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| MartinLover from Birmingham, AL USA | | hyatt@cis.uab.edu | | Overall Ranking: | | Price:
|  | | Overall:
| | | Sound:
| | | Reliability:
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| | | Finish:
| | | Playability:
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| | | Quality:
| | | Subject: | WoW | | Quality:
| Absolutely. It _is_ a Martin, remember. While I take care of these things carefully, I'd suspect that this guitar is less susceptible to humidity issues than most, although the spruce top should still be cared for so that it doesn't dry out. The sides and bottom probably don't care. | | Sound:
| Warm/Mellow. Like all Martin guitars. Strings ring evenly from booming base to treble. | | Reliability:
| I have not owned it long enough to answer about "over time". But it is a Martin guitar, which means well-assembled. The neck material (Stratabond) ought to be bulletproof since it is made of multiple layers laminated together. The sides and bottom are also laminated and should be tough as nails while looking reasonably attractive. Everything else seems equally "Martinized" from the construction to the finish and even tuning machines. | | Overall:
| Looks like a Martin. Sounds like a Martin. Plays like a Martin. Costs like an Alvarez. | | Playability and Feel:
| Light, most probably due to the very hard/rigid laminated sides and bottom requiring less material to absorb bumps and dings. Neck is great, a natural finish on the laminated stratabond lets my hand slide easily up and down the fingerboard without sticking. | | Tone:
| Not as bright / tinny as some. Has that nice mellow Martin sound that only comes from a Martin guitar. When you play a cord, you can hear all 6 strings ring clearly. If you want, it can play LOUD. | | Finish:
| Like a Martin. Non-glossy top is perfect for this guitar. The finish on the neck is also perfect and makes for easy movement. Some slick finishes seem to sort of drag my hand and slow it down, not this neck material. No visible glue. No gaps. Of course there is no binding or other fancy eye-candy. The edges of the body are rounded, but the end-grain of the spruce top and laminated bottom are not apparent and are well-sealed to make them invisible. I like the absence of fret markers on the fingerboard surface (I never look at the front of the fingerboard when playing anyway). There are small dots on the top edge so that you can see where you are playing, even if an observer can't. | | Action:
| Well-done. I might prefer it a tad lower, but it is perfectly playable as-is. Good enough that I plan on leaving it alone rather than taking a chance on inducing fret buzz. | | Skill Level:
| Intermediate | | Do you own this product?:
| yes | | Date submitted:
| 10/18/09 |
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