Two Piece necks on high end Martins

[LordRasor]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

That’s a very nice guitar indeed, but 12th fret action is .5 mm, half a millimeter??



I’m guessing you mean 5 mm? That’s 3/16”, sounds spot-on perfect to me. But each to his own - hope it works out for you.



The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

You are correct! Sorry for my misinformation. It was measured at .5 cm at the 12th fret on the bass side E string.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by mercy

The Spanish joint is a good joint but nobody does those in the steel string world

I hardly think that John Greven merits the description of "nobody" ...

Alan Carruth has built a few as well.

[mercy]

They arent nobodys but compared to guitar builders/brands in general they are outliers and so not relevant to this conversation.

[Tony Burns]

My '71 D-55 has a three piece neck - never had a problem with it

[Paddy1951]

Something to consider...

I admire the Martin company. I like their guitars. I am not wealthy, so, I don't have dozens of them. I do enjoy the few I have and did so with a few that I no longer have.
Way back in the day, C.F. Martin decided how he would build his guitars. His successors continued with those designs and added new things as time went on.

Lots of interesting history and current approaches.

All of this said... it was how one person decided to build guitars.

But it wasn't the only way to build guitars. Orville Gibson went other ways.

The late founder of Guild saw still another way.

Bob Taylor went a very different way.

The Larrivee family, their way.

Then those guys from Sparta, WI

And all the individual builders in between.

An amazing number of amazing guitars.

I will bet we will see even some more ways to build a guitar neck.

[Mr Bojangles]

I love my Martins, but...

I don't want Richlite or Sipo or Sapele or select hardwood or wings or 2-piece necks or MLO profiles... or torrified tops or "420" guitars...

So I guess I'll keep playing the older Martins that I have. Nothing wrong with "Re-imagined" models, but I just sold mine. To each their own.

[Paddy1951]

Originally Posted by Mr Bojangles

I love my Martins, but...



I don't want Richlite or Sipo or Sapele or select hardwood or wings or 2-piece necks or MLO profiles... or torrified tops or "420" guitars...



So I guess I'll keep playing the older Martins that I have. Nothing wrong with "Re-imagined" models, but I just sold mine. To each their own.

Yes, to each their own.

You may deprive yourself at some point, however.

Sapele, for instance. I didn't think much of it either. Cheap mahogany substitute, right?

No, it is its own thing, second to no other wood. Similar to some others but different. Used on the right guitar...

But, I like my pre reimagined HD 28 a lot too.

To each, their own.

[mercy]

Martin started using two-piece necks around 2011/2012. Declining availability of 12/4 (one piece) and 10/4 (needs wings) mahogany that met Lacey Act requirements forced Martin to use 8/4 lumber and make two-piece necks. BTW, that information came directly from Martin.

[LordRasor]

Originally Posted by mercy

Martin started using two-piece necks around 2011/2012. Declining availability of 12/4 (one piece) and 10/4 (needs wings) mahogany that met Lacey Act requirements forced Martin to use 8/4 lumber and make two-piece necks. BTW, that information came directly from Martin.

Well, they did an incredible job on this neck. Plus it’s more sturdy than a one piece neck. No complaints here. Now I’m curious what everyone’s opinion is on how long a brand new guitar takes to “open up”. This one was manufactured in late February of this year. So it’s only a little over a month old.