General Music Chat

I've had a 1976 D-28 for 33 years and have mixed feelings about it. On one hand it's the best sounding acoustic I've ever played, and on the other hand it's been in the shop more than any other instrument I've owned. Here's an article about the company:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/05/aif.ma ... index.html

Hey, Jimmy, I'm going to be sitting in with a local band tonight, The Acoustic Refugees, comprised of two guys and a girl who all play Martin's and a guy on harmonica. Doc, the leader and lead guitarist is a very hard hitting, aggressive acoustic lead player. I'll ask if he's had any trouble with his Martin. Oh, yeah, and I'll be taking my old Fender Telecoustic 'cause it sounds like an acoustic and plays like an electric.

Sweet Rat. I've had the neck redone three times, the last time the luthier put a piece of graphite in the neck. Due to the amount of wood he's taken off from it the intonation is shot past the 10th fret. It still plays open chords fine. Have a good jam.

76 must of been a bad year cause I had one that the neck wanted to twist and caused a lot of problems. I got rid of it in 78 and got another in 90. Never a days problem out of it. I like its sound Better than any other acoustic I own but it doesnt play as well as an old Yamaha or a newer Fender I have . Everyone thats played them says so. The Yamaha came from the army PX near Ft Worth Texas in 82 for 89 bucks. Believe it or not it played better than a Gibson Dove I had that cost 1400 bucks in 82. Kind of wish I hadnt sold the Dove now though. I have a Fender 12 string I paid 299 bucks for new that plays really great and stays in tune for weeks on end. I have to tune that Martin every time I pick it up.

And its another day in Paradise !!!

Comes down to string tension and what the guit was made for. I brought this up before, MOST STRING SETS REALLY SUCK.
Just take a great guitar and ruin it because of the strings you put on it.

Most of the Martins I've played were prized possessions of bluegrassers. They were old, & played like a brick. Most of them were hand made, too, which made them vary a lot, esp in the neck. I never appreciated them for anything except the sound, which, I must admit, is sweet, in the older instruments.

I never liked the sound of a new Martin until they came out with the lower end ones with the Taylor-made neck. I played two of them in a store, once, & they were nice. Much better necks, too.

For the money, I've played guitars that were better all around, but there is a mystique to the legend that still draws ppl. I've seen an awful lot of bluegrassers playing Taylors & other brands lately, though.

Well, I had a great time jamming with The Acoustic Refugees last night. I asked Doc if they had any problems with their Martins and told him about yours, Jimmy, and he said they'd never experienced anything like that. By the way, they LOVED my Telecoustic, couldn't believe how it sounded like an acoustic and played like an electric. Of course, if it weren't plugged in it wouldn't put out enough sound to keep up with real acoustic guitars, but then again, if I couldn't plug it in somewhere I wouldn't take it.

Dddonnie had one of those Telecoustics in his shop. I was surprized at the lack of power & volume, & I never plugged it in. I thought it was just another gimmick that hadn't worked.

You're the 1st guy I ever heard of who uses one, Jeff.

Mine is one of the old originals. They quit making them for a while and then started back, probably cheaper versions.