but then I tend to prefer things like the 18 and 15 series, so I probably suffer from the opposite bias!

No.
It just looks better bc they use the higher grade woods and shell

I am not convinced that these appointments improve the volume and clarity. However, that leaves out another important aspect of an instrument, the way it looks. If your appreciation of guitar art is limited to volume and clarity alone, to me that is like choosing a spouse for the way he/she cooks or cleans. Such things are important, no doubt, but there is more to be considered. The way a guitar or a spouse looks is important to some people, and not so important to others. Your choice.

cotten

I have heard that it does but I doubt it just because of where the ornamentation is located.

from what I've heard, there is a difference in the way the top reacts...this is because of the routing for purfling being extended further in off of the sides and this allegedly frees up the top for a different type of movement...

I "think" the route Taylor uses on the underside of their tops is supposed to replicate this effect.

Yes, hard to imagine this not having some effect. Whether it's consistently detectable, I can't say. I would say that 40 series guitars sound different to me than 28's, with more chime and harmonics in some cases, but I could not (of course) definitively say why.

The idea that Martin Styles 42 and 45 abalone appointments “improve” the tonal qualities of guitars adorned with them is a relatively recent meme on online guitar forums. I don’t know a single acoustic guitar builder or others professionally involved with the guitar industry who believes that assertion.

I’m sure there must be some of them out there somewhere, but none of the guitar pros I’ve ever discussed it with believe that AT ALL.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

^^ This. The bling does nothing for tone, but the higher 40 series will get the best selection of available woods.

I'd sure like to think so - my friends who hear me play tho don't necessarily agree.

Usually luthiers will use their top woods on '45's - could be a little bit of a tonal add there

However, any higher grade woods are chosen for their cosmetic and not their sonic properties.

I’m supposing a bit here. But “back in the day” at Martin, if their best people worked on the 42/45s and the best (looking?) wood was chosen, (and then the instrument was maintained a little better by its more affluent owners), then all of that would lead toward a potentially better sound coming from the higher-end model... and the blingy guitars would sound better. But that’s correlation, not causation.

However - and again, I’m supposing - if you had already selected the lumber and then you told Mr. Henderson / Olson to add abalone, I’d be surprised if it impacted the tone. And if it did impact the tone, I’d be shocked if the impact was a positive one.

How did you convince yourself that the 45 appointments increased volume and clarity?

I have two comments on this as the owner of a 15 year old OM-42. First, once you plunk down the extra dough to buy a 40's series guitar, you are going to find yourself attracted to all the theories about how superior they are.

On the other hand, having come to this guitar after a series of Martin Rosewood OM's from the lower orders, it does have a kind of shimmer or chime to it in comparison to those other guitars. The top is routed differently. The top wood is very attractive. But I don't know that I would bet the farm on that theory. After all, it just might be a really nice rosewood OM, never mind the pearl, who knows?

My understanding is that the D-45 has scalloped bracing and the D-28 has non scalloped bracing. Wouldn't that make a bigger difference in tone than appointments would?