Need advice on a guitar purchase.

As everyone here knows I've dreamed of owning a Martin for many years.

I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a place up in Iowa that had, IIRC, 10 or so left handed Martins. He had them mainly because I went in there one time many years ago and was saying how hard it was to find lefty guitars, so that prompted the owner to get a bunch in (not just Martins) and be known as 'the' place in Iowa to buy left handed guitars.

So here's what I'm faced with. I played everything from a $700 dollar one up to a $4800 dollar one. I swear, the one that sounded and played the best was the $700 dollar one made out of that High Pressure Laminate. It had a smaller than normal dreadnought body, but it had an equal or greater tone than the $4800 full sized one I played.

Anyone know anything about the HPL stuff?

I'm ready to buy that $700 dollar one, but it's killing me to buy a Mexican made Martin (All the HPL ones come from Mexico).

Are my concerns valid, or am I being an idiot even more so than usual?

Thoughts, input, discuss.

Thanks.

One of my favorite Acoustics at the house is a $289 Simon and Patrick from Canada.

It has laminate back and sides and a solid spruce top and it has a natural sweet sound... which was unlike the other 7, very same make and model guitars it was displayed with the day I played and bought it.

Some of the fancy guitars have extra fancy stuff glued on it that don't help the sound.

I like the Martin 28 series and am especially fond of the 21 series... after that level they get lots of the shiny stuff stuck on them and I don't think it makes them sound any better.

Have fun.


best regards,
mike

I have an old steel string acoustic that the father of a friend made for me years ago. It has no laminate on it, it was just treated with lemon oil (I think). The result is a very open, balanced sound that has always turned heads. 

Martins are fine guitars, but it's always worth checking out the work of local luthiers as well. Mine I think sounds better than a Martin, and it was home made by a (admittedly very talented) hobbyist. 

<dregs up old story myth>

Wasn't it proven that back and sides of an acoustic guitar are NOT what contributes to the tone quality of a guitar.

Seem to recall a guitar with the back and sides  made of paper mache and the "same" guitar made with conventional sides and back and there was no real discernible difference in tone quality.

Or did I just make that up? 

digi2ns


I love the Taylor 414CE's but havent got off the pot to buy one yet

Philz has one.


Or, did I just make that up?

Laminates are actually stronger and more heat and humidity resistant than solid wood guitars.  As long as you've got a solid wood top and you like to sound of the instrument you shouldn't let the HPL scare you off.  I just added a Taylor 214CE Nylon to my collection and it plays, sounds and records tres fab.  Plus the laminate sides and back are actually "prettier" than my 714Ce or my 410CE.  I know you have your heart set on a Martin, ol pal.  But don't overlook Taylor...they are consistently good.

Bub, I have found thru the years, that if you go into a music store thinkin about a purchase and play a guitar, and your whole being is telling you "WOW", Buy it. You know the magic when you feel it. (it's hard to find imo).

I blew it recently on a Cordoba I played at guitar center. The one I played was really nice. I went back after hemming and hawing a month later to buy it and yech..... I guess they sold 'that' one. And, the new one was just terrible.
Which, actually is pretty odd to me as I figured evrything was pretty much the same nowadays with all the automation in production. hmm.

just sayin.

That's what happened with the $289 Simon and Patrick I have here.

I played seven of them at my friends guitar shop and I said Wow when I played that particular one.

I wasn't shopping for guitars... I was just visiting my friend at his store and saying hi. We usually pick a few tunes during the quiet part of the day so I ran through his brand new stock of 6 strings and got the fever for this particular one.


best regards,
mike

Remember too, that in a guitar shop or a music store.... the strings on one guitar might be as old and as dead as the hills on that nice guitar and the cheaper one has new strings and will sound better.... so if it feels good but sounds dead.... ask to put some new strings on it. 

New strings are like day and night. 

Well...

here in the NE the average humidity varies from non existent in the winter to 90% for long periods in the summer..  so there is one thing going for your HPL martin.. you wont stress and freak out about the humidity and panic and call folks in while you are on vacation to wet up the spongy thingy.. (yeah i did that)..and tbh unless i purchased a cabinet with humidity control i wouldnt buy a martin or any other quality (ie $2k+) solid top guitar.

referencing Timidi...that's exactly what happened with my 410CE purchase.  I was with my best bud (a killer diller guitarist) and his son (ditto) and we were all just hangin in the acoustic room at GC with no intention to buy anything...just seeing what was new.  While my god-son was trying out a couple of higher end Taylors and Martins I happened to pickup the 410 and start noodlin.  5 minutes tops and I told my GC guy...let's make a deal.  Instant wow.  Instant love.  Wasn't going to let it get away.  Would nevah evah sell it.  Listen to your heart, ol pal.  And your ears.

