A Quickie Martin D1 Review

LiFeStArTs@40 · #1 12-01-2009, 10:21 AM

The D1 is an all solid wood guitar with a satin finish. It does have the Stratabond neck that you see on the X series of guitars. The whole guitar itself is very basic in apprearance.

The neck: Yes, I'd love to have an all solid mahogony neck, but I don't mind the appearance of the laminate now. It has a satin feel to it that I might hand polish out. (jury's out on that one still) It's 1 11/16 at the nut but thicker in feel that makes transitioning from 1 3/4 easy. I like the neck profile A LOT. I bought it at Elderly Instruments so it already had a set up with the action right where I like it... about 3/32's.

The Body: Mine has a really pretty and well bookmatched front on it. Like my other two Martins, it has a really pleasent aroma. The satin finish on all sides is a first for me and I'm really liking it. You can tell the bracing is scalloped and lite compared to other guits. When you play it, it resonates against your body. My only critisism of the body would be that they could relieve the edge on the black binding a bit more. Mine isn't what you'd consider sharp, but compared to my other guitars, it does seem to dig in to the underside of my right arm more.

Sound: First, this is the LOUDEST guitar I've ever played, bar none. So much that it forces me to concentrate on technique when strumming and picking. I mean that in a good way because light technique is rewarded with little nuances that I've never experienced, but if I get aggressive, it doesn't back down. On the bass side, it has the more deep bass than most other guitars I've played. Mids and highs are balanced, clear, and just have a nice pleasing ring to them. Fingerpicked, it has that piano tone that you'd expect from something like a concert body. All this said, it currently has fresh Martin SP's on it currently. Unfortunately, I've become a coated string snob and now prefer Elixer's or EXP's. I have a new set of medium Elixers waiting for the current strings to take a dive. I will be curious to see how these sound.

I would definitely recommend this guitar somebody that's looking for TONE, VOLUME, and PLAYABILITY. If bling is your thing, not that there's anything wrong with that, this IS NOT the guitar for you.

vti814ce · #2 12-01-2009, 10:34 AM

I bet the sound you love goes away as soon as you put the Elixers on, In my opinion, Martins and Elixers arent that great of a fit. Yours may be different. Enjoy!

Sammy

Crispy Dog · #3 12-01-2009, 10:37 AM

Thanks for the review. I've looked at this guitar and I found it to be compatible with other higher priced acoustics. I'm pretty new to the whole acoustic world and I am happy to see other more knowledgeable people with a keen eye approving of this guitar.

rmyAddison · #4 12-01-2009, 11:21 AM

I played a few D1's and they definitely have the Martin family voicing, nice guitars in their price point.

It was not the loudest guitar I have ever played, but they are responsive for sure. Enjoy your D1.

I agree with Sammy, as the owner of over 20 Martins, Elixers dull every Martin I have ever head them on, but to each his own.

Wadcutter · #5 12-01-2009, 11:35 AM

"I bet the sound you love goes away as soon as you put the Elixers on, In my opinion, Martins and Elixers arent that great of a fit."

Roger that.

jackstrat · #6 12-01-2009, 12:22 PM

In my recent quest for a dreadnought I also played a new D1 and it was fantastic. I record the tests at the stores using my zoom h2 and as I review the various guitars the D1 really stood out.

The feel of the neck is great, but I could not get over the appearance, and I am no snob in that regard (normally).

But it sounded great, played great, and was loud...

JackL

Neil K Walk · #7 12-01-2009, 02:44 PM

I recently tried a few 1 series and though they were pretty good - up until I compared it to other Martins. I much prefer the D-16GT which actually isn't that much more expensive. I bet the discontinued DM (laminated mahogany back & sides/solid spruce top) would give the all-solid D-1 a real serious run for its money.

MRBABAR · #8 12-01-2009, 03:55 PM

A friend of mine purchased a D-1 sight unseen and loves it. The first time I played it I was literally speechless - the volume, tone, playability were all first class. Why am I spending money on guitars that are 4,5,6 times as expensive when you can have a D-1!!!!

John Adams · #9 12-01-2009, 04:55 PM

I have an HD-28 and just got a D-1 for office practice. I won't say it's as good as the HD-28--that would be crazytalk. But it's a wonderful lower end guitar and you covered most of the things I would say.

Regarding the neck, I actually dig the way it looks. The lines look pretty cool and don't bother me.

Crispy Dog · #10 12-01-2009, 09:08 PM

Is the Martin D1 made in Pennsylvania?

MRBABAR · #11 12-01-2009, 09:10 PM

Yes - it is made in Nazareth, PA.

