Martin guitars quality?

[Scotso]

Originally Posted by Dbone

The fangs can come out around here when one offends the Martin folks. They are very attached to their inanimate objects. More than the average ;-0
...........

They are a factory builder that makes guitars as scale. There will be problems.

Unfortunately when you say that you have seen lots of probs with any brand in an era when inventories are slim, that raises questions.

When you post a pic of a guitar that has been abused based on a review of Reverb inventory, that raises questions.

When the Op provides no detail on how many guitars he has seen or what the ratio of defective to non-defective is...that raises questions.

When you can only find a pic of one defective (and abused) guitar after 4 pages of Reverb inventory, that raises questions.

If you cannot provide any info on where you have seen these prob, what retailers you went to, etc etc, that raises questions.

[ALBD]

Not sure why folks are calling out the OP for making baseless assertions. Just use the search function here and type in “Martin binding”. Then type in “Martin neck reset”. Then try “Martin quality control.” Throw in “Martin warranty.” You will find Plenty of smoke which I’ve always associated with fire.

Your experience may be different and that’s cool but let’s be fair to the guy.

[Irishrep]

In the old days...... don’t you just hate it when you see those words? But before the HPL models, most people couldn’t afford - or didn’t want to pay the money for a “Martin”, When they did - they tried to take care of them. When the X and Litttle Martin hit the scene - anyone could afford one and they have become “disposable”. The HPL ones are sold by music stores as vertically indestructible. They are very forgiving to the ignorant- but not indestructable. I have been through the Martin factory a few times. I have seen the X when they were manufactured in Nazareth. Their quality was excellent. HPL has better than acoustical qualities than I ever imagined you could get out of a countertop. Lol. I think Martins quality is excellent for a mass produced guitar. I would never buy a used X model. The difference in price from a new one does not warrant taking a chance. HPL can hide a lot of abuse without showing it.

[tkersey]

With the X Series they use inferior materials such as High Pressure Laminates and Richlite. I have a Martin Streetmaster that I like a lot but it’s considerably more expensive.

For the amount of money an X Series Martin costs I think you’d be better off getting a Seagull, Takamine or a Taylor Academy Series.

[Kerbie]

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Treat others with respect."

Thank you.

[TDavis]

Why are some putting down the Martin guitars the OP is talking about? Why call laminates or Richlite "inferior materials" when they are actually as functional and are, in fact much more easily cared for...and will last much longer than the solid woods and ebony fretboard/bridges used on the more expensive models?

[martingitdave]

I think the X series is important because it's the one of the only low cost guitars that has some Martin woof. You can find a few Yamaha with woof too. It's also durable.

[stephenT]

Well, i see the topic has been redefined.

Happy to help. Until last year I owned a Martin Cowboy II from the early 2000s. The first years of the HPL X series. It was on my wall since i bought it and played weekly, taken on camping trips, etc.

The action never changed in all these years, nothing came unglued, it sounds oddly enough, like a Martin.

I did buy a second HPL Martin from the same Cowboy series and it had a fingerboard that was coming unglued and I returned the guitar. I understand Martin hadn't figured out the correct glue to use on the HPL guitars. One would assume they have since they still sell 'em.

But I also bought a used Collings OM around the same time and the second day I had it, the bridge right came off. Point is, any guitar will break. Glue will fix many a broken guitar.

[cdkrugjr]

Guitars are made of wood. Wooden things need care. Neglected wooden things fall apart.

I used to say "No Martin that wells for under $1,000 is worth ANYTHING..." until I saw the X-series.

If you're shopping in that price range, the X-series is worth looking at.

For my playing, such as it is, they probably wouldn't be my first choice, but for a lots of people have them and love them.

Mexican luthiery has come into its own in the past decade and a half or so.

[lowrider]

I just want to point out that if you drop your more expensive Martin and damage in, even quite severely, it's still worth having it fixed. If you damage a martinX, you're not going to spend a lot of money to fix it. You can just sell it for what ever you can get and buy another one. That's why you see so many damage MartnX guitars for sale, not because they are all falling apart.

[89bruin]

I’m hesitant to weigh in but I do have some experience that’s relevant to the OP’s question: I’ve owned three X-series (all spruce topped), a US-made dread, a little Martin and a 000-XAE. First, they’re heavy guitars which is why I sold the dread although it was well built and I never had a single issue with it. I would say the same about the mini Martin: no problems and it’s just fine for what it is - a cheap travel guitar. The Mexican-made 000-XAE was another story: I was looking for one for my son-in-law and every example I saw in the stores (GC, Sam Ash) has some serious defect (broken battery box, loose wiring, separating tops) so I foolishly decided to order two (one for me as well). My son-in-law’s was fine but the one delivered to me had multiple issues but I (again foolishly) decided to live with them. Unfortunately, they got worse and necessitated a warranty repair which Martin botched in a huge way and never did make right. Bottom-line: I would not buy an X-series sight unseen and I wouldn’t put much stock in Martin’s warranty. I know others have had more positive experiences but mine was off-putting.

[pablitus]

Originally Posted by 89bruin

I’m hesitant to weigh in but I do have some experience that’s relevant to the OP’s question: I’ve owned three X-series (all spruce topped), a US-made dread, a little Martin and a 000-XAE. First, they’re heavy guitars which is why I sold the dread although it was well built and I never had a single issue with it. I would say the same about the mini Martin: no problems and it’s just fine for what it is - a cheap travel guitar. The Mexican-made 000-XAE was another story: I was looking for one for my son-in-law and every example I saw in the stores (GC, Sam Ash) has some serious defect (broken battery box, loose wiring, separating tops) so I foolishly decided to order two (one for me as well). My son-in-law’s was fine but the one delivered to me had multiple issues but I (again foolishly) decided to live with them. Unfortunately, they got worse and necessitated a warranty repair which Martin botched in a huge way and never did make right. Bottom-line: I would not buy an X-series sight unseen and I wouldn’t put much stock in Martin’s warranty. I know others have had more positive experiences but mine was off-putting.

Thank you!

[John Arnold]

HPL is a fancy name for Formica. It is not wood; it is comprised of phenolic resin and wood fibers. In fact, it was never intended to be used structurally. Formica sheets are dense, hard, and brittle. It is hard to glue with anything other than contact cement (rubber) or epoxy. AFAIK, neither of these glues has been used on the Martin X Series. I have heard that the bridges are glued with CA.
The advantage with using this material is that it requires no finishing, and the finish comprises more than half the labor of a traditional wood guitar.

[lowrider]

'HPL is a fancy name for Formica. It is not wood; it is comprised of phenolic resin and wood fibers. In fact, it was never intended to be used structurally''

I don't think trees were intended to be used structurally either, but once you cut them up they do a pretty good job! (kidding, just kidding)

I think HPL is more like a thinner version of laminate flooring and formica. Now that laminate flooring is being surpassed by Lux Vinyl Flooring, how long will it be before someone tries to make a guitar out of thin LVF?!

[Tony Burns]

isn't pretty much every entry guitar made have some problems ? -
If you want something a bit better -then up the ladder you go .