Tell me about your Martin custom shop experience

[Eleezy]

Hello!

I'm interested to everyone's experiences. Prices, quality compared to similar production models, anything and everything! Much appreciated!

[Eleezy]

***interested to hear***

[thomas1]

My custom shop experience has been pretty great although these are not guitars that I personally commissioned. I am lucky to live close to The Music Emporium in Lexington, Massachusetts. They frequently order Martin Custom Shop models and I have played many of them over the last few years and have purchased two - a 000-12 fret Adirondack over EIR and a 00 14 fret short scale Engelmann over Birdseye Maple. The beauty of buying custom shop instruments in this manner is that you get to try them before buying them. These two guitars are truly special in my opinion. The 000 is a little on "the dark side" which is what I was looking for and the 00 maple is simply amazing - resonant, warm, articulate, comfortable, and feels open and lively like an old friend but one whom you just met.

In addition to these, I have played several others, at least 2 or 3 of whom have tempted me VERY seriously - most recently a koa 000 that was really wonderful - but if I bought every guitar that I played and loved at that shop I would have a tremendous collection of great guitars yet be homeless to boot! I do think that many of the Custom Shop Martins that I have played there are truly a cut above the regular Martin Shop guitars and prove that the Martin company is still capable of building guitars that are as good as they have ever built. Given time some of these new Custom Shop Guitars will be every bit as good as some of the older vintage Martins that we now hold in such esteem. Are my Custom Shop instruments as good as my Ryan or my Schwartz guitars? To me, no they are not, but they hold their own quite well thank you, particularly when price is considered in the equation. They are instruments that I love, play almost daily, and would not want to be without. I feel very fortunate to have access to Martin Custom shop instruments that I can test-drive before I buy, although of the many I have played I can honestly say that it is rare to play one that leaves me feeling it would not be absolutely worth the money and would not develop quickly into a treasured and loved companion and friend - what we are all looking for in a keeper guitar.

[MikeB1]

I had a good experience throughout.

I ran in to Dick Boak who was there when I was thinking about purchasing my Size 5 Terz guitar. I was playing one of the $300 "little Martins" to try and get a feel for the smaller size.

He went into the Museum and pulled out the real thing so I could see exactly what it would be like. He is known to do this.

Then I dealt with a guy named Danny Brown in the Custom Shop. He was also a very nice guy to deal with.

I purchased the guitar through Robbie's Music in Hackettstown. John Robbie was also a great guy to deal with. He is extremely knowledgable about guitars. He is in the general area and not too far from the Martin factory in Nazereth, so this made the whole process vey convenient.

So we also utilized the sales representative in that area. His name is Dave. I think his last name is Evans, but not sure. He was also responsive.

They all told me it would take 9 months and they delivered on time.

I have had the guitar for almost 2 years and am very happy with it, and have no complaints.

Hope that helps.

[Eleezy]

Thanks, guys. So buying one sight-unseen and untested wouldn't be a deal breaker for you then?

[leftybanjo]

I have ordered two Martin D 42 Lefty's from the Custom shop thru my Local shop... guitar Tex. They took 8 months and were fantastic. I think the Custom shop uses choice wood and take a little extra care, the probably have to pay more attention when building a Lefty! The set-up was fine and I feel well worth a few extra dollars. I have a matching pair, 6 and 12 string.

[MikeB1]

Originally Posted by Eleezy

Thanks, guys. So buying one sight-unseen and untested wouldn't be a deal breaker for you then?

One caution I would offer on this would be if you were buying a guitar and had never played something similar.

So for example, if you never played one of their nylon string guitars and asked them to build a custom for you, then you might be surprised when you got it. This might happen because you didn't anticipate the longer scale length, or maybe a larger body size.

This was the case with my Size 5. It doesn't sound like a dreadnaught. So I had to be sure I would be happy with that sound and like it for what it is.

I learned a lot after ordering a custom build. You have to learn a lot of details because you want to get exactly what you want. So for me, that included learning what I liked in terms of scale length, fretboard radius, nut size, string spacing at the saddle, neck profile, body size, and types of wood.

For me, buying a custom means doing a lot of homework. I purschased many guitars in my life without knowing anything about the things I just mentioned. All I knew was "this feels comfortable and easy to play." Since you can't play the custom build ahead of time, you can't leave any of those things to chance.

It has defintitely been a learning experience for me.

[jperryrocks]

I've heard different stories about the Martin custom shop.

Some have said the special order custom you spec'd out is built the same way by the same folks who make the regular run guitars.

So you're not getting any extra special treatment per say.

I have no doubt that some of the really special and limited guitars with very high price tags (ie Brazilian) get different treatment.