Jesse Matthews · #12 12-02-2009, 06:57 AM

I Bought my Martin D-1 in 2003 just before the stopped making them and i will be so bold to say now it sounds better then ever before and it has a lot of play time on it and i would say that if you put next to it a D-18 you won't tell the difference, great guitar, a real powerhouse.

P.S - mine has a hog neck like all the old D-1's....

LiFeStArTs@40 · #13 12-02-2009, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwakatak

I recently tried a few 1 series and though they were pretty good - up until I compared it to other Martins. I much prefer the D-16GT which actually isn't that much more expensive. I bet the discontinued DM (laminated mahogany back & sides/solid spruce top) would give the all-solid D-1 a real serious run for its money.

The D-16 IS a lot more money than what I paid for the D-1. I actually went to Elderly to buy a used DM (as is) and liked the D-1 better. For those that don't know, Elderly has a great repair shop and one of the techs there told me they really don't care for the DM's and the DR's. They tend to have more problems down the road due to their light bracing and it's their light bracing that gives them great tone right out of the box. He told me that the D-1's are much better built (for now) and ARE basically a D-16 with a stratabond neck.

Obviously, I bought my D-1 with my ears and not with my eyes or some spec sheet. For anyone interested, Elderly still has the used DM. It could use a good set up, a weeks worth of humidifying, and some strings, but its in GREAT condition and would make a nice guitar.

skiltrip · #14 12-02-2009, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wadcutter

"I bet the sound you love goes away as soon as you put the Elixers on, In my opinion, Martins and Elixers arent that great of a fit."

Roger that.

I have recently put Nanoweb PB Elixirs on my D-16GT and I gotta say, it sounds absolutely amazing to me. To each their own with strings.

I was a coated string hater for a long time, and I was a die-hard fan of Martin strings on my Martin. I tried a lot of different ones and didn't like them. Martin were the only one's that sounded right.

I was working on some recordings that were pretty subtle, and I needed some reduction in finger squeak, so I gave Elixirs a shot, totally waiting for and expecting them to suck badly.

I was pleasantly suprised by Polywebs on my 000-15. Before that I had been using Martin 80/20 on that guitar, and the sound did not change much if at all with the Elixirs, except now I had much reduced finger squeak.

Tried Polys on the D-16GT, it sounded "nice", but the 16 wasn't itself. But it was more of an 80/20 thing than an Elixir thing.

Once I put Nanoweb PBs on the D-16GT I was like. HOLY GEORGE! They sound incredible on that guitar. Plenty of brightness without being tinny (like D'Addarios sound to me). Plenty of bass, lots of definition. Great fingerpicked, great flatpicked, great strummed. I'm 110% sold.

Again, this testimony is coming from a former coated string hater. I mean, absolute dispiser. haha. But you have to try them with YOUR guitar and YOUR ears to really know. That's the lesson here.

rmyAddison · #15 12-02-2009, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skiltrip

I have recently put Nanoweb PB Elixirs on my D-16GT and I gotta say, it sounds absolutely amazing to me. To each their own with strings.

I was a coated string hater for a long time, and I was a die-hard fan of Martin strings on my Martin. I tried a lot of different ones and didn't like them. Martin were the only one's that sounded right.

I was working on some recordings that were pretty subtle, and I needed some reduction in finger squeak, so I gave Elixirs a shot, totally waiting for and expecting them to suck badly.

I was pleasantly suprised by Polywebs on my 000-15. Before that I had been using Martin 80/20 on that guitar, and the sound did not change much if at all with the Elixirs, except now I had much reduced finger squeak.

Tried Polys on the D-16GT, it sounded "nice", but the 16 wasn't itself. But it was more of an 80/20 thing than an Elixir thing.

Once I put Nanoweb PBs on the D-16GT I was like. HOLY GEORGE! They sound incredible on that guitar. Plenty of brightness without being tinny (like D'Addarios sound to me). Plenty of bass, lots of definition. Great fingerpicked, great flatpicked, great strummed. I'm 110% sold.

Again, this testimony is coming from a former coated string hater. I mean, absolute dispiser. haha. But you have to try them with YOUR guitar and YOUR ears to really know. That's the lesson here.

I agree you have to try and see.

Elixers don't work for me. My three main workhorses are a D-18GE, 175th Anniversary America's Guitar, and my personal grail an OM-45 Tasmanian Blackwood. Elixers never made it to the Taz after trying them on the dreads, to my ears they lost "sizzle" and Martins are dry enough to start with.

But as you said to each his own, our guitars and strings need to suit us, not somebody else. Peace.