A Good Martin For Fingerstyle

[Deleted]

I may be ready to acquire another Martin. I own Martin DM which I bought new about 12 yrs ago. I play it a lot, has a lively and rich sound.

I'm now looking for something with a deeper, fuller sound. I am finger picking most of the time now and am wondering which Martins are more suited to that style?

Thanks.

[Deleted]

If you are looking for a deeper fuller sound, you should look into a Martin D15. they sound really nice for acoustic fingerpicking. If your not too afraid to stray away from Martins you should really try some Takamines' out. Beautiful tone. Are you a cedar top person?

[fatstrat]

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Martin. But I'm a big Guild fan for finger picking. Something about that Guild bass tone that I just love. No other make has it.

[kallesandria]

I purchased my Martin about 8 months ago and am very happy with the HD-28. The rich sound just absolutely floored me. I had gone into the music shop not expecting to spend as much as I did, and first played the D-1GT which has a spruce top while the back is made from Sapele. The price was certainly in my comfort zone, being under $1,000 and I might have settled with that but decided to play the D-18. That sounded so much better. It has a spruce top and a mahogany back. I'm no expert on materials used to make a guitar and maybe it's the type of wood that makes it sound nice. My final mistake was picking up the HD-28 and the deep rich sound from that was so wonderful that I couldn't possibly go back to either of the other guitars. This has the spruce top and a rosewood back and the price was more than I had planned on, but I think my husband saw the grin on my face and he was convinced too. He plays a Taylor 610 and that has its own sound compared to mine, brighter to my ear anyway.

I'm not sure how much help this is, but I do love my HD-28. It's a little pricier than the standard D-28 and I think the only difference is the herringbone trim on it. I'm convinced that the only way you'll know is to just play one instrument against another and see what sounds best to you.

Edited: Oh I'm sorry, I just noticed this was a pretty old thread...I'm guessing you have your guitar by now.

[Deleted]

I'm a big fan of the 12-fret 000 for fingerstyle. It has much of the bass response of a Dread, because the body is about the same length, but the more pronounced waist gives it a more balanced sound with better mids. If you need high fret access, get one with a cutaway, or an OM with the 25.4" scale.

[billhammond]

I am with Al on this one, especially considering that I'm the happy owner of one of these Podium specials from Martin's Custom Shop -- you get lots of goodies, and that beautiful gloss finish, at an affordable price.


www.thepodium.com/p-16735-podium-spec-martin-ooos-custom-mahogany.aspx

[Doc Rogers]

I've always wanted a vintage 00-28. Saw one for 1/2 the price of an excellent condition one advertised by the Music Emporium in Lexington, MA. Drove the 1 1/2 hour down there the next day. Disappointment. It had a beautiful piece of Brazillian Rosewood for the back and was easy to play, but the sound was dry and flat. I was extremely impressed with the Santa Cruz 00 1929. But too much price wise for my taste in a new second guitar. Then stopped the next day to get strings at our local shop and they had a Martin 00-18V. It was perfect and in the budget range for my second guitar. Just great Martin sound. Will be bringing it home next week with a K&K mini and putting my Eric Clapton 000 with a burst up for sale. So pleased to find a small guitar that plays like my Arcara, and has the full sound that my 00-15 doesn't. Oh yeah. That's gonna go too. C'est la vie. Anyone remember Bob Calvanese?

[Deleted]

You don't want to emulate Bob, Doc; that's a quick route to the poorhouse. Glad you found a guitar that met your needs. I was going to mention the M models; not exactly small (sort of a 000 on steroids), but the narrow waist and slightly shallower depth makes them pretty comfortable to play, and the bass response is stellar. I used to own a 1980 M-36 -- spruce and rosewood, with a three-piece back like a D-35 -- and it's the one guitar of the many that I've loved and lost that I sincerely regret parting with. They're not that common, but worth checking out by any Martin fans.

The 00-18V sounds like a good match for you. Hope you enjoy it.

[Dub]

Good going, Alan. I think you'll like that one. I think when considering Martin guitars it's best to stay within their traditional line of instruments; i.e. 0 - 000 and D. When you move into their newer lines you aren't getting the benefit of build history and you really lose the Martin advantage.

[Doc Rogers]

I had a nice long conversation with Tucker Barrett a couple weeks before I saw the add for the 00-21. Basically I was trying to outline what my ideal stable would be for the different styles I wish to play. It came down to the Arcara 000-21 as my #1, a great 00 for travel, that could replace my 000 on trips I have to use a commuter plane, a reso for when I want to busk VERY LOUD, and a nylon crossover to get newer Chet like sounds. I also have a cheap Epiphone Joe Pass with great PAF PU's that I rarely use, but is great when I need an electric. That about covers all the bases, with minimal repetition. The 00 size case by the way fits in the overhead on commuter planes while the 000 doesn't (Gieb style cases). This is the need for a really nice, but not awesomely expensive 00. I have taken my newish 00-15 on trips, and it just doesn't cut it sonically, and I've grown very attached to radiused ebony fret boards. So... when I reach the goal, no more Calvanesian spasms for me. No sir. Really. Hope my CFO isn't reading this.

[Deleted]

If the Martin Jumbos (000 with Dreadnaught depth) had 1 3/4 nut spacing instead of 1 11/16 it would definitely fit the deeper, fuller requirement but you may have trouble with that spacing for fingerstyle unless you have thin,small fingers.