Martin D-16 GT vs DM-D1 etc.

[retroz]

Reading another post at another forum and was wondering if anyone here new the difference between them besides the laminate sides.

Does the Black Micarta (on D16GT) make it easier to play? They range from $750 to $1000 and wondering if using for recording and songwriter which would be the best? What does the D1 (which I think is rosewood) vs DM and D16 (Laminate vs Solid wood) have in overall tone and aging? I played a few DM's once, one was very inspiring, the other was dead (I think the stores do that on purpose, dirty strings, etc, ) so you will buy the higher end.

The taylors are cool 110 210 but seem a little brittle for my liking when strumming heavy...but sound great finger picking...

Just wondering what everyone else things if your a user of any of these....

thank you...

[retroz]

Is there a better place to post this to get more feedback or is this the best forum place (Music Cafe), if I should post it somewhere else please advise.

thanks

[bluedad]

Is there a better place to post this to get more feedback or is this the best forum place (Music Cafe), if I should post it somewhere else please advise.

thanks

This forum will do fine. You should be patient for the answers, however as this is a synth dominated forum and guitarists are sprinkled about. I have a Taylor, but it's the low end as that's all I can afford. Certainly sometime through the day someone should be able to inject a better thought re your question.

[Philly]

I can't answer your specific questions - but - when I went guitar shopping 2 years ago - I was staggared by the varitions from guitar to guitar even in the same model range. I was looking at fairly high end stuff -Eventually got a Martin D28 but I must have tried about 6 of them. I originally fancied a Gibson J45 but it was only when I got my hands on the instruments that I was able to say, yes that's what I want. Take your time!

Good luck.

[TexasMusicForge]

The first year Martin produced the DM line I was shopping for a new acoustic. Being on a working musician's budget (read that as >$1,000), I'd settled on a DM as being the best new guitar available after extensive shopping around Austin. I tried several of them at a music store and had picked one out to buy that was clearly better-sounding than the rest. A clerk said there was one more in the back room that had just come in from the factory and hadn't even been opened yet if I wanted to try it. Of course, I checked it out and was absolutely staggered because it was head and shoulders above everything else in the store. I bought it and took it in to a studio that had a very nice Taylor in house to do a radio commercial. The engineer listened to the DM for about 15 seconds and said he'd prefer to use it than the upper-end Taylor.

The point here is that even in the laminate guitars produced largely by computer-controlled machining, some guitars have a soul that somehow manages to come through. Philly's answer above is spot-on when he says "take your time." Trust your ears, ignore the marketing hype and try not to look at the price tag when you make your decision. Like love, you'll know it when you find it.

Best of luck,

Tio Ed
Austin, Texas
Land O' 10,000 marginally-employed guitarists