One Man Makes The ToneQuest Report

by one manSeptember 26, 20140

One Man has a review published in The ToneQuest Report.

A respected esoteric journal read by hardcore gearheads like my hero David Lindley, the ToneQuest Report is normally it is all about electric guitars but they dedicated half their September issue to none other than C.F. Martin.

There’s an article about wood featuring Martin’s Dick Boak and Linda-Davis Wallen, an address by the late C.F. Martin III about tone, and a review by me of the Martin CEO-7.

The issue came out yesterday for subscribers, and may be purchased by non-subscribers at their website:

http://www.tonequest.com/vol-15-no-10-september-2014

Get yours today!

Martin D-18 Sycamore Review

by one manAugust 9, 2014January 13, 20150

The torrefied Sitka spruce top and American Sycamore back and sides of the Martin D-18 Sycamore marks 50 years Martin guitars made on Sycamore Street.

With all the features of the popular D-18 and very special additions.

A D-18 with a difference, the D-18 Sycamore comes in somewhere between maple and mahogany in looks and in tone.

“It sounds like a more complex maple, with thicker top notes, more overtones and complexity over all, like mahogany, but with a maple-like bass that shifts the focus into the mid-range, which has the same kind of defined top notes and high overtone ring as the trebles.

I realize this description might make it seem more like a Jazz archtop than a dreadnought. It is not. It still has plenty of the complexity, resonance and sustain one looks for in a dreadnought. In fact, it excels at traditional flatpicking, with the kind of punch and “cut” that would leap out of a Bluegrass jam when it is time to switch from playing rhythm to a solo break.”

Read the Full Review

Review – Martin CS-21-11

by one manApril 7, 2014April 7, 20140

An ultralight dreadnought with many pre-war Martin features, the CS-21-11 kicked off a new era for the Martin custom shop that created it

A woody aesthetic and sleek modern neck, matched to impeccable and “Authentic” pre-war construction techniques makes the CS-21-11 a uniquely versatile dreadnought, even by Martin standards.

“That ultra-light build contributes mightily to the guitars breathtaking resonance, response, and purity of tone. It astonishes with how much resonant, living tone swells out of it with the lightest touch, and how that glow increases as chords and picking patterns sustain over time. And the response to nuanced playing and the ultimate payoff in tone only increase as the top brakes in and the guitar grows up.”

Read the Full CS-21-11 Review

bridge Martin CS-21-11 review at onemanz.com — Madagascar rosewood bridge

Review – Martin OM-ECHF Navy Blues

by one manMarch 24, 2014March 24, 20140

Our long awaited look at the OM-ECHF is out

with thumbs up, the Navy Blues earns a row of gold stars

“The Navy Blues is the third guitar designed in collaboration between the legendary Eric Clapton and Eric’s good friend Hiroshi Fujiwara (a renowned Japanese artist, DJ, musician, fashion designer and trendsetter) and design assistance from Martin’s Dick Boak. With a deep navy blue finish and upscale inlays, the OM-ECHF offers rich, complex tone, powerful dynamics, and wide-ranging versatility.”

Read the Full Review

(photo: MaurysMusic.com)

CS-00S-14 Traditional 12-fret 00 Meets Future

by one manMarch 1, 2014August 9, 20140

From the Custom Shop comes, the CS-00S-14

The first Martin made of Honduras rosewood is a marriage of classic and contemporary design with other notable elements, both ancient and futuristic, never before seen on a Martin.

A carbon fiber neck rod and Martin’s first foray into the world of torrefied wood, adds exciting new facets to one of the most classic guitar designs of all time, the 12-fret 00.

“If the CS-00S-14 is anything, it is resonant. It comes alive with the lightest touch, and it feels alive… from the warmth glowing out of the bottom end and a low E string impressive for this body size, a fatness to the midrange strings that reaches down like a pillar into the echoing cellar below the top voice, and trebles with a distinct chime that leaps out, with a vintage-like openness directly under them, but reflecting harmonics off the midrange like the surface of a mirrored pond disturbed by the sound waves firing off that crystalline fundamental chime. It is a sophisticated voice…”

Read the Full Review

Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 – Review

by one manFebruary 11, 2014March 1, 20140

The Benchmark Dreadnought Lives Again in the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937

The latest attempt to replicate the acoustic guitar to which all others are compared, Martin’s D-28 Authentic 1937 is an exquisite example of guitarmaking.

