I’m shopping new guitars and would love a Martin. Problem is I also want a Salterelle Connemarra 2. Since I am an occasional guitar player, I need a good instrument for finger picking and occasional use. I don’t think Herself would tolerate a Salterelle and a Martin in the same year (maybe lifetime! 😉)
Martins are dreams but verrrry expensive. couple of freinds play older Takemines. but no news on newer ones.
Any thoughts.
Two years ago I was also in the market for a new guitar and tried a range of Takamines. The action was a bit too high for my taste and I wasn’t that impressed by the tone. So I went to another shop and tried a couple of Freshmans. I was instantly sold.
Not only that, but for a variety of reasons the guitar had to go back. The aftercare service provided by both the shop and Freshman was outstanding.
The tone gets better each day and since buying it I have never been disappointed.
D
A friend I play with in various lineups likes his Takemine a lot as a plugged-in acoustic, but changes to his Martin when there’s no amplification.
chadmills
Sounds like my freind. He got a great deal on a d35. However, he had a nice pickup installed in the martin, so he uses it either plugged or acoustic.
Herself found out I was looking at Martins and….um…expressed great displeasure. Thus the desire for a lesser cost decent guitar.
For what it’s worth, my first Martin was D1R and it was IMHO a wonderful little guitar. I thought it well balanced and bright, well constructed and easy to play.
The “1” models Martin builds (for example the 0X1’s and DX1’s) are pretty reasonably priced in the neighborhood of $500 USD new. Perhaps a little less if you can find used. They usually come with a solid spruce top and laminate sides. Certainly they won’t have the power and sound of the D18 or D35 solid rosewood models, but you won’t have to mortgage the house to buy one either. I eventually graduated to a D28, which I adore, but I never regretted the D1.
I’m not sure what price range you are looking in and I don’t know what Takemine guitars sell for. I’m also certain they are many, many very good guitars out there in a very wide range of costs. But if you have the means, I would recommend taking a look at the “1” model Martins. Whatever you decide, enjoy the tunes, my friend!
daddae
thanks. I had a first pass price on a D18 of 2199 USD that the sales guy said could be mine for around 1599 USD.
Either way, Herself would have me sleeping in the garage……
When I mentioned my longing to upgrade my box to a Salterelle, I recieved a laundry list of domestic needs and spousal desires long deferred as we funded our brood’s higher education. The last one graduates in June.
I plan to wake up with a big headache the day after I make that last tuition payment…..and start scouting new instrments!
zippydw-
Totally understand- I have 2 in postsecondary ed even as we write. If only I could finance their education and my perpetual desire for new instruments with the latter. Damn this lack of talent!
There’s a lot that can be altered on a guitar after purchase, and if you’re constrained by finances, then a Takamine needn’t be the worst choice. Action is easily enough altered - if the neck looks straight when you squint down it, without hollowing or bowing, and the distance you have to push the string down onto the first fret is the same as the distance if you are already fretting the first fret, and want to fret at the second as well, then you need to adjust neither truss-rod or nut, and all you have to do is lower the saddle by sandpapering away at its underside. Mark the side of the saddle in 1 mm increments, so you know how far you are going, and maybe check the action by playing for a while after your first tentative attempts, in case you go too far. And try to sand square and even, so the underside of the saddle maintains an even pressure across its length when replaced in the slot. But bridge saddles are not expensive, although matching the original profile can be tedious.
Also remember a new set of strings/your favourite strings/trying different materials can all work wonders, especially on what is, after all, a new guitar which should develop for years if properly played.
But always try every instrument in your price range, however unlikely - you may just hit gold.
I should add that the final set-up of action, and possibly intonation, is a time-consuming and expensive job that most guitar-shops don’t want to do, so anything new and lower budget on the wall is unlikely to have had these important touches.
I should add the tale that a friend of my daughters‘ turned up with a guitar he’d bought in Canada for about $500 Canadian, and well pleased with it, but nut, saddle and string gauges all needed adjustment, which he was reluctant to try himself. And yet, he was a rocket scientist ! Hey, setting up a guitar is not rocket science ! And he had to admit my little ol’ Martin was the bees‘ knees, the donkeys’ knackers, whatever, compared to his axe.
If you are an occasional guitarist, buy a Seagull.
