"This whole guitar could have been an email" - I laughed for a solid ten minutes straight.

@gustavoloebel

5 ай бұрын

lololol me too!

Somehow it was decided that the only acceptable trajectory for business is constant growth. This guitar is the outcome.

@olovyn

Ай бұрын

As Dylan sang "He not busy being born is busy dying". Well, there is such thing as a stillbirth

Guitar breakdown on this one would be sweeeeeeet. Can't wait for that. You guys are the best, straight up.

Thank you CM & TC.

I have learned more from you two than any other source. Thank you

@Samalyzer45

5 ай бұрын

Only if you agree with everything they say, which is a stretch.

Yes please! I would love to see that breakdown

You two remind me that this world is a beautiful place with amazing minds - Please keep doing what you do!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for calling BS on the all the marketing crap they're dishing out. They're piling it high and deep. This looks like a repeat of what Talyor's marketing grease ball weasels did with their V-bracing.

@rmzzz76

5 ай бұрын

Oh the V-class bracing marketing campaign was HORRIBLE. Taylor sent all their reps to all their top retail stores with give aways and brain washing... They went hard on influencers to say nice things. First week those hit store shelves I was in Fuller's Guitars in Houston, which is one of Taylor's premier dealers here. Tuesday morning, no one in the store. Me and the sales staff. I got to A-B test the 814ce and one of the 900 series, same model, both brand new, just different years. One X-braced, one V-Class braced... V-Class had more consistency up and down the neck, but with compromises to note decay and overall sustain. The X-braced versions just sounded better and I saw the sales clerks face turn red when I pointed this out. He reluctantly agreed with me, but the look said it all. He was confused, like a cult member finally breaking out a spell... Taylor guitars has no legacy like Martin and Gibson.. They bury their promotional artist pages because its full of players like Dave Matthews and Taylor Swift who abandoned their brand long ago for traditional or boutique builds. The only truly great acoustic player playing a Taylor guitar at this point is Leo Kottke and according to Spoon Phillips, Leo Kottke loves his Taylors primarly because the bolt-on neck lets him get a reset "before every show". Maybe someone should send Leo a boutique built with bolt-on! They are a company that must constantly project some new innovation gimmick in order to be relevant, so they over exaggerate in their marketing... As a business owner, I read Bob Taylor's bio and genuinely like the guy for his work ethic and factory automation genius. But one thing became very clear reading it, Bob Taylor and his company are all about making money and even the conservational work they give so much PR to always has roots in reduce overhead and controlling supply chain for Taylor. So much smoke & mirrors. Like the man, hate is company.

@tcWildlife1

3 ай бұрын

Well, no actually. They're speculating that it's just marketing crap. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that a company like Martin has far more advanced ways to determine how bracing and wood combinations will affect the sound of a guitar than a tiny boutique guitar builder.

@el34glo59

Ай бұрын

​@@tcWildlife1Dam strait

You guys just covered LITERALLY everything I was going to say about this guitar. Could have listened for another day.

@DriftwoodGuitars

5 ай бұрын

Thanks man!

Nice to see your reaction so fast. 🎉

I couldn’t agree more with everything you both said. I’m ambivalent about two of the 3 elements, but the “Sonic channels” will keep repairers in work for decades….

Yes I would love to see a break down on this new Martin guitar!

If I'm gonna spend $4K on a Martin, it's going to be an already proven model.

@charlesbolton8471

6 ай бұрын

It IS a proven model that has been successful for decades most people call it a Taylor 614ce. For what it’s worth, the Taylor is the exact same price.

