I'm in trouble now...and a little confused...

[Sagebrush Tom]

Maybe you should sell all of your guitars for that D-45.
Tom

[Osage]

Every guitar is different. Even the same make and model with the same strings and setup. Sure, a Rosewood martin is going to sound more or less like like a Rosewood Martin but the difference from guitar to guitar can be huge.

I wrote in another thread recently about how I feel the good modern factory guitars fall on a bell curve. Say you take 200 D-28's and plot them out on the curve. You'll have a very large middle section that is very good. To the left you'll have a smaller sample that are merely good and to the far left you'll have a couple duds. Over to the right you'll have a small section of great and a much smaller section of truly exceptional. Maybe one out of the two hundred guitars falls here. It seems like maybe you just played one of these.

[J Patrick]

....I'm with Osage on maybe it's a stellar example...sounds like maybe your D-18 is too...it's wise to hang onto the really good ones...

[mickthemiller]

Jeeeeezzzzz! It's so simple from what your saying! Keep the d18 and continue to hear it grow. Oh my! GAS has so much to answer for.

Originally Posted by Sagebrush Tom

Maybe you should sell all of your guitars for that D-45.
Tom

^^^ This is what I'm thinking. Keep at least one of the electrics though. That thin skin Strat would be my choice (superb slide guitar). Dump all the other acoustics and get that D-45 you really love. I think a lot of GAS is fueled by us not simply getting the guitar we really want despite the hardship of the cost or that arbitrary line we put in our minds that we don't want to cross. In the end we spend more than that guitar would have cost and are still not happy. Now that I've learned that lesson I can walk through guitar stores without much worry.

Like you, I used to say I'd never spend over 3k on a guitar. After flipping several guitars (OK, a lot more than several) and realizing what a huge waste of money that was, I spent whatever it took to get the guitars I really wanted. I spent more than I was/am comfortable with, but I still think it was the right decision. I'm going to be better off in the long run for having done this because I won't be losing money flipping any more.

So, if you don't buy the D-45, what then? What if you were to put new strings on the D28 or the HD28 and they sounded better? I sincerely doubt that even new strings would catapult them above the sound of the D-45. Will you be able to move along and forget all about it? Or will you hunt for that tone in other ways and buy stuff you end up not liking as much and eventually end up selling? Maybe you'll get lucky and find it in a much cheaper guitar, or maybe you'll spend years not playing that D-45 and wish you had it the whole time instead of wasting time on guitars you don't like as much. We don't live forever, so fully live what time you are given.

I may not have given you this advice, except you said, "I just can't force myself to spend more than $3000 on a guitar." What you DIDN'T say is that it is because you can't afford it, which means you probably can, especially if you sell off some of your current stock.

[Jabberwocky]

http://www.wildwoodmusic.com/martin-...wppa-album=943

If posting this link is not kosher, please moderate it out.

I don't know Shades's financial situation. There is something to be said for putting a cap on one's spending so as to be responsible to self and family. It is easy to spend irresponsibly like a crack addict and then end up in all kinds of trouble. This is a question that only Shades can answer.

If I were thinking about dropping so much money on a D45, you bet i would shop around nationwide to see what is out there and the deals available. I would also take a very long drive or fly.

BUT I see the thinking behind getting one great one instead of having 3 so-so ones. Nobody sells a D45 everyday and for a high ticket item you have more negotiating power. I am more inclined to believe that CF Martin put its best wood and people on the 45 series. It is not merely ornamental frou-frou. The 45 series is indeed of a finer cut of beef.

Good luck, Shades. Time to look to see what daily indulgences you can give up to afford it. I quit smoking and drinking in 2006 and in 2007 had enough money for a $10 000 guitar.

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by brencat

There are many people who believe, and I am one of them, that the extra routing channels for the abalone causes the guitar to vibrate differently and increases resonance. You are also getting Martin’s top of the line grade 8 woods too.

I have often experienced the exact same thing.

[RP]

Originally Posted by Placida

You have 3 choices:

Visa
MasterCard
Discovery

Thanks for my morning chuckle....

Originally Posted by Osage

Every guitar is different. Even the same make and model with the same strings and setup. Sure, a Rosewood martin is going to sound more or less like like a Rosewood Martin but the difference from guitar to guitar can be huge.

I wrote in another thread recently about how I feel the good modern factory guitars fall on a bell curve. Say you take 200 D-28's and plot them out on the curve. You'll have a very large middle section that is very good. To the left you'll have a smaller sample that are merely good and to the far left you'll have a couple duds. Over to the right you'll have a small section of great and a much smaller section of truly exceptional. Maybe one out of the two hundred guitars falls here. It seems like maybe you just played one of these.

