I have acoustic guitars from several companies, and all are dreads. I am a hard strummer, though I finger-pick as well, to accompany my voice--in both solo performances and with a band.
The Martins are:
1975 D-28
1996 MTV-1
2002 D-28 Standard
2003 D-35 Standard
2004 D-18 Standard
2008 DC AURA
2009 HD-28V
2012 The D-18
2012 D-18 Golden Era
I own two Taylors:
2002 710CE (Fishman)
Jewel Signature (This is a -14 size body in Tasmanian Blackwood, on "permanent" loan to a friend.)
I also own an Ibanez Artwood AW-50CENT, and two Takamine EF-381SC 12-strings.
Now, I could write a book about this topic, so forgive me. I am obviously a fan of the Martin guitar, over the Taylors...but, I have used my Taylor extensively on stage and it has performed well. The 710CE is not nearly as warm and rich as my Martins, nor does it have the deep bass of the Martins. (It's designed that way.) The Fishman Stereo Matrix Blend does well in amplifying the tone of the Taylor, but it cannot compensate for the lack of warmth. It can get a great acoustic tone, but sometimes it is a bit "tinky" to work with, making it more difficult to get a good tone quickly at an open mic, where the equipment is usually less than stellar and I have minimal time to make adjustments. The clarity and lack of deep bass response make it easy to mic with a common stage dynamic mic like a Shure SM-56 or -57, and this is a real asset when finger-picking. The guitar is flawlessly made, though I do have some minor quibbles over the cosmetic quality of the rosewood used on this particular guitar, especially considering the price. I have replaced the Tusq nut and saddle with bone, and these changes made the guitar slightly warmer and louder. Surprisingly, the addition of Tusq bridge pins made a major improvement (to my ear) over the standard ebony pins; not only to add volume, but the tone is a little more blended and warm. And I do not like the Elixir strings; I use D'Addario Phosphor Bronze EJ- or EXP-Series strings. I am moving though, to my DC-AURA for stage work. Its NCL finish is not as durable as the Taylor's UV-cured poly, and it has a lot of bling for most coffee house open mics, but it is a better sounding guitar.
I am not a fan of the original Expression System. Their newest iteration is better, but I still feel that it works best for finger-picking stylists. I would not choose a Taylor for a Bluegrass band where I was trying to compete with a banjo. Taylor's bread and butter guitars are their -14, -16, and -18 series guitars, and their dreads fall a little behind.
Taylor is a fine builder. Bob has done a lot of innovative things--he's kind of like the Leo Fender versus Gibson in the 1950's. But there is an extremely different "corporate culture" between Martin and Taylor. Martin is all about the history; Taylor is all about innovation. The bolt-on neck of the Taylor does solve one of the age-old issues of the Martin dovetail neck joint. Resetting the neck of a Martin cost about $250-300 dollars; Taylor charges about $60 to reset one of their necks--and it can be done in as little as five minutes. The differences used to be more defined, but it seems to me that as time moves forward the companies have moved closer together.
There are several other companies building quality acoustic guitars these days. People have mentioned Larrivee, Breedlove, Rainsong, Guild and Gibson; but there is also Collings, Santa Cruz, Huss and Dalton, and several others. Most of them are trying to build a better D-18/D-28--some do it better than others, most don't do it as well as Martin. I think the carbon fiber guitars may be the wave of the future, but I still prefer wood. I've never liked Gibson acoustics; never played one worth spending my money on. I have played on the other guitars listed and been tempted, but I always come back to Martin.
You could have a guitar built from a custom luthier. I have a very good luthier here in Portland, but to me this is a bit of a crap-shoot. It could be great, it might not be stellar, but I know it won't be bad. With an acoustic, you never really know. And because it's an unknown, resale is often horrible with these guitars. It can be that way with many of the brands I listed earlier too, though sometimes that depends on what part of the country you're in. The Martin is a known quality. Others, not so much.
