Martin custom rosewood d

[Daveyo]

I just bought one of these on Reverb,
looks like a plain jane Martin
anyone have one and what can you tell me about it?
Dave

[dcmey]

I think that it will be similar to an MMV or DSR which are G.C. exclusive guitars. They have East Indian Rosewood back and sides, Sitka Spruce top. I am not sure the fingerboard, but most likely rosewood or richlite. A Frame bracing. I am just guessing but it should be similar to what I have described.

[AZLiberty]

Usually called a Martin DSR, or sometimes DSR-CG.

Basically a satin finished version of the MMV, but with chrome hardware and rosewood fretboard.

New they were $999, which was a heck of a good price for a made in USA Martin.

[Hyoung]

I have one and it's a great guitar. The action is quite good and has never been adjusted. I like the neck. The tone is typical Martin dred, full low end and nice trebles. It's a keeper!

[Penrith Pete]

I had one and it was great.

[crushme99]

I have one as well and would never part with it! I believe they were $1,299 new ($999 for the mahogany version). They were GC/MF exclusives. I want to say that mine was built in 2004 or 2005. It's not sexy but it's my everyday strummer and has really opened up throughout the years.. It's a no-frills guitar that could honestly hold it's own against any other Martin in tone and in fact, I prefer it's lightweight build for comfort and ease of play. Enjoy!

[JimmerO]

I recently sold my Martin Custom D to a friend for a very reasonable price.

It was my first guitar getting back into playing after not playing much for about 25 years. About 5 years ago I started picking up my old Ovation Anniversary Legend and playing again. Problem was that my daughter had started to play acoustic guitar and really liked the Ovation which is a very nice guitar. For her 16th birthday I gave her the choice of going out and buying her an acoustic guitar or she could have mine and she chose the Ovation. So I went on CL to look for a reasonably priced Martin that was solid wood and came upon a Custom D nearby for a good price and in perfect shape so I bought it.

I really liked my Custom D and only decided to sell it after I went out and bought a year old Martin HD28 and a nice Taylor 714ce and after a few years wasn’t playing the Custom D anymore.

If you search on Musician’s Friend you’ll find an old listing for the guitar and lots of great reviews:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guita...coustic-guitar
Many people who reviewed it compare it to an HD28 or D28 and some conclude that it’s just as good. Well I wouldn’t go that far but it’s a very lovely sounding instrument especially considering the bargain price.

Mine had a solid sitka spruce top and solid Indian rosewood back and sides with a satin finish and rosewood bridge and fingerboard. She was a really beauty and some ways the satin finish showed off the wood better than a gloss finish. I was told not to use regular wax on it and since it’s a thin coating and soft so you have to be careful or the guitar will ding easily.

I got worried when a couple of years ago the neck started to come loose and I thought the worst had happened. But it turns out that there’s a screw that holds it down that had come loose. You just pop off the plate inside with the name and serial number (it was held on with double sided tape) and tighten it. Afterward I tweaked the saddle height and adjusted the truss rod and got the action lower without buzzing and it plays much easier.

I found that it didn’t have as deep and rich a bass as the HD28 so I put 80/20 Bronze medium or light strings on it and I liked the way it sounded. It’s a very light guitar and very responsive. The thin satin finish probably makes it so responsive and it will play loudly but also softly with nice quality. It’s not as rich a tone as the HD28 but has beautiful wispy kind of sound.

Had a niece or nephew in the family been interested I would have gifted it to them but there were no takers. I probably could have gotten twice as much money for it on eBay or CL but it was such a nice guitar and so affordable I waited for someone I knew to buy it so that I might get to hear it once in awhile or at least “follow” along its musical journey. As it turned out a friend from work bought it and keeps it at the office and I have unlimited “visitation rights” so I’m happy I waited for the right person to sell it to.

I hope you enjoy your Custom D as much as I did.

[SFCRetired]

Martin always tried to claim that screw/bolt was only put on while the glue dried on the MT joint. Many a people have since found out that bolt was part of what held that neck on the guitar. Anyone who has a Martin with a MT joint and the heel starts separating simply pull that serial number plate off and use a #2 screw driver to tighten it. You can go further by taking it completely out and putting some thread lock on it or a locking washer and you should never have that problem again.

The Custom D is basically a solid wood DM or DR. The DM/DR was part of the Road series but had lam B/S. People are starting to ask quite a bit for the older 1 series, the Custom D's and the Dm and DR's. They were all part of Martin's attempt at an affordable guitar built in PA for the masses, before they started with HPL, started using Sapele, and then finally sending the production to Mexico for their low cost guitars. They all have solid wood fret boards and necks and people are buying them and passing on the MIM guitars that feature stratabond necks, Richlite fret boards and bridges etc. I still recommend a D16 over any of the older Road Series guitars, especially if you can find a pre 2001 d16 that still uses ebony on the fret board and bridge. There was one here that sold in less than a day last week for a price lower than it should have sold for.

But make no mistake, those older Road series and the custom D are better than most guitars being built in China today, and they are Martin through and through. I use my DM for porch duties and the 000M for plugging in.

[sunra]

A few years late to this thread. Just picked up one of these (rosewood) and judging from the serial # was made in 2010. I wanted a strummer/flat-picker I could take to a jam or gig and not have to worry. Agree with all the other posts. A straight-forward, great-sounding guitar that is Martin through and through.

[sunra]

Here are some pics of the bracing