“Martin has succeeded wonderfully in this endeavor, building a time capsule of a rosewood dreadnought eager to begin its own sonic journey toward musical immortality. While it remains impossible to build-in 77 years of seasoning, the envied owner of a new D-28 A 1937 will be afforded the privilege of breaking in the fledgling tone woods and ultra-thin nitrocellulose finish, to coax out more and more of the guitar’s rich, round rosewood lows, punchy Adirondack mids, and pure, ringing trebles that signify the classic Martin sound.”

Read the Full Review

Martin 000-28K Authentic 1921 is Stellar

by one manFebruary 5, 2014February 6, 20140

Aesthetic beauty, effortless playability, and charming tonality
make the 000-28K Authentic 1921 a big success

“When Martin unveiled their revamped Authentic Series this time last year, each of the new models were an immediate sensation. These ‘as close as we can make ‘em to the old days’ Martins are meticulous recreations of specific guitars residing in Martin’s own museum, and they are everything people hoped they would be. So there was considerable speculation and anticipation regarding what additions might be made to the series in 2014. The Martin 000-28K Authentic 1921 was a most pleasant surprise.

An all-koa 12-fret 000 from the twenties was not atop anyone’s list. That is, until they actually get their hands on an example of the new 000-28K Authentic 1921, when they marvel at the majestic and melodious music it makes. With its stunning good looks and its warm, plump bass notes, strong mid-range, and pure and ringing trebles, it was declared again and again the most impressive of the impressive crop of 2014 Martins by those who had a chance to play them all.”

Read the Full Review of the Martin 000-28K A 1921

(2/6/14 – now with updated video!)

Johnny Cash: The Life, by Robert Hilburn – Book Review

by one manJanuary 7, 20140

More than just another Johnny Cash biography, Robert Hilburn’s latest volume reexamines the rags to riches details of this unique example of the American Dream with its extremes of peaks and pitfalls, as lived by one the nation’s most iconic musical artists.

The result is an insightful yet sympathetic analysis that conjures up the late Man in Black in living color, and argues that his was a life worth recounting, just as his art will be worth revisiting long after his era has passed.

“…While he makes a point to credit each and every source, it is Hilburn’s ability to include the many quoted snap-shots within the smooth emulsion of his own smart prose that keeps the focus on events as they happen, present and alive. And his insistence on allowing others to speak with emotion and opinion, while he sticks to the facts and resists any temptation at grand conclusions that provides a sense of authenticity to the story, and keeps the pages turning….”

Read the Full Review

Review: Deep Body Martin OM

by one manDecember 5, 2013February 7, 20220

The Shimmer of 42

Combining the looks of a pre-war Style 42 12-fret slothead with the convenience of a 14-fret guitar, made all the more powerful with extra-deep sides, this deep body Martin OM, Madagascar/Adirondack jewel box from their fabled Custom Shop is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

“From the first strum there is a stark ring to the fundamental voice, each note pure but with pronounced substance, clear yet dense, like diamonds. And with each steely note ringing off a string an expanding sonic reaction blooms, from an echo beneath the top voice and a woody hum deeper down, to a shining choir of lofty overtones. This guitar shows off the most sophisticated type of Madi-Adi tone.” This Deep Body Martin OM-42 rings and sings…

Read the Full Review

G7th Performance Capo – a review

by one manNovember 21, 2013November 21, 20130

Some years ago I wrote a product review for Maury’s Music, on the G7th Performance Capo.

I have greatly revised my original review, as I have come to appreciate this capo more and more overtime. Basically, I learned how to attach it to the guitar neck better over time.

Unlike many capos, the G7th Performance Capo was the brainchild of a guitarist, Englishman Nick Campling, who is also a professional product designer. After 30 years of capo dissatisfaction, he fixed his eye upon the challenge of making a better mousetrap, err, capo. To do so, he looked at those produced in recent decades and how they may have fallen short in his demanding estimation.

His primary concerns were the effect of the capo on a guitar’s intonation, the ease of use in terms of applying and removing it, making sure the capo did not damage the guitar’s neck or get in the way of the guitarist’s fretting hand, and finally, a capo that was attractive to the eye. The G7th Performance capo does a good job in all these respects.

This is no easy order, given the long and not always pretty history of this little piece of guitar gadgetry…

Category: Review

One Man Makes The ToneQuest Report

One Man has a review published in The ToneQuest Report.

A respected esoteric journal read by hardcore gearheads like my hero David Lindley, the ToneQuest Report is normally it is all about electric guitars but they dedicated half their September issue to none other than C.F. Martin.

