Does your Martin smell good? Do you know why?

[Cool555]

Originally Posted by RoyBoy

Mahogany wouldn't produce a sweet smell. My guess is the finish. Be thankful, I've heard horror stories of new guitars where the chemical offgassing of the glues in the case was so bad that they had to put the case in the garage to air out for more than a week. Nitrocellulose lacquer has a sweet smell to it. Perhaps your Martin has a catalyzed nitro finish.

What’s a catalysed nitro finished? My 00-15m is satin finished.

[Cool555]

I’ve just added a poll. What’s new? LOL.

Thanks for voting and also for all the comments earlier in the thread!

[Neal Pert]

I have definitely opened Martin cases just to smell inside. It's the best. They really should make Martin scented candles.

[Silly Moustache]

Dunno about Martins, but the TKLs that came with my Collings guitars had a definite smell of vanilla.
I think that TKL might have added it to reduce the glue smells.

There was a guy on this forum or another who found it sickening - I mean who doesn't like vanilla?

I'm fine with it but they are fading now.

[bluesman62]

I started a thread about this subject before.I have a Martin Jeff Daniels custom #33 that always wants me to take a bite out of it. It must be the Madagascar rosewood.

[Peter Z]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Dunno about Martins, but the TKLs that came with my Collings guitars had a definite smell of vanilla.
I think that TKL might have added it to reduce the glue smells.

There was a guy on this forum or another who found it sickening - I mean who doesn't like vanilla?

I'm fine with it but they are fading now.

I also think, it’s not the guitar, it’s the case.
I smell it but I don’t care. Would prefer a natural wood smell.

[Cool555]

Originally Posted by bluesman62

I started a thread about this subject before.I have a Martin Jeff Daniels custom #33 that always wants me to take a bite out of it. It must be the Madagascar rosewood.

Thanks! I just read through that thread.

Does your Eric Clapton and CEO-7 smell good too? Which has the best smell?

[TDavis]

Funny, but I’ve had Martin guitars that had that “perfume” when I opened the case, and I’ve had them that either didn’t have any odor at all or smelled vaguely of glue or some other chemical. Perhaps the standard 3-ply TKL cases are the “smelly” ones, and the 5-ply Geib-style cases are not.

Both my current Martin guitars smell wonderful when I open their cases...with the “18” carrying the fragrance more while I’m playing! One of the perks of Martin ownership.

[big jilm]

My 000-15m smells wonderful. I don’t know why - case, wood? Great smell, either way.

[sloar]

I just bought a new 000-15m. Mine has a very light wood smell but nothing like everybody claims. I could be wrong but everything I could find about the newer ones uses spruce for the bracings and not cedar.

[Cool555]

Originally Posted by sloar

I just bought a new 000-15m. Mine has a very light wood smell but nothing like everybody claims. I could be wrong but everything I could find about the newer ones uses spruce for the bracings and not cedar.

Previous posters mentioned kerfing made of Spanish Cedar. They are the pieces of wood you see when you look inside the guitar. They are found where the sides meet the back of the guitar.

[emtsteve]

My 000-15M smells wonderful! I would describe it as spiced vanilla, with a tobacco (nice, not cigarette smoke) undertone. I've played a few other Martins that have this nice smell but not as much as my 15. My wife catches me sniffing the sound hole all the time and chuckles about it. But man, it smells nice. I'd buy a Yankee candle of this stuff.

[Cool555]

I just sniffed my 00-15m again to check where the scent actually comes from. When I sniffed the hole of the guitar, I smell a woody smell. When I sniffed the body of my guitar (sides, back & front), I smell the "vanilla" scent.

So is it possible that Martin adds a nice fragrance (vanilla scent) to the liquid used to finish the bodies of all their US-Made Martins? Possible?

[RoyBoy]

Originally Posted by Cool555

What’s a catalysed nitro finished? My 00-15m is satin finished.

Traditional nitrocellulose lacquer, which is what all guitars were finished with until 30 some years ago, takes a long time to cure. Most luthiers wait a whole month before buffing it out. Large manufacturers like Martin and Taylor don't have enough space to store finished instruments for 30 days before buffing and set up, so more modern finishes have been adopted.

A catalyzed finish has a hardener added to it just before spraying (or is catalyzed by exposure to UV light afterwards) to bring it to full cure very quickly, similar to the way epoxy sets up when hardener is added. This has been common with urethanes for sometime now. I haven't seen catalyzed nitro for sale anywhere, but I imagine the large builders have finishes produced to their specs for them. Dana Bourgeois has found a catalyzed finish that is up to his standards, but hasn't revealed exactly what it's made of.

Of course, nitro has been considered the gold standard for a long time because of its tone after aging a long time, but it's delicacy and finish schedule have relegated it to only the top shelf instruments.

As far as satin goes, adding the flattening agent to reduce the sheen doesn't change the nature of the finish. It's the same stuff. Satin is generally found on lower models because of the reduced cost, they shoot it and it's ready to go out the door. A gloss finish is labor intensive. There are several steps of sanding and buffing before it's done, thus more expensive.

[Cool555]

Originally Posted by RoyBoy

Traditional nitrocellulose lacquer, which is what all guitars were finished with until 30 some years ago, takes a long time to cure. Most luthiers wait a whole month before buffing it out. Large manufacturers like Martin and Taylor don't have enough space to store finished instruments for 30 days before buffing and set up, so more modern finishes have been adopted.

A catalyzed finish has a hardener added to it just before spraying (or is catalyzed by exposure to UV light afterwards) to bring it to full cure very quickly, similar to the way epoxy sets up when hardener is added. This has been common with urethanes for sometime now. I haven't seen catalyzed nitro for sale anywhere, but I imagine the large builders have finishes produced to their specs for them. Dana Bourgeois has found a catalyzed finish that is up to his standards, but hasn't revealed exactly what it's made of.

Of course, nitro has been considered the gold standard for a long time because of its tone after aging a long time, but it's delicacy and finish schedule have relegated it to only the top shelf instruments.

As far as satin goes, adding the flattening agent to reduce the sheen doesn't change the nature of the finish. It's the same stuff. Satin is generally found on lower models because of the reduced cost, they shoot it and it's ready to go out the door. A gloss finish is labor intensive. There are several steps of sanding and buffing before it's done, thus more expensive.

Thank you RoyBoy for the detailed explanation!