EuroAussie Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Check it out. They look great, wonder what they sound like and what the price is. If its half as good and priced to clear could be a lovelly beater. The burst' I dare is almost Gibson quality. Solid Top, 1 3/4 nut, Fishman electronics .. What do you say good people ? L-OO http://www.sigma-guitars.com/index.php?id=985 J-45 http://www.sigma-guitars.com/index.php?id=987 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentG Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 I don't know but I sure wouldn't waste my time thinking about those cheap copies if I had your stable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 I don't know but I sure wouldn't waste my time thinking about those cheap copies if I had your stable! Id still like to give one a run, they seem to have invested a bit into them. There would be a place for them if the fundamentals were in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 A gal I play music with each Friday has a Sigma arch top that's over thirty years old. It sounds amazing in her hands. Really a nice and easy-playing guitar. Doesn't Martin own the company or have some connection with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Any sigma I've ever lifted or looked at both looked and sounded great (ya know for the price) Epiphone territory , maybe slightly better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 The J45 is long scale... By the way, I was so jazzed to buy the Epiphone AJ45 ME when it came out. And then I played it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 The J45 is long scale... By the way, I was so jazzed to buy the Epiphone AJ45 ME when it came out. And then I played it..... Yeah, that is a bit odd. Im sort of curious about the L-00. Could leave it in the summer cottage and not care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Both are long scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 The Price is Right! I wonder if they can be had for 40% off list? Would end up at $444.00. Not too shabby if they sound good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mafy31 Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 I have an old Sigma that i bought 25 years ago, stamped "Martin & Co"... Sigma is to Martin something like Epiphone to Gibson. EDIT : Just did a search about it, Martin do not own Sigma anymore, it has been sold since to AMI... lots to read about it here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigma_Guitars Mine is a copy of a 015M, i have carried it about anywhere for campfires and stuff, and had changed saddle for bone on it. It is not very loud, but its built quality is okay, it sounds bright and sharp. I love this small guitar (purely sentimental) and i think i'll never get rid of it, especially because i never fear to bring it anywhere. Besides, and even though it is laminate, i truely believe that it improved a lot since i bought it. It is louder than it used to, even though bass are a bit on the low side for my taste. Trebbles are crystal clear and it is great for picking, but not that good for strumming. However new Sigmas are probably way above the one i own. I think Martin stopped its production for a while and then started again, but not sure, a while back, and i read their models have greatly improved and are kind of great for the price. Some of these guitars indeed feature solid woods. EDIT again, Martin do not own Sigma anymore... Mine was built in Korea. At this time, as far as i recall these guitars were built in Korea and setup by Martin in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mafy31 Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Here's some picture of my Sigma. It is GCS2 from 1992, i think they were discontinued after 92. Inside it says Korea and Martin (nothing like a real Martin though ... obviously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 The Price is Right! I wonder if they can be had for 40% off list? Would end up at $444.00. Not too shabby if they sound good. Where did you find the pricing info ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allie Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 I have an old Sigma that i bought 25 years ago, stamped "Martin & Co"... Sigma is to Martin something like Epiphone to Gibson. EDIT : Just did a search about it, Martin do not own Sigma anymore, it has been sold since to AMI... lots to read about it here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigma_Guitars Mine is a copy of a 015M, i have carried it about anywhere for campfires and stuff, and had changed saddle for bone on it. It is not very loud, but its built quality is okay, it sounds bright and sharp. I love this small guitar (purely sentimental) and i think i'll never get rid of it, especially because i never fear to bring it anywhere. Besides, and even though it is laminate, i truely believe that it improved a lot since i bought it. It is louder than it used to, even though bass are a bit on the low side for my taste. Trebbles are crystal clear and it is great for picking, but not that good for strumming. However new Sigmas are probably way above the one i own. I think Martin stopped its production for a while and then started again, but not sure, a while back, and i read their models have greatly improved and are kind of great for the price. Some of these guitars indeed feature solid woods. EDIT again, Martin do not own Sigma anymore... Mine was built in Korea. At this time, as far as i recall these guitars were built in Korea and setup by Martin in the US. For what its worth I believe they are made in Germany now. I too owned a Sigma that I purchased in or around the early eighties that was made in Korea for Martin. It was an alright guitar for the money but it