April 3, 2025

Tag: C.F. Martin

Acoustic Guitars / NAMM / Review

Martin DSS-17 Review

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DSS-17 Whiskey Sunset / Black Smoke

First long-scale large body Martin in the affordable 17 Series impresses mightily

Specs include: Slope-Shoulder Dreadnought size; all-sold wood construction; mahogany back and sides; Sitka spruce top with scalloped-braces; mahogany neck with Modified Low Oval Profile, Simple Dovetail neck joint; rosewood fretboard with High Performance taper, 1-3/4″ at the bone nut, 2-18″ at 12th fret; straight rosewood bridge with compensated bone saddle and 2-5/32″ string spacing; Antique White binding; ebony headstock faceplate with Authentic 1933 script logo; satin finish throughout; open-back Golden Age relic tuners with cream buttons.

Available in Whiskey Sunset burst finish with tortoise pickguard or Black Smoke motif with Antique White pickguard.

“Light in the hand yet large in the ears, the DSS-17 Whiskey Sunset I played at the Martin factory was very impressive indeed, with distinctly defined fundamental notes that have an expansive depth behind them, reflecting the dry, woody mahogany tone, and amplifying the well-rounded bass notes that are weighty enough to reach down into the generous body cavity and inject some richness beneath the entire voice.”

Full Review with Video Here

Martin DSS-17 Whiskey Sunset review with video pic

Acoustic Guitars / Review

Martin DSS-15M StreetMaster Review

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Martin’s DSS-15M with Sloped Shoulders and StreetMaster Styling

Mahogany mystique hits the streets as an affordable slope-shoulder dreadnought

Specs include: Slope-Shoulder Dreadnought size; solid mahogany back, sides, and top; satin finish with StreetMaster® distressed toner; solid mahogany neck with Modified Low Oval Profile; solid katalox fretboard with 1-11/16″ width at the bone nut; solid katalox belly bridge with compensated drop-in bone saddle, 2-1/8″ string spacing; scalloped A-Frame X bracing; Simple Dovetail neck joint; Old Style gold headstock logo; Golden Age relic tuners with cream buttons; short pattern Diamonds and Squares fretboard markers

“…as the thicker mids and barrel-chested bass notes are humming away, the trebles ring with a musicality that just puts a smile on my face, and effortless in how they are heard clearly from atop that warm, woody undertone, until their own sustain dips down into the massive cellar to meld with the lower registers.”

Martin D-15M StreetMaster Glam front

Read the Full DSS-15M StreetMaster Review Here

Acoustic Guitars / NAMM / video

Martin D-41 (2018)

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Now with the Standard Series new standardized neck, the D-41 remains exceptional

The addition of forward-shifted braces beefs up that scalloped bracing tone

This new D-41 (2018) and all the new Martins will have their written review published soon. I am putting out the video portions first this time around.

Acoustic Guitars / NAMM / video

Martin 000-28 (2018)

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The long-awaited makeover of the Standard Series 000-28 arrives

The addition of scalloped bracing and Martin’s High Performance neck bring this short-scale 000 into the 21st century, while returning the appearance to a pre-World War II aesthetic

The in-depth written review of the 000-28 (2018) will appear once I produce the videos of the various 2018 Martins I recorded at the Martin factory on NAMM Day 2018.

 

Acoustic Guitars / General Music News

Martinfest 12 – Annual gathering of Martin guitar lovers

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The Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum has thousands of members world wide. The small percentage who make the trek to Nazareth, PA to meet in person at their annual get-together have formed an extended family beyond what normally comes from meeting people from the internet.

“It is the rare sort of bond normally reserved for old army buddies, or the lifelong friendships formed during one’s college years. They sometimes find it hard to explain to their spouses or family and friends back home, so they will bring them along and let them see for themselves…

While other guitar brands have their loyal fans, none seem to evoke as much reverence and affection from their admirers as Martin, and this has led people from greatly diverse backgrounds to find they share a similar love of music that transcends their many differences…

Republicans room with Democrats, liberals stay up till dawn with the conservatives they looked so forward to seeing after a year apart; even Yankees fans find themselves warmly embraced by fans of the Tigers, Oriels and Red Sox. From the Oscar winner to the homemaker, the CPA to the MBA, all and all, they have found common ground in this most unpretentious celebration rooted in the love of music and Martin guitars…

As one member put it, “Music is a unifying force that reaches across many boundaries and brings people together in very deep and lasting ways.” Martinfest is living proof of that.”

Read the full Article on Martinfest 12

Martinfest lounge singalong

Acoustic Guitars / Review

Martin D-45S Authentic 1936 Review

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Visit the Mountaintop of Acoustic Guitars in Our D-45S Authentic 1936 Review

An instrument as impressive as its hefty price tag

… a sound bigger than Texas and just about as audacious. I have played examples of them all, from the D-100 to the Celtic Knot, to the Stephen Stills. There just hasn’t been a modern-day pearly Martin with a sound this enormous. The D-45S Authentic 1936 provides a sumptuous feast when playing even the basic cowboy chords. Add in some harmonic drone strings, or Jazz chords, and you also get to have Christmas pudding while sitting before the tree in all its trimmings.

Not many readers will ever get to see one of these, let alone actually afford to buy one. But we present this review for educational purposes, and to offer the opportunity that some might be inspired to knuckle down and put their nose to the grindstone, and become the kind of self-made man who actually can afford to buy one. We feel we owe it, to society. You can thank me when you invite me over to play your D-45SA 1936.

Read the full D-45S Authentic Review

D-45S Authentic 1936 Review

Acoustic Guitars / Review

Our Martin D-18 Authentic 1939 Review

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The Classic Mahogany Dreadnought Explored:
Our D-18 Authentic 1939 Review

The time machine Martin closest of all to the priceless pre-war instrument sought after by so many.

The light build on this mahogany/Adirondack is reinforced by rear-shifted braces, with the main X brace placed a bit farther back than on modern Martins. This helps add to the openness of the voice, and reduces the rumble in the bass, so the bottom notes retain great definition while the highs have all the cutting power a Bluegrass flatpicker could hope for.

Whether you are listening to Brownie McGhee singing the Blues, or Kris Kristofferson singing about Bobby McGee singing the Blues, you are hearing a D-18 laying down the rhythm. The folk music of Simon and Garfunkel, Donovan, and Gordon Lightfoot featured the D-18, as did the Rock n Roll of Elvis Presley, Jerry Garcia, and Kurt Cobain. And when it came to Mountain Music, Old Time, and Bluegrass, the D-18 has reigned supreme, especially among the hot-handed pickers.

And no D-18 yet is as like to taking a time machine to the 1930s and buying one, days after the glue has dried.

Read the full D-18 Authentic 1939

Martin D-18 Authentic 1939 review
photo: R. Dennie