But ... *pause* ... but ... *pause ... but ... how am I gonna do my cover of El Paso without a Martin? I have to get a Martin. It's an unspoken rule, a code, have you, in the traditional country music biz.

I could never use a Gibson, that's for folk music. Tak-imanotcha-hooma-coochie or whatever the blazing saddles they are called, are for Rock ... it's just, well, ya have to have a Martin guitar and only play 3 chords, an occasional minor, and the even rarer key change (if you're covering Buck) if you're gonna do country. That's just how it is.

@FBB ... that's an excellent way to go about deciding on a guitar. I tried that the last time I went looking. I kept telling myself, what do people see in Gibson Les Paul's that I'm not seeing ... of course, my selection was limited playing left handed. The one that felt the best and sounded the best was the stripped down, chrome hardware, cherry red, Epiphone Les Paul Studio (or Epi's equivalent). That thing blew me away. IIRC it was around $499. I always check the neck, intonation, how smooth the tuners will tighten and loosen a string, and how well it stays in tune when I do a lot of bends, and I intentionally do a lot when test running a guitar. It was like someone spent hours on it setting it up.

As for going 'Wow', that's exactly what happened to me when I grabbed that HPL one. I went, 'Meh', when I played the DC Aura which at the time was one of their upper mid end/lower high end guitars.

djwayne


For me the most important thing is how well the guitar feels and how well can I play it. They are all different as night and day. I tried playing my Taylor 12 string  450, it played like butter compared to my old Martin 12-20, so I bought the Taylor and sold the 12-20, just on that fact alone. No regrets. I also bought a new D-18 back in 1975, and still have it, and it plays just like when it was new. It's got a lot of battle scars but sounds fantastic. I wouldn't sell either one.

For electric guitar, I bought a Stellar Les Paul "Black Beauty" copy. It looks and plays just as well as a real Les Paul, I wouldn't sell that one either.
 

I have a Gibson Black Beauty Fretless Wonder. Left handed of course.

I hate it.

I regret ever buying it.

It's for sale if anyone wants it. I should take pictures and post. It's road worn that's for sure.

Bub


But ... *pause* ... but ... *pause ... but ... how am I gonna do my cover of El Paso without a Martin? I have to get a Martin. It's an unspoken rule, a code, have you, in the traditional country music biz.

I could never use a Gibson, that's for folk music. Tak-imanotcha-hooma-coochie or whatever the blazing saddles they are called, are for Rock ... it's just, well, ya have to have a Martin guitar and only play 3 chords, an occasional minor, and the even rarer key change (if you're covering Buck) if you're gonna do country. That's just how it is.

bub, The Tak-imanotcha-hooma-coochie (I assume Takamine :) ) are very country! Just check out the website, the artists using them, and the signature models they offer!

yorolpal


OK Spacey...since a "wow" factor doesn't matter when choosing a guitar (admittedly a very, very personal decision) then...other than structure and intonation...what are those "matters that matter"?:-)

OK yourolpal....since when did I say it didn't matter?
 
Her are some matters that matter....
Some can buy any guitar they want and money isn't a factor. They can afford to make
a mistake. Find out after buying that there may be problems or they may have played other
guitars and found a bigger wow.
Some shop around and some don't. May be a factor to those that may have limited shots and
can't afford a bad purchasel
Some don't have a preference for one particular model or make. Some do.
Some want one for a specific playing style and performance. (stage, studio etc.)
 
 
Bub has a few basic guidelines leading him- make, being left handed -genre/playing style- that we're aware of. He wants a left-handed Martin.
 
By him being set on a Martin the wow factor is limited to Martins. Makes it easy. Especially since
he's already found it.
Should he be shopping around then as I pointed out the wow factor is expanded...unless
one thinks it's highly unlikely that they'll find another guitar that wow's them. So the wow becomes not the only decided factor in making a choice when one may have shopped around and found more than one to make a decision.
 
Other factors that matter are based on what one knows about them and what comparisons
there may be between all those that wowed them. Many I already addressed as some of
the characteristics of the guitar that I would consider...including price and service- another
factor that Bub has already mentioned...he knows the folks.
 
The way it stands....
He found a left-handed Martin.
He has checked out some of the "matters" I mentioned and found no problems.
He was quesstioned about the construction- specifically lamination. It was addressed.
He was wowed and many believe that that was good enough. Probably is because
of his selection limitations he as made and he likes the store.
Game over.
 
And I'd like an answer to my question.