Martin quality control - Page 3

davidd · #31 10-13-2021, 08:35 AM

Other than the saddle height and perhaps relief nothing should ever need to be done to a brand new high end acoustic. Frets, nut etc. should be ready to go.

jsleesl28 · #32 10-13-2021, 03:13 PM

so if you are going to buy martin, go with modern deluxe with wood binding? lol

sam1314 · #33 10-14-2021, 04:29 AM

I've purchased 4 Martins in the past month, with the intention of keeping 2. D15m, 00015m, 00015sm, d18. Quality control has been really good. The D15m had a slight imperfection on the finish of the neck which could only be seen in the right light and only from a certain perspective. The 00015sm has a dot on the 10th fret which looks like a black marker spot... But it could actually be the wood grain. It plays so nice that I'm afraid to send it back and wait on another. All of them have played and sounded exceptional. The D18 is my favorite.

nitram · #34 10-14-2021, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJNies

There was an article on a Canadian sports site that suggested right-hand people naturally tend to hold a hockey stick opposite of what you might think is normal (i.e. right hand at the end of the stick, left in the middle). Not sure if that carries over to golf.

I'm Canadian and ever since I picked up a hockey stick some 70 years ago I held it lefty. There is nothing that I do,except with a hockey stick that is anything other than right-handed or right-eyed. It is a bit odd, isn't it?

Kinda Old · #35 10-14-2021, 09:44 AM

I could be just bad luck. It looks like one in five factory guitars just aren't that good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT67Y9WHuEc

hifivic · #36 10-14-2021, 10:37 AM

For the record..........I bashed Martin's QC for the last 25 years. Lowden, Huss & Dalton, Collings, Bourgeois, Santa Cruz is where my $ went instead. I am ANAL/OCD with QC fit and finish issues with anything I buy. I can wholeheartedly say that my new 00-17 Authentic 1931 is FINALLY equal to anything I've ever owned.

Boozehound · #37 10-14-2021, 12:08 PM

I have owned many Martins, although to be fair most are Custom Shop builds. I had one that needed a premature neck set (warranty covered), and the rest have been pretty much flawless. I'm not ultra picky about small details though.

I will also say that even most of my boutique guitars have benefitted from adjusting the saddle and nut. I learned to do it myself and now I can dial in a guitar exactly how I want it.

Peter Z · #38 10-14-2021, 12:22 PM

I have/had 6 Martins in my live. My 2013 CEO-7 had the binding separated this year. My wonderful luthier repaired it quickly and cheaply.
My new J-40 has a rippled finish on the neck. While I would prefer it smooth, it doesn’t bother me - this is by far my best sounding guitar.
All others don’t have any flaws, especially the D-18MD is produced wonderfully.

Compared to my high class studio equipment, that failed every other day, Martin does a good job. For some reason I never heard anyone complain if his expensive Neve preamp fails - or his Harley motorbike!

Nevertheless, Martin could learn a bit from Yamaha, maybe also Guild.
All in all, if the guitar sounds and plays great, I easily forgive a sloppy fit and finish to a certain limit. It’ll be damaged anyway in case we play it.

sinistral · #39 10-14-2021, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinda Old

I could be just bad luck. It looks like one in five factory guitars just aren't that good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT67Y9WHuEc

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but imo the “law of 20 percent” is pretty easy to refute that empirically. Go to a bunch of guitar stores and try 100 Martins, 100 Gibsons or 100 Taylors. By that standard, 20 of each would be “duds.” My experience is that the quality of the guitars from Martin, Gibson and Taylor is very consistent, and the sound of the guitars is consistent. Are they carbon copies of each other? No, but it’s not as if 20% are unplayable kindling. I would argue that a lot of the variability is due to things like string age and use (especially at big-box chain stores) versus the guitars themselves.

ishtar · #40 10-14-2021, 01:16 PM

What's wrong with this picture?.....

Here is a photo of my 'supposed' left handed custom shop OM-18, as received by the dealer I ordered through..... QC must have been off that day. The inner bracing and the side fretboard dots were lefty oriented. The pick guard, nut, saddle/bridge were righty oriented. I am kind of ambidextrous, but it was pretty ridiculous this instrument left the factory.

sam1314 · #41 10-15-2021, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam1314

I've purchased 4 Martins in the past month, with the intention of keeping 2. D15m, 00015m, 00015sm, d18. Quality control has been really good. The D15m had a slight imperfection on the finish of the neck which could only be seen in the right light and only from a certain perspective. The 00015sm has a dot on the 10th fret which looks like a black marker spot... But it could actually be the wood grain. It plays so nice that I'm afraid to send it back and wait on another. All of them have played and sounded exceptional. The D18 is my favorite.

Just wanted to follow up on this. The small dot on the 10th fret of my 00015sm is indeed just the natural wood grain. So no qc issue there either.

Bonzo · #42 10-15-2021, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishtar

What's wrong with this picture?.....

Here is a photo of my 'supposed' left handed custom shop OM-18, as received by the dealer I ordered through..... QC must have been off that day. The inner bracing and the side fretboard dots were lefty oriented. The pick guard, nut, saddle/bridge were righty oriented. I am kind of ambidextrous, but it was pretty ridiculous this instrument left the factory.

You couldn't make that up

brencat · #43 10-15-2021, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishtar

What's wrong with this picture?.....

Here is a photo of my 'supposed' left handed custom shop OM-18, as received by the dealer I ordered through..... QC must have been off that day. The inner bracing and the side fretboard dots were lefty oriented. The pick guard, nut, saddle/bridge were righty oriented. I am kind of ambidextrous, but it was pretty ridiculous this instrument left the factory.

You've gotta be kidding me! Really ???

GoPappy · #44 10-15-2021, 02:58 PM

Ishtar, please tell us the dealer caught that incredible foul-up and didn't just send it on to you.

Stevien · #45 10-15-2021, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishtar

What's wrong with this picture?.....

Here is a photo of my 'supposed' left handed custom shop OM-18, as received by the dealer I ordered through..... QC must have been off that day. The inner bracing and the side fretboard dots were lefty oriented. The pick guard, nut, saddle/bridge were righty oriented. I am kind of ambidextrous, but it was pretty ridiculous this instrument left the factory.

This stuff happens more often than you think, & not just in manufacturing. A friend of mine (also on AGF) custom ordered a guitar from a prominent luthier, very well known & very popular on this site. The builder had put the saddle in backward, done the final set-up, fret dressing, nut adjustments, etc, all with the saddle in backward. When he got it, the pressure of the strings was about to break the saddle. He flipped the saddle, then of course the intonation & frets were all fouled up; had to take it in (brand new) for a set-up & fret re-dressing, new nut, etc. When confronting the builder, he just laughed, & said "Well, these thing happen!" He wouldn't even foot the bill for the set-up.
Steve