@karlcountry2363

6 ай бұрын

There’s no way martins new guitar sounds like a Taylor lol😂

@howabouthetruth2157

5 ай бұрын

There are literally dozens of guitar builders/factories that produce $4k guitars ( OR LESS ) that'll blow ANY new $4k Martin clean out of the water. That's not my opinion, that's the fact of the matter. ME: 62 yr old highly accomplished guitarist/singer/blues harp/stage performer of many years all over east/central Florida........now "retired" from the club/lounge scene. I've been playing guitar alone for 50 yrs. Trust me when I tell ya: We are truly living in the golden age of lutherie right now. There are SO many phenomenal guitar factories, it's mind boggling. And let me tell ya something else: although I do love the GOOD Martins ( yet far too expensive, others are just as good if not better for less money )..........nowadays, Martin & Taylor both are screwing the hell out of people with grossly over-priced guitars that simply don't deliver for the price. By the way, I owned a Martin D-28 30 some years ago. I also owned a 614 Taylor that I bought new in 2005. After owning/playing/gigging with it for several months, I actually liked the sound of my 3 high end Japanese Takamine's better. I had to sell them all unfortunately, during that awful recession of '08 to save our home. But recently, I purchased 2 Hsienmo acoustic guitars only 3 weeks apart. Loved the first one so much, I rushed & bought the 2nd. Now I'm about to buy a 3rd. I'm here say: the world needs to be put on notice: Founder/owner Li Chen and his team of experienced luthiers are currently building the very best guitars in terms of value for your hard earned dollar. They cut NO corners & build even their lower priced models to the highest standards. And they need NO modifications "to make them sound better". My Hsienmo Custom Shop Grand Auditorium with 5A Adirondack spruce top & SOLID Honduran rosewood back & sides will smoke ANY new $4k Martin OR Taylor. And I only paid $2450.00......delivered to my front door with deluxe case. It'll take a Martin or Taylor costing well north of 10 GRAND to compete with it. Believe that. HSIENMO GUITARS. Check out their youtube channel & website. The word is spreading like wildfire. I only discovered them 3 months ago, and I'm having them custom build my 3rd one. That oughta tell ya something.

@planetdigital300

5 ай бұрын

Taylor has same bracing as this in that model? @@charlesbolton8471

@planetdigital300

5 ай бұрын

this isn't even a Martin - this is Frankenstein shiny object for marketing - the Martin promo video is like SNL for a luthier - full of BS

Thank you for your honest review.

Excellent comments!

Can't wait for the breakdown

I'm keen to see the breakdown, even this video was interesting from a guitar construction perspective.

i do enjoy those cut the guitar in half videos

Liked and subscribed for the honesty.

Can't wait for your review.

Kanilea has been using relieved bracing on their ukuleles since 2017 called Tru-r bracing

I just bought an HD35. Love the sound, love the neck, but heck yeah - plastic binding and plastic bridge pins on a $3,400.00 guitar??!! I loved your final comment on their finally using a wood binding. My $500 Seagull and $1600 Eastman both have wood bindings!

Glad you see it the same way as I did as I have been shouted down in a few forums of Martin lovers. There is so much they could have done but as you say invented in the boardroom and somebody had the Honey comb sketch they did in their lunch break and said I have this.any good. Look forward to the full Driftwood treatment

I have, in addition to my Furch Yellow Master’s Choice, three Walden Guitars. Walden has been using low mass bracing (similar concept) since their 2020 relaunch in their 500 and up series. Walden’s happen to be very nicely built and great sounding guitars at an affordable price point. I chose my first Walden over a Taylor 214 for half the cost. I think Martin saw what Taylor did with their gimmicky V-Class bracing (terribly thin sounding guitars, I easily chose Furch over Taylor) and decided to have their own bracing angle as a marketing tool. But they are charging serious money. I think Walden’s design makes more sense than Martins to be honest.

yes!! our prayers have been answer in the shape of a new driftwood reaction video 🙌🙌

It’s called puffing in the sales world, eager to hear the sound results and feedback from the public!

I feel like those braces are a bold move, would be interesting to see how well they do after 10 years of seasonal changes.

@susanroycroft89

5 ай бұрын

Yes Very good Question 😮😮😮

@turrafirmaguitarchannel

5 ай бұрын

You might end up in holy hell

@davidlemoyne6678

5 ай бұрын

THEY'D HAVE AGED LIKE THEYRE 20 LOL

@TGriffiths-ve6nw

4 ай бұрын

Basically they have created trusses. Not a sparking new innovation. Often you will see big steel beams with round holes cut out of them to reduce weight without compromising strength. It's just engineering in its most basic form. It's not a bad idea if there is a need for it. It's still just a truss.

Very interested to see the results of the breakdown. Id agree that the standard models are over built so the skeletonised approach seems unnecessary when they could just brace the guitar with lighter bracing (a step beyond the scalloped bracing)

I’ll take some popcorn and a beer to watch this breakdown, Can’t wait.

