Anyone Here Own A Martin Along With Their Gibson?

[BluesKing777]

I have a 15 series (all mahogany) which is a great little blues fingerpicker, currently just put in open G tuning for some tunes from John Miller, who plays an OM21 and my 15 is fairly close to that sound.....well, a lot closer than any of my Gibsons....

 

So a question for the Martin people:

 

What would be the Martin equivalent of a 30s Gibson L-00? OM18/00-18/000-18?

 

 

BluesKing777.

[pschaafs]

I am 50/50, %-wise:

1969 J-50

2007 J-185TV

1999 OM28V

2009 Ditson 111

 

I cant imagine having 50 of each! Where would you keep them all?

[Yorick]

I confess--I own two 000 18s. One is a 65; the other a 2003. As my main stage guitar for 30 years was a Martin, I considered myself a "Martin guy," whatever that was.

 

But I have become a Bozeman guy. I ain't parting with my J 50.

[tpbiii]

 

 

I cant imagine having 50 of each! Where would you keep them all?

 

In a vault.

[geeterpicker]

Everybody who plays guitar should own at least one Martin and one Gibson. They are very different worlds, in good ways. D-28 and L-00 for me.

[GT Hurley]

I choose to own and play "good" guitars. Regardless of the brand. Gibson's and Martins are different. Yet both have something for any guitarist to love. My recent acquisition of a Martin custom shop O-18 is something I never thouhght I would do. A VERY small instrument for me. However the sound, playability, and the build construction swayed me to bring it m home.

 

It now shares the wall with my D45, my 1967 D28, and my Advanced Jumbo.

[Dave F]

I have a HB Standard and a D41 Special. The only thing they have in common is they are both great guitars and among my favorites.

 

I use the HB for strummin' and the D41S for pickin' but whatever floats your boat.

 

IMHO you can't go wrong with either and if possible get one and work on getting the other.

[sjl200]

I have 1 Martin a J40m and 5 Gibsons . I Love'm all....

 

The Martin is built just as good as my Gibsons . Sounds different as it should... I play the Gibsons more lately

 

Here's the J40m

[Rambler]

So a question for the Martin people: What would be the Martin equivalent of a 30s Gibson L-00? OM18/00-18/000-18? BluesKing777.

More like a 00. An L00 is 14.75 lower bout, a liitle bigger than a 14.5 " 00 but less than15" 000/OM (and its upper bout is narrower than the latter). Soundwise, as you'd imagine, its apples and avacadoes. The Martin is smooth. The Gibson isnt (in a good kind of way).

[Jerry K]

I think if you are serious about playing acoustic guitar you've probably had a Martin at one time or another. It's another great traditional recipe for guitar building. (I mean standard series and above. Some of those recent 15 series guitars don't even have dove tail neck joints and are actually more comparable to say, a high end Epiphone or something than a Gibson.) My first 'good' guitar was a Martin D-18 I bought new in 1970. I had it restored at Gryphon Strings recently. The repairs cost as much as a new D-18 but after all these years of me whaling on it, it sounds pretty good. I also own recent editions of OM-21 and 00-18vs (UMGF). I like them and there are some pieces that seem to gravitate toward certain guitars. Most of my playing time still goes to my 5 Gibsons, though. It's a very different sound and on the playability side I prefer the Gibson necks and the smaller radius fretboards that Gibson uses. Plus Gibson is big on maple!

[BluesKing777]

. More like a 00. An L00 is 14.75 lower bout, a liitle bigger than a 14.5 " 00 but less than15" 000/OM (and its upper bout is narrower than the latter). Soundwise, as you'd imagine, its apples and avacadoes. The Matin is smooth. The Gibson isnt.

 

 

Thanx ,R!

 

That 00 model is fairly scarce down this way - plenty of dreads...never seen one, let alone tried one - except for plenty of EC Martins...

 

BluesKing777.

[BluesKing777]

I think if you are serious about playing acoustic guitar you've probably had a Martin at one time or another. It's another great traditional recipe for guitar building. (I mean standard series and above. Some of those recent 15 series guitars don't even have dove tail neck joints and are actually more comparable to say, a high end Epiphone or something than a Gibson.) My first 'good' guitar was a Martin D-18 I bought new in 1970. I had it restored at Gryphon Strings recently. The repairs cost as much as a new D-18 but after all these years of me whaling on it, it sounds pretty good. I also own recent editions of OM-21 and 00-18vs (UMGF). I like them and there are some pieces that seem to gravitate toward certain guitars. Most of my playing time still goes to my 5 Gibsons, though. It's a very different sound and on the playability side I prefer the Gibson necks and the smaller radius fretboards that Gibson uses. Plus Gibson is big on maple!

