Martin guitars quality?

[hubcapsc]

Originally Posted by pablitus

Hi,

I have been looking for an used Martin acoustic-electric and I have found alarge number of Martin guitars either in new condition, or recently purchase that have cracks, the bridge is becoming separated from the body, etc. etc.

Can someone that knows a little more about the brand give me an opinion?

Is this normal?, are Martin guitars quality not that great for entry level models?

Thanks!

There's one regular member who has a MIM Martin, he posts a lot
of pictures of it. It looks good and he loves it.

Martin makes about a jillion guitars a year. Statistically, I guess,
some of them have to have some problems. Only a few of us
probably sit around posting love messages about our Martins,
but the one or two people whose bridges pop off probably type
in a whole bunch of all-caps posts...

-Mike

[mr. beaumont]

Keep in mind, who is buying those low end Martins in the first place...you're buying a used guitar that might have lived in a college dorm, or on somebody's boat, or at a campsite all last summer.

Martin still makes great quality instruments up and down their line, but they're acoustic guitars, not telecasters...they're not indestructible.

[srbell]

Personally, I don't trust Martin's quality control or consistency. I certainly would not buy one site unseen. That being said, a crack would most likely be humidity control related (though not always) and could happen to any guitar.
This is just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

[stephenT]

Three Martin currently, one nine years old, one a month old. Never an issue. I find this thread's premiss to be totally bogus.

I'd suggest the OP doesn't need to be a Martin owner.

Maybe look at Taylors.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by lowrider

I know you're being facetious, but Martin guitars are the standard that all other guitars are judged against. How many times, on this forum do you see someone post ''my guitar sounds better than a Martin''? Also, how many boutique builders do you see who copy Martin models but claim to make them better? Same goes for most of the lesser brands. Every dreadnought guitar owes it's existence to the Martin design.

Sure there are better, more expensive guitars, but when players think of a good guitar, most of them will be thinking of Martin.

To the OP, there is nothing wrong with Martin's Mexican made guitars. Just like any other guitar if you take care of it, it will last a long, long time. If you don't an abuse it, it could be falling apart in as little as 6 months.

I cannot refute the impact Martin has had on the world of guitar making, as it is enormous.

Well, my statement was part tongue-in-cheek, part not. My post largely alluded to the fact that Martin fans are rabid in defense of the company, sometimes to the point of defying logic. Like people buying one, it needing a neck reset less than a year later, sending it back, waiting 7-8 months for it's return and then saying it was worth it, because at the end of the day, it's a Martin.

As Steve's post demonstrates, there is, at the very least, anecdotal evidence and acceptance of a decline in Martin guitars quality by long time players. When you pair that with the pricing of Martin's standard series and the extremely long warranty repair times, I actually do think you can buy better/equal guitars for the money and for less from private builders and from competing large companies such as Larrivee and even Seagull/Godin.

For what it's worth, I also think Eastman's pricing has gotten "too big for it's britches" too.

For the OP, I do not like the X series Martins, but the MIM line sounds good and are a good value IMO.

[pablitus]

Well, it wasn't my intention to start a big argument or hurt the feelings of any Martin owners and suggest me that I should look into Taylor, ultimately, I will buy whatever I decide to.

I recently started playing guitar and I really love the sound of the Martins, and I do not think that there is no other guitar that sounds like it.

Again, I am not looking into buying a $3,000 guitar because it just make no sense for me at this point and that is why I am looking at the cheaper ones MIM.

I have been looking in eBay and also Reverb, here is an example of and X series which the seller states that front and back are separating:

https://reverb.com/item/40454922-mar...k-needs-repair

If any of you believe that this is a humidity issue, please let me know on how to prevent this type of issues, I like a specific X Martin series and I most likely will get it, I just don't want this to happen to me.

Please remember that I am looking for knowledge and experience, I don't know much about guitars, I am a sax player.

Thank you!

[mawmow]

Cracks ? They can appear on any NEGLECTED guitar.

The only thing I heard Martins were reputated for is need for neck reset...
But so many guitars may need neck reset.
You probably saw many of those guitars too.

I do own two "young" Martins I got second hand (a 2014 OOO-18)
or as a demo (OODB Jeff Tweedy) : Both are great guitars and totally sound.

