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J45 vs Martin D-18 SS


The G

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Hi,

Anyone have an oportunity to compare these two side by side?

Interested to hear how a short scale (24,9) Martin sounds and feels compared to Gibson.

I realize the D-18 SS is not a slope and it has an ebony board and bridge, but......msp_confused.gif

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I've played both of these models, G, and the short answer is surprisingly the J-45 sounds just like a Gibson while the Martin D-18SS sounds exactly like most Martin D-18s. In other words, in spite of the D-18SS's short scale it does not sound like a Gibson. As far as the feel goes, the neck profiles are different and that contributes to a different feel overall. Since the scale is the same, the tension of the strings did feel about the same to me.

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I've played both of these models, G, and the short answer is surprisingly the J-45 sounds just like a Gibson while the Martin D-18SS sounds exactly like most Martin D-18s. In other words, in spite of the D-18SS's short scale it does not sound like a Gibson. As far as the feel goes, the neck profiles are different and that contributes to a different feel overall. Since the scale is the same, the tension of the strings did feel about the same to me.

 

Thanks CAMELEYE.

Hoping to hear back from more folks with opinions and reviews who have tried the D-18SS , eusa_pray.gif

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  • 11 months later...

Thanks CAMELEYE.

Hoping to hear back from more folks with opinions and reviews who have tried the D-18SS , eusa_pray.gif

 

A bit late on this, but I definitely agree with the previous poster. The Martin sounds totally like the standard martin sound and nothing like a gibson.

 

The neck profiles are very different, the gibson being very rounded and the martin having a noticeable v.

 

It depends what you like, some people might say the martin was better because it had all that hifi sounding shimmer, but I prefer the direct, woody tone of the gibson.

 

Regarding scale length, the martin still felt a tiny bit long to me (I like short scale as it allows me to reach frets near the nut more easily). In theory, I shouldn't have felt it, but I think I did.

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