my dx1r martin

[davelikesheat]

last christmas my wife got me a martin dx1r acoustic. i was at my local guitar store shoping for a good acoustic. i was in the sound proof booth they had for all the realy nice guitars. mostly taylors and martins. i was in the booth with one other guy. we started talking and i told him i was saving up for a new guitar. i new i had to spend atleast a grand for a nice acoustic. he should me the martin dx1r and asked if i had ever played one. mind you this guy was not a salesperson but just someone shopping. i played it for a bit and was amazed at its sound. i could feel the bass in my belly as i played it. at the time i had been playing an acoustic fender for 7 years and had not played many nice guitars. i was starting to get pretty good and wanted a nicer guitar. the man told me it plays just as good if not better than some 1,500$ -$2,000 guitars. so i bought it a week later. the total price was about $575.

this summer i met a couple of guys who play in a chruch band. one guy had a $5,000 taylor and the other guy had a $3,500 taylor. i played for about 20 mins for them on my martin. then i let them play it. they where very happy with its sound and one of the men asked me if i payed about $3,000 for it. when i told him it was under a grand he was shocked. the other guy played it and said he thought it sounded better than his $5,000 taylor!!! i was working at a camp this summer so i hung out with the band all summer. they let me each play there taylors many times before the summer was over.

i can say that i.m.o neither one one of those taylors touched my martin on sound!!

i have been playing for 7 years now and am pretty ok on my guitar. but am still learning about all the many kinds of guitars. i dont know how martin does it and im not dissing taylor but that martin dx1r is awesome. i have met alot of people who have admited to it sounding better than most taylors and even some other martins.

does anyone here own one or has ever played one?

i was told though that martin leads the way on single note sound. as taylor leads the way on strum sound. maybee that is why blues and bluegrass players mostly have martins while people, ( like dave) who strum some wicked stuff stick to taylor.

anyother martin people here? give your input.

[mangold]

first off allow me to say that i have played all different brands of high end acoustics, including almost every mass produced model from the martin and taylor lines, and i believe martin to make a much higher quality guitar than Taylor. I am not too suprised that your dx1 sounded better than their high end taylors. But i will say this, any martin with an "X" in its model name pails in comparisson to a real martin, such as a d-28, d-35, or even a d-15.

I've said it before and i will say it again, HPL, Laminate, or anything else manmade can't even hold a candle to solid wood, especially in the long run.

there is no definitive answer as to who leads the way in "single note sound" or "strum sound" it is all opinion and that is what you have to remember. I like martin's sound, i would take a sapele d-15 over any Taylor ever made.

But I've played both of them, and i would take a Washburn Timbercraftover a dx1.

This being said, im glad you're so happy with your guitar, thats all that matters.

[davelikesheat]

well i still have yet to play some nicer martins. however i have to ask a (?) on the hpl,laminate part of it. on my martin the body is a solid spruce top with, if i remember corectly "indian rose wood" sides. it is only the neck that is hpl. making it stronger than wood. from what i understand. it wiil never crack or worpe as wood may or can.


hpl, or laminate wiil never produce the "sound" that wood will. but if it can make a good neck isnt ok?


i also have heard that martin is working on making a man made material that will sound better than any wood out there.


i would have to "see/hear" it to believe it.

[davelikesheat]

ok i would like to correct myself,..the martin dx1r's body is made with a solid spruce top, and indian rose wood, "laminate" sides.

so looks like the neck and sides are hpl, laminante man made. where only th etop is wood.

in your opinion,...if it was real rosewood sides would it have even better sound?

[mangold]

yes if the guitar had solid back and sides it would have a "better" sound now, but more importantly the sound would get better as it aged because the grain of the wood would be pulled tighter as it dried completely.

I see no reason why hpl would make a bad neck, i would just prefer real wood

[GuitarGuy305]

I have always preferred Martin guitars over Taylor. I have played some Larrivees and Lowdens that I loved the sound of too, more than Taylors. But in the Taylor vs. Martin arena, I'll always stick to Martin. Taylors are great guitars, just not my cup of tea for the sound I like.

[Dutch]

so basically, the only problem with the hpl or laminate sides and back is that the sound will not improve with age as would be the case with a solid wood side/back? is that the case? is there going to be a deterioration of sound with the hpl sides/back over time?

I am considering the dcx1e as my next guitar and i figured i would just ask in a preexisting thread along the same lines instead of forming a new one.

[6_strings_for_life]

so basically, the only problem with the hpl or laminate sides and back is that the sound will not improve with age as would be the case with a solid wood side/back? is that the case? is there going to be a deterioration of sound with the hpl sides/back over time?

I am considering the dcx1e as my next guitar and i figured i would just ask in a preexisting thread along the same lines instead of forming a new one.

bingo.

[Dutch]

but will the sound quality deteriorate?

[RunsWithBuffalo]

Tough to say, i think the only way it will deteriorate is if its of very low quality. I think the point is if its real wood, it will get better with age.

[dmbvideos]

The key is to not get a Martin with an X in the name.