+1 for that rundown

Interesting analysis and some funny commentary! That 3 piece back feels like buying a new car but it only has 12k miles on it!

Good video. Trust your honesty.

great video guys, I would love to see that guitar cut in half (or at least your review even if you have to avoid cutting it to be able to resell it)

Great job on sifting through all that advertising mess! I bought Martin’s last gimmick guitar, which I think was the SC 13. I think that one only cost me 1700 bucks :-) thanks for all your posts and your hard work.

I started using this type of bracing back in 2001 . It's another tool in the box but not really necessary , My bracing is designed to be both light and strong, without the mass of typical Martin's

@el34glo59

Ай бұрын

Lol sure. Ashame Martin doesn't have your brain. Just a bunch of idiots over there. Not like they invented the wheel or anything

I love this type of thing from Luthier's such as yourselves- like lets cut all the b/s + marketing blurb,an' Really, what's goin' on here! 😮😮😮

Would love to see the Driftwood Breakdown on this one

Walden Guitars has been doing this for some time now... under the designer that revived Washburn.

good insite thx. Gimmick or not, it's good to see them, and others, in the innovative mindset.

Definitely want to see the breakdown on this. Also, hope I see you guys at NAMM! I would love to try a Driftwood acoustic if you'll have some demo instruments 😊 I am coming specifically to try boutique acoustics because that's my jam.

4K No Way!!! Love my Larrivée

I’d love to see the breakdown

Will they add the holey bracing to the rubber boot back, to fully jump the shark?

Hi guys. I consider myself an electric player. But since I've bought a Larivee OM9V I've changed my mind on acoustic playing. The difference in feel, in the overtones, in how the dissonances sound...now I'm enlightened. The difference between good acoustic (I had a good Seagull dreadnought) and a GREAT one is immense. I feel like John Mayer and create new songs just following the sound that the instrument suggest me. (I wish I coud sing or write lyrics like JM!!!). P.S. please, please, DON'T cut a Larrivee in half ;)

@whimpypatrol5503

5 ай бұрын

I thought you were on to something and thought I was understanding legit tonal aspects of an acoustic - in regards to overtones (for staters) - when it comes to getting beautiful chords to shine until you mentioned JM, the last showman I would consider a picker, a jazzster, a bluesman, or any kind of a guitar virtuoso.

@intersanctum

5 ай бұрын

@@whimpypatrol5503 Joscho Stephan, Tommy Emmanuel and so on, and on.

Would love to hear your thoughts after you get to play one at NAMM. Great video.

just watching the Martin Video right now. Interestingly, they're saying using maple led them to reducing the size of the soundhole. I have an old 1960s Arnold Hoyer guitar with maple back and sides (flamed and quilted respectively) and it also has a small soundhole... And ladder bracing for that matter. I was planning on retiring this guitar, it's had two refrets, there's not much fretboard left. But went guitar shopping and had to get up to £1.5k before I started finding instruments that could complete. Nothing wrong with maple if you know how to use it.

Martin has had wood binding on their Moden Deluxe series for nearly 5 years and as ab=n option on custome order instruments

As for maple, what's wrong with a Gibson SJ-200 or Taylor 614ce-618ce? There are also walnut backed guitars. The SC-13 was "new" and not so bad. But I like my D-28s VTS (12-fret). We'll see. Thanks

Cant say I agree with the concept. The real question is does it improve Sound, Strength and Longevity? Strength is in the grain not the pulp. Punching a bunch of holes in it would require the brace to be taller to make up for the sectional loss of the grain. Infact Chris's point of proper heigth bracing and "voiceing" would be much more of an improvement but that would require Martin to roll back the assembly line mentality. Frankly I think your pregame assesment is spot on. Sales gimmic by Exec. staff after strolling through someone elses attemps of innovation and marketing hip to counter Taylors V Brace hip, another not so new idea. Wounder what Gibson will come up with...?

nailed it!

Bring the Japanese saw to NAMM and do the breakdown at the Martin booth! 😉

I love Martin guitars and have a couple of more traditional ones. Curious about this, sure, though the sound on KZread vids they’ve put out so far seems to lack depth.

Spot on

Martin put wood binding modern deluxe series guys. They are superb guitars.