Very well put. Several years ago when I purchased my Taylor 524 First Edition, I had the opportunity to purchase a second of the same model, also a First Edition (each was 1/100 produced). These two were numbered sequentially, and I couldn't say no. I was quite surprised at the difference in tone between the two. Both sounded great - just different. And this was from a company that is known for consistency among its products...

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by Sagebrush Tom

Maybe you should sell all of your guitars for that D-45.
Tom

The thought has crossed my mind several times. However, I really don't like the bling on the 45. I might could go for a 41, but even then the bling is too much for me personally.

I think what I have confirmed is that I really love the J-45 I just bought, and the D-18, but they do seem redundant for what I'm trying to accomplish with my collection.

So for now, I'm going to put some Santa Cruz Mid Tension strings on the J-45 and A/B it with the D-18 a while longer. I don't really know why I have such a strong desire to off the D-18 right now, but I think it's just that I hear a lot of similarities in the two, and I really want to bring a rosewood dread into the family to balance out what I own.

If I didn't like the 000-28 so much, I'd sell it and the D-18 and get a D-41. Then I'd be copying RevRoy, and I'd be a big copy cat! lol

[Mr. Jelly]

Just because one D-45 sounded great to you does not mean all D-45s sound the same by any means. Often it's the guitar.

[Sagebrush Tom]

Only you can decide how much that D-45 means to you. Personally, i could easily live with your 000-28, J-45 and the D-18 and be done with guitar purchasing as you collection stands now. I'm perfectly happy with my 000-15m, 00-18 and my E20OM, but that doesn't mean that sometimes i dream about higher end models.

Does your guitar playing require you to get the D-45 or is it something you just dream about. We all go there it's just something most guitar players go through.
Well good luck on whatever you decide, it's only money...
Tom

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by Sagebrush Tom

Only you can decide how much that D-45 means to you. Personally, i could easily live with your 000-28, J-45 and the D-18 and be done with guitar purchasing as you collection stands now. I'm perfectly happy with my 000-15m, 00-18 and my E20OM, but that doesn't mean that sometimes i dream about higher end models.

Does your guitar playing require you to get the D-45 or is it something you just dream about. We all go there it's just something most guitar players go through.
Well good luck on whatever you decide, it's only money...
Tom

I understand EXACTLY what you are saying, and I'll try to answer that.

Yes, my current collection is nothing to snuff at, and I'm very thankful to own all three. But, after owning the J-45 for a couple weeks, I have fallen in love and can hear the similarities in tone between it and the D-18. I don't want that similarity, I want diversity. I hear the same woodiness in the sound between the J45 and D18, so it makes since to sell one and get a rosewood dread to balance everything out. If I hadn't gotten the J45, this wouldn't even be an issue.

So, it's just classic GAS. I've got a lot of mahogany love going around and I want to throw some rosewood dread love in the mix. I'll be the first to say that part of the hobby to me is the buying and selling...I like variety and find that it gets my gears going.

[brencat]

Shades, I think you should take a deep breath, and chalk up this experience to a 'wow, what a great sounding guitar!' moment that you've experienced in your travels, and will likely do again. I personally would never sell my entire collection for 1 guitar, and especially for a Martin, unless it was a true wartime vintage/collectors piece. There are plenty of boutique brands out there in used/mint condition at the 3 - 5k price point, without the bling, that will also blow you away. Case in point... a standard Adi/EIR Goodall TRD that I played this weekend that torched every Martin, new or old, that I've ever owned or played.

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by brencat

Shades, I think you should take a deep breath, and chalk up this experience to a 'wow, what a great sounding guitar!' moment that you've experienced in your travels, and will likely do again. I personally would never sell my entire collection for 1 guitar, and especially for a Martin, unless it was a true wartime vintage/collectors piece. There are plenty of boutique brands out there in used/mint condition at the 3 - 5k price point, without the bling, that will also blow you away. Case in point... a standard Adi/EIR Goodall TRD that I played this weekend that torched every Martin, new or old, that I've ever owned or played.

You make a very valid point. I'm just thinking at this point that the D-18 has sort of "run it's course" with me. I've run out of inspiration with it. I don't really pick it up anymore. The 000-28 makes me smile daily, and I write songs in DADGAD, and the J-45 while new is a sound totally unlike anything I've experienced.

I guess I'm just at a point where I realized that I'd like to go ahead and sell the D-18, and then save the cash for a day when I find the right Rosewood Martin.

[jwellsy]

2 pages of responses and no one's mentioned D35's. IMHO D35's are D4_'s without the bling.