[stephenT]

Originally Posted by pablitus

W
I have been looking in eBay and also Reverb, here is an example of and X series which the seller states that front and back are separating:

https://reverb.com/item/40454922-mar...k-needs-repair

Here's a dozen X series Martins without issues on Reverb.

https://reverb.com/marketplace?query...condition=used

My feelings aren't hurt, what I object to is your original, IMO inaccurate, assertion. Martin wouldn't be such a well respected company and their guitars desirable if you were correct.

I have found alarge number of Martin guitars either in new condition, or recently purchase that have cracks, the bridge is becoming separated from the body, etc. etc.

[gibpicker]

Originally Posted by Matts67

You must be looking at guitars that are not maintained, such as....every guitar sold by Guitar Center. That is not typical nor indicative of Martin's quality, which is pretty consistently great.

+1. 12345678910

[Scotso]

pics of all quality issues on all brands by OPs or it did not happen.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by pablitus

Well, it wasn't my intention to start a big argument or hurt the feelings of any Martin owners and suggest me that I should look into Taylor, ultimately, I will buy whatever I decide to.

I recently started playing guitar and I really love the sound of the Martins, and I do not think that there is no other guitar that sounds like it.

Again, I am not looking into buying a $3,000 guitar because it just make no sense for me at this point and that is why I am looking at the cheaper ones MIM.

I have been looking in eBay and also Reverb, here is an example of and X series which the seller states that front and back are separating:

https://reverb.com/item/40454922-mar...k-needs-repair

If any of you believe that this is a humidity issue, please let me know on how to prevent this type of issues, I like a specific X Martin series and I most likely will get it, I just don't want this to happen to me.

Please remember that I am looking for knowledge and experience, I don't know much about guitars, I am a sax player.

Thank you!

If you want a Martin and stay on a budget I would still urge you to look hard at the road series, especially the 10's. You may pay 1/3rd more, but worth it. I have played X series Martins with HPL b&s and some sounded very good, some sounded just okay. The good ones were pretty surprising. I hate the laminated necks though. I have never played an HPL top that sounded right to me.

I have seen several X series Martin's in GC that had body separation issues. Humidity? Perhaps, but several other non-HPL Martins in the room without the same issue.

[Bluenose]

When I took possession of my D28 in 2017 it was immaculate but I had to complete the finishing work on the upper, treble side fret ends myself because they were slightly protruding and sharp. Maybe it caused by a humidity issue at some point but it was summertime when I got the guitar and it was that years model in other words, brand new. I decided to do the work myself instead of returning the guitar to the dealer. Not a big deal but I thought it must have been an oversight in the QC dept. to ship it like that. It didn't stop me, however; from buying a used OM18A a few years later that turned out to be a complete and total gem except this time I had to deal with a really high bridge in order to lower the action but that's understandable, I guess, because some people prefer high action.

[captain_jack]

Originally Posted by lowrider

I know you're being facetious, but Martin guitars are the standard that all other guitars are judged against. How many times, on this forum do you see someone post ''my guitar sounds better than a Martin''? Also, how many boutique builders do you see who copy Martin models but claim to make them better? Same goes for most of the lesser brands. Every dreadnought guitar owes it's existence to the Martin design..

I suspect the post you were quoting here was more a jab at how the AGF generally thinks Martin can do no wrong while Taylor is the devil, rather than a commentary on Martin itself. I think OP kicked a bit of hornets nest here without knowing it.

And to be clear I'm not defending or attacking either brand. I just think it's odd how much love Martin gets and how much hate Taylor gets around here, often with what feels like little regard for the actual guitars.

[egordon99]

Originally Posted by pablitus

Well, it wasn't my intention to start a big argument or hurt the feelings of any Martin owners and suggest me that I should look into Taylor, ultimately, I will buy whatever I decide to.

<snip>
I have been looking in eBay and also Reverb, here is an example of and X series which the seller states that front and back are separating:

https://reverb.com/item/40454922-mar...k-needs-repair

That guitar was obviously neglected beyond belief. You can go find a "trashed" guitar (or really any product) but would it really make sense to go on a forum and ask if that brand has problems because someone drove their car over their guitar and then posted it for sale as non-functioning???

[egordon99]

I have five Martins, ranging from 1956 to 2021, and all have been fine without any major issues over the years.

Edited to add that the 00-18 needed a new bridge/tuners/pickguard when I inherited it in 1996 because it had been neglected for many years. But despite that, the neck angle is still good and I did have the frets filed a few years ago. But frets are considered normal maintenance so that doesn't count.