 

 

I have never tried one, but I really like the sound of John Miller's OM21 on the lesson here:

 

 

BluesKing777.

[flatbaroque]

BK are you sure Johnny Miller plays an OM-21?I thought I read somewhere that it was an OM-18V, which is what I've got. I could be mistaken as I haven't checked recently - just relying on old memory.

I like the OM-18V. I know the accepted consensus is that Martin sound is very different to Gibson but in my case I find the 18V is closer in sound to a J-45 than a D-28.Just my ears.Maybe it's the mahogany 18 V's rosewood 28.And I tend to play with old strings so I guess that pushes it more towards the Gibson mahogany thump.

[BluesKing777]

BK are you sure Johnny Miller plays an OM-21?I thought I read somewhere that it was an OM-18V, which is what I've got. I could be mistaken as I haven't checked recently - just relying on old memory.

I like the OM-18V. I know the accepted consensus is that Martin sound is very different to Gibson but in my case I find the 18V is closer in sound to a J-45 than a D-28.Just my ears.Maybe it's the mahogany 18 V's rosewood 28.And I tend to play with old strings so I guess that pushes it more towards the Gibson mahogany thump.

 

 

You are probably right, FB.

 

I was going on something he said on an old lesson...I think I see mahogany here, which makes it an 18? OM21 is Rose, is that right?

 

BluesKing777.

[sternfan]

I have three very different guitars.

My Jackson Browne, in English Walnut

My Martin CSOM13 - a custom shop OM in Madi Rosewood with a 'moon cut' Italian Spruce top

and my custom, mahogany-topped Martin 00-18V.

 

Love them all and all get regular play. I can say that, in general, I love Martin small bodies more so than Gibsons and Gibson big bodies more so than Martins. The bass and midrange on the Gibson JB is everything I want in a guitar but the bass quality of the OM cannot be matched by any similarly sized Gibson. Same can be said for re: the 00.

[Yggdrasil]

one of each here - a Martin Jorma Sig M30 & a Gibson J45 RW.

 

If you count my Kopp NL, then I've got two "Gibsons"...

 

Generally have had one of each.

 

I appreciate the Martin tonal palette, but I do trend towards the Gibson in that regard. Strictly personal preference.

[Rambler]

You are probably right, FB.I was going on something he said on an old lesson...I think I see mahogany here, which makes it an 18? OM21 is Rose, is that right?

The one on this lesson is his hog OM18 --an old one from the 30s. A 21 would have rw back and sides but 18-style appointments. I think he uses a rw OM on the Robert WIlkins lesson, if my memory serves me well.

[Rambler]

Everybody who plays guitar should own at least one Martin and one Gibson. They are very different worlds, in good ways. D-28 and L-00 for me.

Or, a National!

 

I'd be grabbing a Martin (if'n I had one--a 0028vs would be nice) for old time country, etherial folkie/singer -songwriter material, and instrumental pieces (fiddle tunes, Celtic, Jorma's Water Song). All those crystalline flowing like water tones, Gibson for R&B, blues, funky country, funky folk (Steve Earle): gut-bucket thump and chop. Some models on each side edge toward the middle. You can get some sweet sounds out of a J45 and coax some raw ones out of a 00018.

 

It goes without saying that a lot depends on the operators touch. Norman Blake comes to mind as one who has used both to good effect

[larryp58]

Moving along from "me and my guitar", here's a few more general observations for the OP

It wasn't a "me and my guitar" post Rambler. I was just showing the guitar and the tone of a Martin, compared to Gibsons. Obviously, you mis-took my intention. Martin makes a wonderful guitar.

[6stringTom]

Absolutely !

Love em both.Apples and oranges .They each fill a specific need as far as I'm concerned.

 

Another +1 to that. I've bought mostly used, but can say that my recently purchased Custom Shop Martin is immaculately built. You'll hear various people knock the build quality of one or the other. I read such comments with interest but skepticism as the critics may be responding from a very small sample. You would need a large sample to achieve any statistically valid assessment. Of course, you'll find an example here and there of something that should not have passed quality control, but that's true of any mass-produced product. Both Gibson and Martin have strong warranties on new purchases.

 

The "signature sound" of each has already been described. There's still a lot of variation among the many models, but like others who have both, I really appreciate the luxury of being able to take either out as the mood or style of music suggests.