Check out the new Boucher torrified maple guitars. They sound incredible

Riversong uses skeletized bracing in their more expensive guitars. Guess when they beat out Martin to win the Musical Merchandise Review Dealers' Choice Awards in 2022, Martin executives took note. I would rather see you two do a breakdown of a Riversong guitar with their neck-through design.

Spot on comment on Kevin Ryan and his bracing concept, that was the very first thing I thought of when I saw this. They also copied him on their titanium bridge pins on the Modern Deluxe series. Great to see them innovate and or attempt to innovate though. From a pricing perspective, I do find it appalling that the high volume builders are charging so much for basic tone woods. There’s never been a better time to buy exceptional, cost effective guitars. For example, Eastman among others are uniformly producing better sounding - on average - guitars for drastically less money. I love martin and Taylor, but costs are getting absurd for basic maple, EIR, Spruce et al guitars.

I’m glad you noted that the bracing approach is not truly new…other builders have done it before. I interned with Mossman in 1993 (Sulpher Springs Texas), and they were doing this on the DH92 model. It seemed to make the guitars mic better, but I’m not sure if they held up over time. This guitar may be great, but they the hyperbole likelihood here is palpable. Maybe those double top Kevlar sandwich tops some folks use is a push forward. I think your assessment is spot on.

I appreciate the sanity check. Thank you! Personally, I wanted to love my old maple back & sides guitar, but couldn't. There's something human about the maple tone that I really liked, but something was missing. My experience is limited to only one guitar (an old Taylor, which might explain my issues), but fwiw, that's why I'm more into the walnut center than other players might be. In the vid, you guys kinda diss Martin's decision to pair the two woods, so I thought it would be useful if I added my feeble 2 cents.

Thanks

I appreciate that they are trying to branch out into more modern alternatives, but I'd rather go Taylor or Yairi or the like in that case. I just picked up a new HD-28 reimagined specifically because the sound in my head was the classic Martin sound, though I know it's not for everyone it inspires me to play more and fit my budget. 4000.00 for that is a definite pass on my end, though I'd love to play one to see if the hype they are putting out is warranted.

Well, there's nothing innovative here except that this bracing style is being used in a large factory setting, rather than by boutiques and single handers. Martin will have done their homework and be convinced it's worthwhile, and frankly 4k is affordable compared with singlehander competitors if you want that style of bracing. Maple? Yup that's fine; I've got an MC68 and it sounds great. I also have an HD35 (obviously with a 3 piece back) and it's amazing. I'd love to get my hands on one of these, and I love Martin, but from what you describe I'm not convinced its a great leap.

My Martin GPCPA4R is currently at an Authorized Martin dealer for a back binding repair. I love the guitar but the binding fell off gracefully as I was playing it. The authorized dealer said Martin had glue problem and he was surprised the binding fell off in one piece. I don't know much but that guitar has a satin finish on the sides and backs and that binding had the satin finish stuck to the binding.

@susanhaseltine2979

6 ай бұрын

I have that model and the same thing happened to mine; it was an easy fix, but have never had a guitar do that before…still love playing.

@markmartin3221

6 ай бұрын

I have a GCPA4R my binding came loose. I had a Luthier fix and do a re-set. It is my favorite acoustic guitar.

Yulong Gao Chinese luthier has lattice braces his acoustic classical guitars are just divine...He also doesvsteel guitars really good too

Haha, the Fender Acoustasonic. Daryl Hall signature guitar. Great show fellers.

Savage!! Can't wait for your frank comments after NAMM.

A Vietnamese guitar making doing exactly the same bracing like this and it really sound great.

Not an instrument builder, but as an architectural designer, increasing beam depth increases both load capacity and/or reduces deflection. The latter aspect seems counterproductive to improving resonance, ie allowing the sound board to move more freely. Cutting holes in it modifies the beam into a lighter truss-like form, but the stiffness remains virtually the same. The added variable to this calculation would be beam width and depth, so if it tapers (especially in section) the impact on stiffness and resulting resonance would be very difficult to engineer in such small and variable sections of material. Bottom line is, to get the best balance of strength and deflection, you are back to hand tuning.

