Martin D-45 Authentic 1936

[Luca1979]

I’m thinking about selling some of my guitar gear to fund the purchase of a D-45 1936 Authentic.
Since it’s a very expensive guitar, I’d like to hear your opinion about it.
If anyone has tried it, if anyone thinks it’s an overpriced nonsense, if anyone loves it... any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[RalphH]

When you get to that kinda price point I think it just becomes a personal decision simply about whether or not it will make you happy.

It is a very, very long way up that diminishing returns curve. There's really no point trying to decide if it is "worth the money" by any purely objective measure because it just won't be. It clearly isn't going to be 20x 'better' than a D-28 or 7x 'better' than a standard D-45, but if it brings you joy then so what? Do you need 20 D-28's more than you need one of these?

You can't take your money with you, and you can't get your time back. I would personally rather have one or two really special guitars that I love to bits than a whole warehouse full of merely 'good' guitars.

My wife said much the same thing to me when she encouraged me to buy my hummingbird, which for me is a stupidly expensive instrument; "Life is all about having experiences - buy it if it'll make you happy" is what she told me. Clearly "stupidly expensive" for you is 10x what it is for me, but again so what? Everything is relative - I don't have that kinda cash (unless I was willing to live in a tent with it), but if you do, then with absolute sincerity, good for you - enjoy it.

People tend to regret not doing things more than they regret doing them. At least with longer-term hindsight. I say go for it if it floats your boat. But try one before you part with every other guitar you own, your car and all your clothes to fund it.

Once you try one in person you will know whether you need it or not.

[RP]

First of all, welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Forum. Going along with Ralph's thoughts, to me it becomes kind of a cost/benefit analysis. What need(s) does the D45 satisfy that your other acoustic guitars don't? Additionally, what is the "cost" (and not just financial) of selling other gear and ownership of a D45? Only the OP can answer these and other questions. How will you use the D45, gigging, home use, investment etc???

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by RalphH

When you get to that kinda price point I think it just becomes a personal decision simply about whether or not it will make you happy.

It is a very, very long way up that diminishing returns curve. There's really no point trying to decide if it is "worth the money" by any purely objective measure because it just won't be. It clearly isn't going to be 20x 'better' than a D-28 or 7x 'better' than a standard D-45, but if it brings you joy then so what? Do you need 20 D-28's more than you need one of these?

You can't take your money with you, and you can't get your time back. I would personally rather have one or two really special guitars that I love to bits than a whole warehouse full of merely 'good' guitars.

My wife said much the same thing to me when she encouraged me to buy my hummingbird, which for me is a stupidly expensive instrument; "Life is all about having experiences - buy it if it'll make you happy" is what she told me. Clearly "stupidly expensive" for you is 10x what it is for me, but again so what? Everything is relative - I don't have that kinda cash (unless I was willing to live in a tent with it), but if you do, then with absolute sincerity, good for you - enjoy it.

People tend to regret not doing things more than they regret doing them. At least with longer-term hindsight. I say go for it if it floats your boat. But try one before you part with every other guitar you own, your car and all your clothes to fund it.

Once you try one in person you will know whether you need it or not.

THIS^^^might just be "Post Of The Year" for me...

Heed these words of wisdom Luca1979

So VERY well written and said RalphH...and SO VERY TRUE!!!


Luca1979, I would add one other very important point to consider, a point I have made often over the years here, and one I just made again on a thread from a couple of weeks ago:


One thing you really need to think through, as much as possible, before you make the purchase, is will the price/cost of this guitar ultimately cause you to become fearful of actually using it for what it really is...A Guitar...an instrument to make music with.

It sounds like not much of anything, this feeling, this little inner voice that begins to speak to you from within, quietly perhaps at first, but with ever gaining volume and intensity as time goes on...but, this and all the other online guitar forums are rife with "threads a many" from and about folks who bought really nice guitars, and spent quite a large bit of money, relative to their standard of living per se', and who then really struggled to enjoy the guitar for fear of damaging it, causing them to not play it very much, or take it anywhere and have fun playing out it at friends or relatives homes, or guitar jams and festivals, or out at family picnics or outdoor events like vacations and such. And in the end, the fear really consumed them and ruined their experience with the instrument, causing them to have to sell it or trade it, and then they ended up feeling bad and remorseful about having done so because they knew how wonderful a guitar it was for them.

