Martin D-xme

[Southpa]

A friend just bought a new one and I played it for a bit. Very nice guitars for under $1000. The neck is made of a series of laminates pressed together, all about 1/8" thick, then carved out (called "Stratabond" looks like wood grain but its not) with a 1/16" mahogany veneer cap on the headstock. Very nice action with a silky feel and very nice sound. Its all natural wood ie. no finish but there may be a light coat of sealer.

[CrazyManAndy]

My brother has a Martin DXM, which is basically the non-electric version. It is indeed a very nice budget guitar.

CMA

[Mr. Preston Swift]

I've played one of these at the Guitar Center, i think it was a DXM cause it had that neck and between $500-$800.

To my ear it sounded better than almost all the higher priced acoustics and it looked cool too. Low action silky smooth and a sound to die for.

It's probably going to be my next guitar.

PS: 9th grade gifted class trip to the Martin Factory on June 6th. WWOOOOOOTTTTT!!!!!!

i'm going to buy so much crap.

[Southpa]

I think I better share something that I DID NOT KNOW about the new X series Martins. My friend came over and asked me about the guitar's construction. Because its not made of wood! Its called HPL (high pressure laminate) pattern finish. Its wood fibres glued together, back, sides and soundboard, held together by spruce X bracing, graphite plates and aluminum U-channel. The material has a simulated wood grain patterned to it, eg. mahogany, koa, spruce (for soundboards) etc. My friend only noticed this when he looked inside the guitar and didn't see wood, he saw what he calls "arborite". The guitar also looks like it has black binding but its actually a bevel cut on the corner which reveals the color of HPL. I'm assuming those seams are lap welded or glued to allow this. Anyway, I gotta admit I was fooled, then again I didn't look inside the guitar.

Its still a good guitar. I really liked how it played and the sound was unbelievable. So Martin has managed to make their high end guitars more affordable by going semi-synthetic.

Edited June 20, 2007 by Southpa

[fryovanni]

I think I better share something that I DID NOT KNOW about the new X series Martins. My friend came over and asked me about the guitar's construction. Because its not made of wood! Its called HPL (high pressure laminate) pattern finish. Its wood fibres glued together, back, sides and soundboard, held together by spruce X bracing, graphite plates and aluminum U-channel. The material has a simulated wood grain patterned to it, eg. mahogany, koa, spruce (for soundboards) etc. My friend only noticed this when he looked inside the guitar and didn't see wood, he saw what he calls "arborite". The guitar also looks like it has black binding but its actually a bevel cut on the corner which reveals the color of HPL. I'm assuming those seams are lap welded or glued to allow this. Anyway, I gotta admit I was fooled, then again I didn't look inside the guitar.

Its still a good guitar. I really liked how it played and the sound was unbelievable. So Martin has managed to make their high end guitars more affordable by going semi-synthetic.

You can count on seeing more guitars(the large production models, lower cost) going to alternative wood necks and or bodies. Mahogany is getting harder and harder for them to source(and of course price goes up with lower availability) at least in very large quantity with reasonable quality. Veneering of course has been around for a long time. It is hard to say how these instruments will stand the test of time. We have seen many improvements in adhesives. Many of the vintage laminates did not hold up really well(although if they had a good life they can be in good shape). It is also hard to say how well some of the lams will season(in terms of tone, as we all know acoustics do change tonally as they age). One way or the other if they sound good today that works. Only time will tell the rest. I wouldn't count on seeing a lot of high end models featuring veneers, and composite necks(at least till resources limit what they can produce). Now the future of full on synthetics is another story. It will be interesting to look back in twenty years(actually you can do that today also).

Peace,Rich

[thegarehanman]

I have a dxme that I bought about 3 or 4 years ago. It's got the composite sides and back, but the soundboard, braces, and kerfing are all soid spruce. The kerfing is mahogany and the neck and tail block look like spruce, but could be something else(whatever they are, they're regular old wood blocks). The neck is laminated and stays very straight, I imagine that's compliments of what's essentially plywood. The thing sounds great for the price and stays in tune perfectly. I consider it a great deal; I think I paid $800 for it at the time. I love the finish on it too. I'm not sure what it is, but it's satin and seems quite thin.

peace,

russ

Edited June 20, 2007 by thegarehanman