I think it’s a good idea to try and improve the status qou. Thing is, Martin didn’t really invent something new, Kevin Ryan gets that Honor..They took a design that was being implemented by other luthiers/small builders and tweaked it enough to calm their own. For 4k I can find small shop or hand built for almost that much, moreso used.

It would be interesting to see their computer models of expected resonance, if they have done it.

What are your thoughts on the SC series from Martin? It seemed to be in the same category of innovation for innovation sake.

The best one of the best guitars I played that with Maple was a Taylor. I don’t know why it had such a beautiful sound, and it was on Maple.

@GWBridge

5 ай бұрын

And sound, like beauty, is a personal thing. If it sounds right to you and you want it, that's all that matters.

@RtaniDean

5 ай бұрын

Yep. I’ve got a few takamines all maples that are tonally explosive and beautiful. Maple is a great tonal wood. Drums prove it too. My Taylor wild wood 814 CE also has maple implements built into it. Just a beautiful guitar and the maple binding is just gorgeous. Although not tonal as the main of my Taylor - the beauty of the maple gives it another element of class.

Martin is reinventing the wheel

@planetdigital300

5 ай бұрын

no sir - they are putting holes in the spokes and expecting the wheels not to fall apart

Those braces are going to crack. A round hole will withstand vibration and seasonal changes and movement better than a hole with square or sharp corners. They have created weak points with those little "X's" instead of round or elliptical holes as was shown in the Ryan guitar braces. It's the same reason windows in airplanes are round or have rounded corners. Square or acute angles at corners do not take movement well, and they crack when things move or expand. If you say "why do steel trusses on bridges have have sharp angles?"...the answer is those connections are designed for movement and vibration and steel is ductile and can flex and bend quite a bit and return to it's original shape....wood grain is directional and does not have the flexural and shear strength in relation to it's cross section that steel has.

My Hozen acoustic is solid maple B&S Sitka top - voiced like a mandolin. Incredible sound, warm and woody. Suggest you do a study of these Hozen guitars. Please looks them up.

@intersanctum

5 ай бұрын

half of their web page isn't working.

Maple and walnut does sound delicious...

The bracing reminds me of the design of real-world bridges. The ones built to accommodate movement while withstanding loads and forces. I'm interested to know what a structural engineer would say.

@scottakam

5 ай бұрын

It's a variation of the boring old I Beam from 1849. Take most of the material and move it to the outside of a taller beam. You end up using less material to achieve the same moment of inertia (strength).

@disqusrubbish5467

5 ай бұрын

Well real world bridges (highway kind) are designed to not vibrate. Guitars need to vibrate.

Well if in Martin really says "one foot in the past - one foot in the future" that would mean the bal*s are hang right over the present day. Nothing wrong with what they did if they price it correctly. Somehow I have a feeling that anyone willing to spend 4k on an acoustic, will buy one of their (or some other) proven models. I'd love to see you disecting this one. Also a tone/sound comparison with another $ 4k model too.

Spot on! Why make a guitar with maple when you haven't got a good word to say about it as a tonewood (never heard it called "harsh" before)? Why weaken the top with "sonic channels" when you can just reinforce it less with smaller bracing, or even bracing with holes in it? And since when did European spruce grow in Martin's backyard (or am I missing something)?

They should do a Slash signature model, and offer it with tops finished in never-before imagined stain colors. Ehhh... that would make it a Les Paul. The photos of the ventilated bracing sure do make for pretty back-lit architectural photos.

Can't wait to see the breakdown! Btw, what do you guys think of double tops on steel strings guitars ? I know i's not recent innovation but i'm really curious to know what pros think about it

@planetdigital300

5 ай бұрын

who is even talking about that?

@smandez2023

5 ай бұрын

@@planetdigital300 Jacques Chamma

@TGriffiths-ve6nw

4 ай бұрын

Double tops were used in some French mandolins way back when. I have never tried one so don't know why they became a fad. Interesting to look at but foreign concept to me. What is the need?

@jacqueschamma3045

4 ай бұрын

@@TGriffiths-ve6nw it's quite common in classical guitar (even in the US), apparently the top is lighter and vibrates more and it makes the guitar much louder and the sound is better from what I found. Very rare on steel string guitars but it does exist

This better be much better than my d28

yalll should talk about the taylor urban woods

I know it's expensive, but I'd love to see guitar breakdowns on their most popular guitars (D-35 and D-28) especially as I'm about to spend a lot of money on a D-35. As they're their most popular models, I guess a lot of your audience would love to see the same. I'm curious on how much of the price is for the logo and how much is for the craft.