Like this:

Martin D-18 Sycamore Review

The torrefied Sitka spruce top and American Sycamore back and sides of the Martin D-18 Sycamore marks 50 years Martin guitars made on Sycamore Street.

With all the features of the popular D-18 and very special additions.

Like this:

Review – Martin CS-21-11

An ultralight dreadnought with many pre-war Martin features, the CS-21-11 kicked off a new era for the Martin custom shop that created it

Like this:

Review – Martin OM-ECHF Navy Blues

Our long awaited look at the OM-ECHF is out

with thumbs up, the Navy Blues earns a row of gold stars

Like this:

CS-00S-14 Traditional 12-fret 00 Meets Future

From the Custom Shop comes, the CS-00S-14

The first Martin made of Honduras rosewood is a marriage of classic and contemporary design with other notable elements, both ancient and futuristic, never before seen on a Martin.

Like this:

Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 – Review

The Benchmark Dreadnought Lives Again in the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937

Like this:

Martin 000-28K Authentic 1921 is Stellar

Aesthetic beauty, effortless playability, and charming tonality
make the 000-28K Authentic 1921 a big success

Read the Full Review of the Martin 000-28K A 1921

Like this:

Johnny Cash: The Life, by Robert Hilburn – Book Review

More than just another Johnny Cash biography, Robert Hilburn’s latest volume reexamines the rags to riches details of this unique example of the American Dream with its extremes of peaks and pitfalls, as lived by one the nation’s most iconic musical artists.

The result is an insightful yet sympathetic analysis that conjures up the late Man in Black in living color, and argues that his was a life worth recounting, just as his art will be worth revisiting long after his era has passed.

Like this:

Review: Deep Body Martin OM

The Shimmer of 42

Combining the looks of a pre-war Style 42 12-fret slothead with the convenience of a 14-fret guitar, made all the more powerful with extra-deep sides, this deep body Martin OM, Madagascar/Adirondack jewel box from their fabled Custom Shop is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

Like this:

G7th Performance Capo – a review

Some years ago I wrote a product review for Maury’s Music, on the G7th Performance Capo.

I have greatly revised my original review, as I have come to appreciate this capo more and more overtime. Basically, I learned how to attach it to the guitar neck better over time.

Read the Full G7th Capo Review

Like this:

One Man has a review published in The ToneQuest Report.

A respected esoteric journal read by hardcore gearheads like my hero David Lindley, the ToneQuest Report is normally it is all about electric guitars but they dedicated half their September issue to none other than C.F. Martin.

Share this:

Like this:

The torrefied Sitka spruce top and American Sycamore back and sides of the Martin D-18 Sycamore marks 50 years Martin guitars made on Sycamore Street.

With all the features of the popular D-18 and very special additions.

Share this:

Like this:

An ultralight dreadnought with many pre-war Martin features, the CS-21-11 kicked off a new era for the Martin custom shop that created it

Share this:

Like this:

Our long awaited look at the OM-ECHF is out

with thumbs up, the Navy Blues earns a row of gold stars

Share this:

Like this:

From the Custom Shop comes, the CS-00S-14

The first Martin made of Honduras rosewood is a marriage of classic and contemporary design with other notable elements, both ancient and futuristic, never before seen on a Martin.

Share this:

Like this:

The Benchmark Dreadnought Lives Again in the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937

Share this:

Like this:

Aesthetic beauty, effortless playability, and charming tonality make the 000-28K Authentic 1921 a big success

Share this:

Like this:

More than just another Johnny Cash biography, Robert Hilburn’s latest volume reexamines the rags to riches details of this unique example of the American Dream with its extremes of peaks and pitfalls, as lived by one the nation’s most iconic musical artists.

The result is an insightful yet sympathetic analysis that conjures up the late Man in Black in living color, and argues that his was a life worth recounting, just as his art will be worth revisiting long after his era has passed.

Share this:

Like this:

The Shimmer of 42

Combining the looks of a pre-war Style 42 12-fret slothead with the convenience of a 14-fret guitar, made all the more powerful with extra-deep sides, this deep body Martin OM, Madagascar/Adirondack jewel box from their fabled Custom Shop is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

Share this:

Like this:

Some years ago I wrote a product review for Maury’s Music, on the G7th Performance Capo.

I have greatly revised my original review, as I have come to appreciate this capo more and more overtime. Basically, I learned how to attach it to the guitar neck better over time.

Share this:

Like this:

Aesthetic beauty, effortless playability, and charming tonality
make the 000-28K Authentic 1921 a big success