All of the “brand” names are good guitars, it really depends on one’s own preference. Is a Lowden better than a Taylor, than a Martin, is a useless exercise. They should be good guitars, up to you what you buy.
All Martins are obviously not the same, price sometimes affects quality, so it really depends on what you are looking for.
And as you asked about Takemine, seen some very good ones, some not so good.
I just helped a friend of mine pick out a guitar. He’s a relatively new player and had $500-$600 to spend. I was very impressed with the Martin low-end DX line. They have a standard dreadnought for $499 and a cutaway version for $599 or $699. The ones we played had wonderful low tones and good overall balance. So if you want a Martin, I think it’s still possible. Maybe some will see this as a compromise, but it would still leave you some money for the Satlerelle.
A friend has a 2000+ dollar Takamine that plays very nice. I don’t know the model though. There are 90 dollar Takamines’ as well.
Myself and my siblings bought my dad a Seagull S6 for Christmas. He’s been playing several days a week for 54 years and absolutely loves his new Seagull.
I’m from Eastern Canada and Seagulls are made in Quebec so they’re very popular around here and most compare them with guitars that 2-3 times their price.
Good luck in your decision.
Ken
I’ve a couple of Tanglewoods - one of which is fitted with B-band (T45-B, with a cedar top). I bought it last year for £250 including the case - new. I’m not sure what these are going for just now, but I would recommend you try one of these before committing to buying a Takamine. I’ve been getting quite an acceptable amplified sound for gigging when combining the built-in pick-up with an AKG C1000S.
Best of luck to you.
Correction - TW45NSB
The advice above fits my experience. Seagulls seem to have a good reputation but the choice is a matter of what you like.
Takamines are fine especially if you want the pickup system - they generally sound good amplified. For the money you could probably get a better guitar without pickup, so if it is not needed then I would look elsewhere.
The website which has a wealth of info on guitars is:
http://www.celticguitartalk.com
I don’t know what your price range is but I just bought a Martin DX-1 (made in Mexico) for about $500. I’ve splurged (and then the transmission went on my car). It really sounds great. I had some thumb strain from my old guitar and that is easing up. It has a thinner neck. It know the guitar will last me a long time and I probably won’t want for another one. Actually, if I finally pay off the transmission and fuel oil bill, when gas prices drop, and pig fly, I’ll restring my 12 string and take it to a luthier to have the neck and bridge worked on.
pigs, fly
If I was looking for a Takamine, which is unlikely, I would either
go for one of the earlier parlour shaped instruments that were around about 8 years ago, which had a very good sound for both flatpicking and especially fingerpicking, or alternatively
if you’re looking for a stage sound, see if you can find a new one equipped with sound modelling like Fishman Aura onboard. Bottom line is I think the older models are sometimes better acoustically.
Also there are different schools of thought on the subject mentioned above on straightness of necks. Most luthiers
or repairers leave a "little relief ’ in the neck . If you look down the neck of the instrument you will notice a slight concave bow
( about 1mm or less). this allows for fret clearance around the
middle of the fretboard when playing out wide ie. clearance for wide string oscillation. Less people have dead straight necks,
as they are suited to very gentle players and require tweaking
all the time. If you don’t want buzz, go the slight bow.
For “standard” neck relief the gap between the bottom string and the sixth fret should be about 0.3mm when fretted at the first fret and the join.
For sanding down the saddle I stick a pieces of sandpaper (say 120 and 180 grit) to a hard flat surface (piece of laminated MDF) with double sided sticky tape. Hold the saddle at either endand move it backward and forward over the sandpaper. If you want to reduce the 12th fret action by 0.5mm you have to take twice that off the saddle.
I pick an instrument by playing them. That said, here’s our family’s Takemine story:
Our daughter wanted a guitar. Her dad is a fine player, teaches guitar full-time, plays a Taylor. Her older brothers play guitar as well. We’ve done some old-time playing and she has been around lots and lots of guitars, of many types, lots of Martins.
We walked into the local music store during an annual sale. Our daughter spied the Tak, it’s the “millenium” one. Her dad advised her to play others, she did. She ended up with the Tak. The story behind the guitar is that a woman had brought it in and traded it, had belonged to a husband, in jail because he had tried to run her down with his pick-up truck while she was on horseback. $500. couldn’t write a better country song.
