Who Makes Martins Better than Martin?

[ManyMartinMan]

Older thread but..... no one. There are several (not many) companies making great "copies" of '30's Martins but I don't believe you can make anything better when you are copying someone else. That said, I believe that Blazer & Henkes do a great job making wonderful instruments. I would certainly rather have one of them than most other Martin copiers. There are a few others like Wayne Henderson and the above mentioned (Bagnasco & Casati) Italian makers who also do a great job.

[DesertTwang]

I think you can see from the vast variety of responses that it might be next to impossible to reach a consensus.

Me, for example, I consider a Collings the closest thing to what I consider the "Martin sound and vibe." A former guitar teacher of mine had a sub-1k Recording King that sounded way more Martin-like than various 6k+ Santa Cruz guitars I've tried, to my ears.

Not trying to be dismissive or antagonistic, just wondering whether this question might be too much subject to personal preference and perception to produce a meaningful conclusion.

[ManyMartinMan]

Originally Posted by DesertTwang

..I think you can see from the vast variety of responses that it might be next to impossible to reach a consensus.

Me, for example, I consider a Collings the closest thing to what I consider the "Martin sound and vibe." ... just wondering whether this question might be too much subject to personal preference and perception ...

I have to agree 100%. First, I don't believe there is ever any consensus here. Next I believe that everyone has not only having a perception and preference difference but we also hear differently. For example my sometimes playing partner (when one of us needs a second guitar) plays a Collings dread. While I find his guitar a fabulous instrument with a great tone and vibe - I find it the least Martinesque dread I've ever played with.

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by AHill

This was mentioned in another thread, but I'd like some opinions. Specifically who makes a better D-28 or HD-35 type of dreadnought?

By better, I mean more consistent sound from guitar to guitar, and better quality in build. I am specifically interested in spruce / EIR tonewoods. I like the sound of that combination. Cost is secondary, but given an HD-35 MAP is $3229 or thereabouts, I'd like the answers to be in the $3000-4000K range. I'm not looking to spend $6K+ on a new guitar. I'm also not looking for a dread that sounds like a Taylor. I'm looking for a dread that sounds more like what the a good Martin D-28 or D-35 sounds like. Flat picking or strumming would be the main style of play
And, yes, I know I can just buy a Martin. Just wanting to open up my options for consideration.

Old thread but I wonder if the OP made a choice
Martin’s build quality I would say is very good, especially on the higher end models.
If the main concern is consistency does that mean the OP will be buying/ bought sight unseen and are/was concerned that they would get a dud, which does happen.

2 thoughts
Good return policy
Or,don’t buy sight unseen

[Steadfastly]

I compared my Alvarez Masterworks MD-60 (Spruce top with solid Mahogany B/S) to a D-18 and was surprised at how close it sounded. The Alvarez MD-70 has Rosewood (or did) B/S. I have not tried one of these but wonder how close it sounds to an HD-28. From what I can see, the build quality is similar and my MD-60 looks nicer that the D-18.
Then there is the Yairi Masterworks series. If one of these are close enough to the HD-28, and you go with it, you will owe me several hundreds cups of coffee.

[dneal]

Martin built their best guitars many decades ago. If that’s the “Martin” sound, they can’t even build it, let alone build it better.

[Tony Burns]

I own several guitars - and im not brand specific - I just like Great sounding guitars ( thou I'm really not a Taylor person - but I respect the brand )

I have great respect for Collings -if I didnt want a martin but something that sounded like a Martin - that would be the Brand .

In many cases i have encountered - I have played alot of stellar Martins ! ( i own a fantastic OM28v )
Maybe you need to play more Martins to find the one that sounds best to your ears.

[Hoyt]

Have you played the Authentics. If not, try them and see if they make the difference from Standards you are hoping for. Never played one myself, but sounds like you are looking for something different from standards.

Otherwise, I’d probably aim at Santa Cruz. I’ve played a few Collins’s, fine guitars. But the ones I’ve played — mostly OMs and smaller — seem brighter than comparable Martins. Probably great in a band or jam, but not as enjoyable for most playing solo, IMO and hearing.

I’ve had a small SC and Huss&Dalton. Did not like them better than comparable Martins. Basically, was worth stretching budget above a Martin.

And there are a bunch more to try, even vintage guitars.

[mmasters]

I'd check out Preston Thompson guitars

[Paddy1951]

Originally Posted by zmf

Are you asking who makes a good rosewood dread?



Are you asking who else makes a rosewood dread that sounds like a Martin?



Are you asking who makes a good rosewood dread that is easier to play for your style of playing, whatever that may be?



What are you asking?

Yes, what are you asking? There are smaller concerns that are building guitars inspired by a Martin guitar, for sure.
I am not so sure that anyone is looking to build a better exact duplicate. What would be the point and could it be achieved anyway?

Besides an obvious building flaw, what constitutes a Martin being a DUD? We know that one person can reject any guitar on the basis of how it sounds and the next person plays it and falls in love with it. The dud, then, is subjective.

Assuming a modern Martin is built to a pre-determined standard and Martin has QC inspectors that enforce that
standard, what is a dud?
It has been said over and over again and it is true- guitars are individual objects. No two or twenty will sound exactly alike.

[billyboy1962]

There’s a £10 note in the middle of a perfectly square room. In each corner there is:

Santa Claus
The Easter Bunny
A luthier who makes a guitar that everyone agrees is the best
A luthier who makes a guitar that is popular but splits opinions

Who gets to the £10 first?

[AndrewG]

Yamaha LL36. It has the sound, the build quality of a high end Martin, is not a slavish copy, has nice appointments including a nitro finish, each guitar is built in Japan by ONE individual luthier instead of on a production line-and has a nice price tag of around £4000. Another couple of grand will get you the LL56.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPwNb6wlM1M

[silvereagle48]

Originally Posted by PiousDevil

Answers will be Collings, Huss & Dalton, Santa Cruz

+1 to this reply

[JKA]

That's easy...Guild

[woodbox]

It might be interesting to note,

that not only has this thread been stagnant for a year and a half
(until yesterday)

but also,

the OP has not been on AGF for over six months.

Just a few neighborly observations.