So ponder how you might feel, about owning, and using such an expensive guitar. It would be a truly fantastic guitar to own and play, as long as you could do so without stress and worry.

duff
Be a Player...Not A Polisher

[Wade Hampton]

Luca, since your post that started this thread was the first you've ever contributed to the forum, none of us have much information to work with here, whether it's regarding what style of music you play to what sort of other guitars have you owned and played that you can compare to this high dollar Martin.

The other pertinent question is whether you've had a chance to play the guitar in question and fallen in love with it, or if you're contemplating a purchase of a guitar you've either seen advertised somewhere distant, from your home. Or even just thinking about ordering one.

If you've played the guitar and you know you love it, then that's nine tenths of the struggle right there.

As for the guitar itself, yeah, those are magnificent instruments. But their price tag reflects the additional labor that goes into them. There's definitely a profit margin for Martin in their price, but I wouldn't call them overpriced. Their price reflects what the market will bear, but it is also a reflection of the additional costs that go into making them.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[tomiv9]

You're talking about a $50,000 guitar? I've never played one, but there would be a long list of guitars I would rather have for less, such as a luthier built custom guitar or a vintage martin.

Also a standard D-45 is about $8,000. For the authentic, I think you're paying about $3,000 extra for the main authentic features (bracing, adirondack top, hide glue, etc). I believe the remaining cost, almost $40,000, is just for the Brazilian rosewood, which is insane.

[brencat]

Hi and welcome to the forum. If you haven’t done so, I think you owe it to yourself to play a bunch of different Authentics in person — specifically the D-28A 1937, the D-28A Aged, and the Reimagined standard series D-45, to at least get a baseline for what Martin offers at the well under $10k price point.

There are so many great alternatives between 5k and the price of the D-45A particularly from the boutiques and solo luthiers, including the real deal Martin vintage (for example...the very clean 1949 D-28 that MFG has for sale priced in the mid-teens)

For me, I would never spend multi-10s of thousands on a guitar that I couldn’t play first or that was constructed without voicing the top or optimizing the tone. FYI — Martin doesn’t hand voice their tops, and never has.

[musicman1951]

Welcome to the forum.

I have not played this guitar, but I owned a D-28 Authentic 1937 until shoulder issues pushed me to smaller guitars.

Mine was both sweet and powerful. Sometimes this was wonderful - especially when leading a group of 25 singers with no amp. It was simply up to the job like no other guitar I have played.

On the other hand, solo voice has some challenges when playing this guitar with a heavy picking hand.

I spent even more on the next guitar, so I'm not the one to ask about anything overpriced. Nothing's too good for me (OK, that's not true, but I'm happy spending quite a bit for instruments I play all the time).

I am in the camp that thinks if you play it and fall in love you should get it.

[guitararmy]

I have a pair of D-45's, so I can appreciate the desire for bling.

If I could do it over, I would probably consider getting a Martin D18 and a Martin D28, just for the variety of tone.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by Luca1979

If anyone has tried it, if anyone thinks it’s an overpriced nonsense, if anyone loves it... any input is greatly appreciated.

Yep. Overpriced nonsense.

Welcome to the forum.

[RP]

Originally Posted by guitararmy

If I could do it over, I would probably consider getting a Martin D18 and a Martin D28, just for the variety of tone.

Originally Posted by bufflehead

Yep. Overpriced nonsense...

Yeh, all of a sudden my newish D18 and HD28 seem like a bargain...

[Glennwillow]

Hi Luca,

Welcome to the AGF.

My impression has been that the D-45A is priced for really wealthy people, not for people who have to sell a bunch of gear to be able to afford it. It's none of my business how you spend your money. For me, even though I have fair amount of money wrapped up in about a dozen very good acoustic guitars, I would never even consider a D-45A at ~$50K.

I have a 2018 D-45 with forward-shifted, scalloped bracing, and I think it's a terrific guitar. Back and sides are East Indian rosewood. I'm perfectly happy with this guitar and have no desire for a D-45 with Brazilian rosewood. I also got a great price on this guitar through one of our forum sponsors.

I have a 1967 D-35 with Brazilian rosewood. I love this old guitar. Still, the newer D-45 is a better sounding guitar in my opinion.

Here are a couple of videos using my D-45.





- Glenn

[6L6]

If you can afford the guitar, why not get it, insure it, and enjoy it?

Go for it!

[JC.]

You're paying for rare wood, not better sound. And you'll probably spend the rest of your life listening very closely as you play, to decide whether you can hear that very expensive rosewood....

[RalphH]

Originally Posted by bufflehead

Yep. Overpriced nonsense.

Welcome to the forum.

This made me blow coffee out of my nose