Daughter loves the instrument, serving her well.
I had a Takamine guitar that I bought new in 1978. At the time, it was the best I could afford, but also had to have the action lowered. About 7 years ago I started studying to be a Certified Music Practitioner and wanted a guitar with more resonance. I bought a Martin 00-15 and never went back to the Takamine. The Martin plays so much easier. I recently sold the Takamine to a young man I know who was looking for an acoustic guitar and was so excited about getting a Takamine because his friend’s father plays one. The kicker was when I told him it was from 1978, he said, “Whoa, VINTAGE!” Good thing I like that kid 🙂
So as others are saying, you really have to try different guitars for yourself. You’ll know the “right one” when you play it. A few years ago, my son bought a used Fender acoustic with a really nice tone, but I don’t know the price range as he got if for next to nothing from a friend.
If you like Martins, look into a Blueridge. They are all over e-bay…not sure where you are or what the shipping is if overseas though.
They play great right out of the box, are Martin copies basically, with gorgeous inlay. They are made in China, but are top notch.
The one thing to keep in mind is the model numbers, triple digits are all solid wood, double are laminate back and sides, solid top. so a BR-160 is essentially like a D-28, Indian rosewood, solid, and solid spruce top. A BR-60 would look the same but the back and sides are laminated. The laminates are quite nice sounding, I’d say a little less volume is all, but the tops all seem great on the ones I have seen, quite a few, and there is nothing wrong with a laminate if that’s what your budget can handle. I have met few Takamines I like…but hear the vintage ones are better if you can locate one, same for some of the older Yamahas and Epiphones or Alvarez. You’d have to try them though, don’t buy online without seeing them. Or make sure you can return it, but that is a pain.
Martin D series are nice, the laminates, but for the same money pretty much you can maybe get a solid wood Blueridge. My blueridge sounds just like most Martins of the same model, better than some I have played it next to.
I’ve gone off the deep end and started building guitars, and have been selling off pretty much most of my others. I have owned nearly every major make of guitar in my life, but will keep my Blueridge. I take it places where I might worry about my really good ones. It carries real well, tone is great, and their techs really know how to set them up for ease of playing. The BRs also are gorgeous looking, people think they are really high end expensive guitars, and they are certainly built like them. My guitar building teacher was very impressed by the Blueridge BR-160 I have. Said the action/setup, was perfect, that they really know how to set a neck, and the sound was great. I paid $469 with a case, but that was a few years back… they are up about $100 or a bit more now. It has also help up really well, never had one little problem with it.
Pete’s advice on sanding the saddle is good… what I do though, to insure I don’t go too far, is to scribe a line or make a pencil line along the bottom edge for the amount of material i want to remove. Then just sand to that line.You will make it even that way too. If you go too far you can always put a thin shim under it. It’s scary though, you may want to watch someone do it first!
Are you looking For a dreadnaught for finger style? Unless you are a large person a smaller one, like an OM or 000 size may be better. You may lose a little volume for backing up at sessions though if that matters. Some teeny guitars though are major loud, depends from one to the next.
Mein Gott, people agreeing with me about the Seagull? Simon and Patrick, same factory are also excellent, and their cheapest guitar, Art and Lutherie are ok.
First time anyone has agreed with me, and the topic is guitars!
I own a Martin DX1E and love it, however with the solid top you’d have to be careful about keeping it humidified. We have a wide variation of humidity conditions where I live and it’s caused some problems. A friend owns a takemine 12 string. We often swap out during sessions and it’s a great guitar. I’d not trade the Martin for one but it’s still a great guitar with a great range.
Back to the Martin - I have a Martin DM (lists $1199) and the DM 12 (lists somewhere around $1299) - and have a suggestion for you.
Go to Guitar Center (they have branches all over the US) - go into there humidity controlled room, and look for a used martin. My DM was used, and I picked it up for $599 - almost half the list - and it was in better condition that it is now (meaning It has had much more use, not abuse!). The DM 12 I just ‘fell in to’ as I had lots of tips from end of the year students that covered all but $197. of the list price. That may never happen again, but Im telling you, once you own a Martin… you will never turn back. Sorry all you Taylor buffs - IMHO I havent see a Taylor match a Martin for rich sound unless you are willing to spend upwards of $2300. Way out of MY range!!!