#16
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No need....... they both look great.
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#17
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D42 is one better...
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#18
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I have two stories to post here, and I think the answer to this thread lies somewhere in between the two.
Back in the day, I spent a very long time getting knowledgeable about speaker building. I eventually came up with what I thought would be an exceptional design, and I went to one of my favorite suppliers for advice. The guy told me flat out that if I didn't charge 5x markup for my costs, i'd be out of business within a year. And he broke it down further, it was 4x the cost, and 1x for advertising. Story 2: My brother in law was an engineer for Dana (the axle guys, made the rear end for the Vipers). He eventually became the plant manager there, so I think it's fair to say the guy was something of an insider in the auto industry. We were discussing the Lexus brand, and he said the Japanese had discovered that the initial launch was actually priced too LOW. It seems that for the purpose of prestige, people didn't take the car seriously enough because of that low price. So they made a few general improvement and gradually kept bumping up the price, and car sales soared. So to wrap up, I suspect that not only the labor and parts, but the time it takes to make the small changes on the Martin's, could be a lot more than meets the eye. And I suspect that it's also a lot about prestige.
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#19
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As everyone’s said, aesthetically, the 42 has a gloss neck and different inlays.
They’re braced identically with the same wood (and sound the same now). You realize, for this money, you could get an Authentic series Martin? |
#20
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You ignored the biggest part of the extra cost - labor. John Kinnaird once told me that it doesn't cost much more for the parts from one guitar to the next. The upcharges are for labor. Time is money.
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The Bard Rocks Fay OM Sinker Redwood/Tiger Myrtle Sexauer L00 Adk/Magnolia For Sale Hatcher Jumbo Bearclaw/"Bacon" Padauk Goodall Jumbo POC/flamed Mahogany Appollonio 12 POC/Myrtle MJ Franks Resonator, all Australian Blackwood Goodman J45 Lutz/fiddleback Mahogany Blackbird "Lucky 13" - carbon fiber '31 National Duolian + many other stringed instruments. |
#21
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You realize how much extra skill and time goes into the Authentic series (hide glue, fixed neck rods, hand sculpted necks, hand finish, more expensive materials (torrefactiin, Adirondack spruce) etc) vs a few snowflake inlays on the 42. Yet the 42 is more expensive than half the Authentics. It’s nothing more than marketing. The Authentics are a much better VALUE, several of which at a lower price point than the 42. Not to mention, cost of mahogany is running with rosewood these days, yet the 18s are all quite a bit cheaper. It’s all marketing. This 40 series has a massive profit margin, comparatively.
Last edited by zoopeda; 02-19-2019 at 08:08 AM. |
#22
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Quote:
Quote:
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#23
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Martin is a business. If they go under, we get no more Martins. Chris Martin chose to make his living and dedicate his time to the business of guitars rather than to work on Wall Street or open a bakery or sell drugs. He chose to devote his life to building and selling guitars. I think the accurate way to frame this is: Martin is in business to make money as well as dignity of work and purpose (for their company and employees) and to do this by bringing guitars into the world. It’s hard to find a better new guitar than an Authentic. It’s also hard to find a guitar company that stays in business by not making a profit. I, for one, am grateful they have the business sense to keep their guitars in existence. I suspect people who buy these new 42s go a long way to keeping Martin’s future alive and well.
Last edited by zoopeda; 02-19-2019 at 09:08 AM. |
#24
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Honestly, having owned (and still owning a couple) all three, the differences for me come down to individual guitars. It's not like a Corvette where one identically looking model has 450hp, one has 650 hp and the other has 750 hp. All three generally sound and look (for what that's worth) fantastic. Any of the three would be most people's grail or #1 or bucket-list desire. So, for me, if you have a need/desire for one esthetic find one of that model you prefer and want. If any of the three would be fine then, again, find one that blows your socks off and buy it. I've played slightly different sounding models of the '40's dreads and any/all of them would get you to Carnegie Hall after much (of course) practice, practice practice.
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#25
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2021 Edmonds OM-28RS - Sunburst (Adi/Old Growth Honduran) 2014 Walker Clark Fork (Adi/Honduran Rosewood)…incoming FOR SALE: 2023 Martin 000-15SM 12 fret w/ K&K mini |
#26
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I am also glad that with the plethora of guitar manufacturers, we can usually find one that suits us without having to buy one with a certain name on the headstock. |
#27
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__________________
2021 Edmonds OM-28RS - Sunburst (Adi/Old Growth Honduran) 2014 Walker Clark Fork (Adi/Honduran Rosewood)…incoming FOR SALE: 2023 Martin 000-15SM 12 fret w/ K&K mini |
#28
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I'm detecting a bit of cynicism here.
The price differential is not just about marketing and bling. The very best wood from the stock piles goes into the D-45. And the most talented of Martin's luthiers work on these instruments. A friend with whom I've done a number of home concerts had a D-45 built through the custom shop, paying upwards of $30,000 for the guitar. I've played it--fingerstyle, of course--and am absolutely blown away by it. Before that time I thought that anything above a D-35 was basically the same instrument in terms of tonal characteristics. But this is simply wrong. If you ever get a chance to play a D-45, don't pass it up. The guitar makes its own argument.
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