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While tone is a matter of taste and preference, sometimes a guitar sounds good to everyone. Today I played a 1973 Martin D18. Mahogany sides/back and spruce top of some sort. While I often find the tone of a big body Martin dark and woofy...this one was not like that. This guitar was well ballance and had a nice volume to it. Full on the bottom, warm on the top but not muddy.

So not being a Martin guy, I decided to look inside to see what is up. First I noticed the side bracing was about every 2" and was about 1/2" wide. I also notice consideralby heavier bracing on the back near the lower bouts. The largest two looked like speed bumps! 1/2" wide and 1/2" tall and evenly rouned over. The front two were very small and low in comparison. Anything special about this bracing? I am not sure if the bracing changed over the years or if that stayed consistant. Anyone?

Was there anything in particular about this era verses others that would make this guitar sound more ballanced than others of the same model but of a different area?

Thanks
Joe

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Joe

I'm not saying anything because you have probably X-rayed and CAT scanned about 9,345 of these...........

I'm dumb but not stupid...... there is a difference ya know......

1973? Well, it was a very special year... my Sophomore year in High School. I saw Yes, Pink Floyd and Styx in Chicago and learned to drive. I bought a Telecaster.

Seriously, though, I bet you could find good examples in each year of Martin's production. Sometimes the stars align.

Hesh, I will assume from the smiles that your just toying with me all in good fun.

Nope, never xrayed a martin, in fact find most of them poor sounding. I was surprised that this one sounded so nice and balanced. So without regard to my other posts, I am seriously wondering if the bracing on this partciular era was different from newer ones I have tried?

I mentioned the bracing that I could see because I would think a huge part of an accoustics tone is the bracing style and the top wood/thickness. I unfortunately could not see the top bracking that well, tho I think it was X braced. It looked like it had a piece of cotton tape at the center of the X. Not sure if that was factory original or not.

Anyway, did the bracing style change in the D18? Was the D28 and D38 the same bracing....just different woods?

Thanks,

Joe

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Joe

All D series except the 35 use X top braces that are about 5/16 by 5/8 or so .... back and side woods very as per the model, and year (ie older 28s are braz rw, pre 68 maybe) 18s are always mahogany.

the cloth reinforcement on the X is std martin fare

the back braces you saw are pretty typical .. upper bout 5/16 by 5/8, lower bout 3/4 by 1/2.

as someone put in to me once, if you build a million of em, a few goods ones should pop out every now and then (like my 98 explorer .. still going strong).

you probably liked this one now because when it was built it was more than likely overly stiff sounding .. took it 30 years to get a tone.

A fellow I met a few years ago worked for Martin Canada way back, when there was such a thing (likely the 60s70s) .. he went and visited the factory back then, and watched an expert carve the scallops in the braces on a Dxx top .. it took the employee about 45 seconds the guy said .. he was somewhat amused/dismayed that thats all there was to it. So with effort like that going into it, sometimes they are good, sometimes not ....

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

hows the intonation ?? Jody

Joe--

For a really detailed answer, you'd want to post this question on the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum. Some real Martin fanatics, er, fans there. The 70's and early 80's weren't real banner years for Martin on the acoustic side, so the conventional wisdom goes. The biggest complaints were an oversized rosewood bridgeplate and some fairly serious intonation problems that Jody is alluding to. As has been mentioned, you still get some good ones from this era, but the consistency that you see from Martin these days just wasn't there, IMHO.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

You probably got hold of a great guitar in spite of, rather than because of, Martin's production practices in the 1970's. That era has some characteristic issues that surface from time to time, i.e., poor bridge placement/intonation issues. To me, that's the difference in a manufactured guitar vs. a handmade guitar... with Martins I use the analogy of Winchester's "one in a thousand"-- the one rifle that performs "just right" and is better than 999 other rifles. Martin guitars are a lot like that. You can get the "one in a thousand" that is "just right."

As for the back bracing, this actually is noteworthy. In most older D's, the bottom two back braces are indeed rounded over and look like speed bumps. In the some (all?) newer models such as the D-18 Vintage/GE series, these two lower braces are high and are not rounded off at all. Tonal contributions? Up for endless debate. I was going to have Lance do the speedbump style two lower braces in the dread he just finished for me, but BOY am I glad I didn't (wouldn't want to change the sound of this guitar for ANYTHING).

To put it simply, maybe it is what it is... maybe you just got hold of a 'hoss.

Hey Joe,
I visit the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum now and then. Someone come up with a cool idea not long ago on there. He wanted to study the bracing patterns of all Martins from Pre-War to Present. He asked everyone if they would place a florescent light bulb in the sound hole and cover with cardboard. Turn the lights out in the room or wait till night and take picture to submit to the forum. People were thrilled with the idea.

Here are a few pictures from there of Martins dating from 1943 to 2004.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

More Martin bracing.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

My main guitar for many years was a 1970 Martin D-18. It was a killer guitar. I bought it used at Elderly Instruments in the late '80s. When I picked it up and played it in the store (after playing lots of other guitars there), many people in the place turned their heads and took notice, including the store staff. "Wow, that's a great sounding guitar," was the comment that came from everywhere that day and from countless other people who heard it for all the years I owned it. I had no intention of buying a dreadnought that day, by the way. But that guitar was way too good to pass by. It was clear that if I had put it down, somebody else would have snatched it up immediately. It was that outstanding, and there were that many people looking hungrily at it after hearing me play it (it was pretty scratched up, and being "only a 70s D-18", it had apparently sat relatively unnoticed among the myriad other guitars at Elderly until that moment). Intonation was fine on it, too. Playability was excellent.

I didn't know much about guitar design or construction until after I sold it, so I hardly ever looked inside it. In fact, I sold it to buy lutherie tools when I was first getting into guitar building.

I have no idea if this is a common story about '70s Martin D-18s, or if this was just another lucky one. All I know is I regret I let go of that guitar, and that comment is coming from someone who is now less of a fan of dreadnoughts than ever.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

I have a 1975 D18 and I am restoring one from 1969. The age has to have some effect. One thing that did surprise me is that the sides are so thin .065 . the back is .095. The neck does feel "clubby" as compared to todays. The non adjustable truss rod and that large plank of a rosewood plate .
It is a great sounding instrument. The intonation is very good. They are not bad.
john hall
blues creek guitars

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I am in the process of finishing a '71 D-18 that went through a flood. As well I was surprised by the sides, they are paper thin probably around .050", scary. Both back and top are .115", the top is a low grade Sitka and very floppy, mahogany back has a couple of knot shadows. Craftsmanship is not great on the inside work… The neck is that weird slight V chunky profile. I will know how it sounds in a few weeks.
One of my favourite guitars was a '74 D-28 that sounded amazing.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Thanks everyone. The intonation was pretty darn good. I did not particularly check intonation, but I played it for about an hour up and down the neck. I did not notice any issues. It was very nice and made me take notice. The price was $2k....which I did not buy it. But it has me thinking....hmm.

Joe

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Joe