You CAN find budget guitars from Ibanez, Takamine, Yamaha, Seagull, et. al., that sound almost as good as a Martin, but typically lower priced guitars are more inconsistent. However, you can occasionally find a great pearl, as I did with the Ibanez Artwood AW-50CENT. I found it in a pawn-shop for $200, and it sounds like a much more expensive guitar. The Tak 12-strings were not my first choice--I'd originally wanted a Taylor 655-CE (jumbo maple cutaway), but these black cutaway Taks with the CTB-4 preamp are easy to play and sound wonderful--easily as good as the Taylor. I bought the first one used, then found a great deal on a new one--so I have a backup 12-string--two for less than a third of the cost of the 655. Winner. You have to play a lot of guitars to find these, though. And for many of us, there comes a time when...you want and NEED to step up to that fine quality guitar.
I bought my first Martin in 1973 after my old Harmony Sovereign Jumbo was stolen--a new 1972 Martin D-18. I sold it in 2003 to get the Taylor 710CE--I needed a guitar with a pickup. I hated doing that, really miss that Martin, but it was the right thing to do at the time. I then was able to buy a new '75 D-28 in 1976. Those guitars saw a lot of bars, parties and weddings over the years as they were gigged extensively. I sang love songs to my lovers, and breakup songs to myself when they left me. They were my truest friends when I had no one else to hear me. My new Martins are simply outstanding, and in many ways better than the '70s models.
I always say that if you buy a Martin and keep it, your grandkids will be fighting to see who gets it before they throw the first clump of dirt on your coffin. Word.
An old Martin develops tone and a patina that the new Taylors never will. I don't think the tone of my Taylor 710CE has changed much at all.
I honestly think that if you consider all the factors, the best value in an acoustic guitar comes down to four instruments. And I'm considering all the market. There are some good mid-priced instruments out there for sure. But considering tone, workmanship, value, materials, resale, pride of ownership, warranty, etc., these are the winners in my book.
The new D-18 is simply an outstanding guitar. It combined features of the Standard Series D-18, the D-18 Vintage and Martin's Performance Series. This one is getting a lot of work around this house. The straight-braced 2004 Standard is a little boxy-sounding in comparison to the new one with its scalloped bracing. And while the D-18GE is even more massive and powerful, its Adirondack top is a little stiffer sounding...crisper. The GE is worth the extra dough for sure, but the new D-18 offers tremendous value.
The D-28 is kind of like the Toyota Camry of the guitar world. Not the biggest, flashiest car; but the quality and value are all there. Resale: excellent. Not as nimble or as quick as say, a BMW, but it cost a lot less, and equipped nicely--it's a car that is very satisfying to own. The D-35 is simply a flashier D-28, with a slightly different motor under the hood. (The D-35 has differently sized braces and a little different tone.) Again, just great values. If you like the warmer tone of the rosewood over the mahogany, then this is the way to go.
Finally, there is the HD-28. One of Martin's clinicians, who owns a BUNCH of vintage Martins, has told me that if he could only have one guitar, it would be the HD-28, as he feels it is the best all-around guitar. This is a the scalloped-braced version of the straight-braced D-28 Standard. A lot more projection and bass response in this guitar. The Standard D-28 has more mids, and sounds a little more focused, with a little less volume. If you want a pickup, this guitar is available with the F1 Aura System as the HD-28 Retro, and this is the best, most natural sounding pickup system I've heard on any guitar.
BTW, my HD-28 Vintage has the old-style forward-shifted scalloped bracing, giving it even more volume and bass. This one IS a banjo killer, for sure. And it just killed a Santa Cruz PW, a Larrivee D-60, a Breedlove Revival, and a Collings D-2HA in a head-to-head shoot-out.
So, you're looking at a range of about $400 between the new D-18 and the HD-28. And I think these are the best values Martin has to offer. They are great guitars; and they will be family heirlooms someday. You can't go wrong with any of them.
But depending on your ears and your needs, a Taylor or other brand might be the one. One never knows. You just have to assess your needs.
Bill