didn't stand up well to the test of time (and my lack of care) but as it turned out it was no big loss, they command very little on the open market used. That being said I wouldn't mind trying one of the current models but I doubt the would measure up to my Gibson J-45 (nor would I expect it to) But it WOULD be nice to have one that I could drag around in the pickup truck and not have to worry quite so much about it. I went and grab this info from Wikipedia so I guess it's just a German Company building guitars in China. Guitar maker C.F. Martin & Co., based in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, created a line of inexpensive guitars in 1970 to compete with the increasing number of imported guitars from Japan and elsewhere. The result was Sigma Guitars. The Sigma line was discontinued by C.F. Martin & Co. in 2007. In 2011 the German company "AMI Musical Instruments GmbH" purchased the rights to the name and relaunched Sigma Guitars again, this time being produced in China.[1] Since the U.S. rights to the Sigma brand name and trademark had been allowed to lapse by C.F. Martin & Co. prior to selling the brand to AMI, and had since been picked up by St. Louis Music of Missouri, AMI is not allowed to use the brand name "Sigma" in the U.S. for their current line of guitars. They are distributed and sold in the U.S. as Kindred Guitars. The sole current U.S. distributor is now Six String Brokerage LLC, Nazareth, Pa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 . Those Sigma Gibson clones look good. At the right price could be just the thing for carefree storage. ... Guitar maker C.F. Martin & Co., based in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, created a line of inexpensive guitars in 1970 to compete with the increasing number of imported guitars from Japan and elsewhere. The result was Sigma Guitars. ... That was an interesting business deal. Actually Martin had first set up a deal with Takamine to do a "B" line of Martin clones. Takamine was getting ready to run production and the agreement fell through. With all they had invested, Takamine went ahead and ran production just changing the name on the Martin head stock but kept the shape and script. I've have a Takamine 12 string Martin clone from that period I got new. Sometime in the early 80s Martin asked Takamine to stop and they finally switched the headstock shape and logo. Meanwhile, Martin went with Sigma who produced a "B" line of Martin clones - my son has one from that period. It's a good, but not great. Here's my '79 Takamine 12 (modded first fret inaly) - . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Davis Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 . Those Sigma Gibson clones look good. At the right price could be just the thing for carefree storage. That was an interesting business deal. Actually Martin had first set up a deal with Takamine to do a "B" line of Martin clones. Takamine was getting ready to run production and the agreement fell through. With all they had invested, Takamine went ahead and ran production just changing the name on the Martin head stock but kept the shape and script. I've have a Takamine 12 string Martin clone from that period I got new. Sometime in the early 80s Martin asked Takamine to stop and they finally switched the headstock shape and logo. Meanwhile, Martin went with Sigma who produced a "B" line of Martin clones - my son has one from that period. It's a good, but not great. Here's my '79 Takamine 12 (modded first fret inaly) - . I have played the Japanse made Sigmas and while they are a lovely guitar, they are a low end sounding guitar. When you push them, they reveal their limits. However, if you don't compare them to a higher end guitar, they will satisfy for many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usernameinvalid Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Hi guys just joined and thought I'd give my 2c on the J45 clone. I'd say it's more of a plain Jane AJ clone. It has the straight bridge, 25.4". So I don't think it's going to sound anything like a J45. I was originally going to post about Sigma being bought by a German company AMI and produces in China but Allie beat me to it. Took to long to get registered. If anyone has a chance to play one it would be interesting to hear what they think about them. Edited thought it was Rosewood but it'd Mahogany Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 ... I'd say it's more of a plain Jane AJ clone. It has the straight bridge, 25.4" scale and is Rosewood.So I don't think it's going to sound anything like a J45. ... Uhmmm . . . . Maybe I'm not reading right, but the specs listed on the page say the guitar is mahogany and sitka. And in the pics, the back and side sure look like mahogany. A J45 is mahogany and sitka. . As it's been mention - a long scale J45 clone. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Cheap guitars have their own charm and niche, but they're always - well - cheap guitars. Seems my whole life has been spent questing for a beater that I could honestly enjoy. Hope springs eternal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mafy31 Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Cheap guitars have their own charm and niche, but they're always - well - cheap guitars. Seems my whole life has been spent questing for a beater that I could honestly enjoy. Hope springs eternal! Yep. Mine is definitely a cheap guitar. I like it because i bought is 25 years ago, it does not exist anymore especially with the "Martin tag", and because it never broke and got faulty despite all the campfire it did and the beers it drank! It is small and easy to carry around. Other than that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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