Martin has been pulling a fast one for years, ever since they tried to capitalize on the vintage craze that started in the 90s with their reissues and limited editions. And now with their countless signature series.

@seancca

6 ай бұрын

Making a signature series is pulling a fast one?

@G_Demolished

5 ай бұрын

@@seanccaPeople generally like to dog Martin. The video creators not excluded.

Agreed on every point here. BTW, as John Ressler can tell you, walnut makes amazing guitars. Also, maple guitars can also be amazing. What is happening?!?! Build a 000-s walnut guitar. It'll be great. Build a maple guitar and figure out how to kill the overtones you don't like. It'll be great.

This will probably raise some eyebrows, but a "cool" innovation in top bracing that might have grown legs if they hadn't been bought out by gibson was a canadian brand, garrison that used a single piece injection molded top brace on a 3mm cedar top dreadnot with solid birch back and sides for around $800. I picked mine up for $500. It had other issues. they glued the bridge onto a gloss finish and that came up on me. But after repairing that amd doinf some setup, it just sounds beautiful and the action is perfect now. Med guage strings and still holding up. They were almost there with my special mr garrison.

@raymondferguson3781

5 ай бұрын

anyway, i suspect it makes more sense than the way martin uses plastic. as a brace it is strong but ductile, so in theory, it should let a soundboard vibe out possibly better and it sure made for an interesting cheaper mass produced guitar.

Interesting for sure so wild see martin doing this. For $4k there are so many good guitars would possibly buy one of those before this.

Cut open that GPCE-LMNOP!! 😂 Boardroom guitar for sure. It was probably a response to excess stockpiles of maple or a cheap load. I just wonder what they’ll do with the bracing off cuts.

To me it breaks down to me that they have put more volume of bracing in then cut a lot of it back out. Why ? What is the volume left ? Probably the same as it was ? but hey it has a really nice pattern and therefore it MUST be better ? Martin Snake Oil. Just show us slo mo images of guitar top vibration tests !

I played one at Namm, and was actually surprised. It sounded open and responsive. All in all not bad. Not as innovative or dramatic as Kevin Ryans braces, but cool.

I agree… a response to V-Class bracing. Interesting concepts but none of it actually makes since as a whole… not to say it won’t sound good but, I’m skeptical.

From an engineering point of view, why not carve the cross-section of the brace like an I-beam?

This whole guitar could've been an email is on point. The suits have one purpose and that's to try and make the line go up.

Talked to a Martin employee while visiting the Martin Factory. He told me that they were shutting down to re machine everything because Taylor was kicking their a*s. This was around 2018.

Will it stop the D-28's soundboard from lifting at the rear and dipping in front of the bridge?

@rirrid5662

6 ай бұрын

And will it magically fix their string spacing at the bridge from 54 to 60mm so fingerstyle players can actually utilize a Martin guitar properly?

I'm still trying to figure out why acoustic guitars need to be lighter.....All of the acoustics I have been fortunate to hold and play are so light. I can see some bracing changes being done for sonic reasons only, but I also need to not have my guitars self-destruct under tension..... Love to see and hear more.

@sandoncrowder7839

5 ай бұрын

There's an old idea in guitar building that you need to get the guitar as close to breaking as you can without putting it in danger. The thinner and lighter you can make the top and the bracing, the easier it will be for the top to vibrate. If the wood is too thick or if it has too much bracing it won't vibrate very well and the guitar will sound dead and one dimensional. Not sure if cutting the bracing like this makes any big difference but might as well try it out.

The solution would be the braces be made of carbon, fiber, light, but very strong

You guys are spot on. Properly shaved braces shape the tone. Adding mass just so you can put holes in the brace that it's purpose is support seems counter productive. Seems like the cooperate guys haven't ever tone tapped a top let alone smelled the fragrance of a newly quarter sawed piece of wood.

@el34glo59

Ай бұрын

Martin forgot more than you or these guys will ever know

Has it occurred to anyone that those braces might split length wise under a load? Right along those holes which should have round openings, but instead have sharp corners to exacerbate the problem.