Re:Taylor and Ebony
Thursday, June 07 2012 @ 06:43 PM CDT

Quote by: Cori Ander Just a few weeks ago I got myself a Martin D-16GT. It is a cheap Martin, about half the price of a D-28. This one has no ebony whatsoever. Bridge and fingerboard are made of "Richlite", which acording to Wikipedia is: a dense material made from partially recycled paper and phenolic resin. Phenolic resin is made of formeldahyde and phenol. Individually, these are potent chemicals, but create a harmless, inert substance when combined I don't know how much the mateiral effects the sound qualities of the instrument, but in my ears it works just great. If I am happy with the new baby? YEEEES! Just love it! Martin has not saved on the sound on this model. It has such rich qualities play and soundwise. Top made of Solid Sitka Spruce. Sides and back of Solid Genuine Mahogany. Scalloped bracing. I would really recommend the D-16 to anyone who loves Martin guitars but, like me, can't afford more than this. Long ago (36 yrs) I had both a D-18 and a D-28. But I have never had a guitar that give away so much love as this new one. Neither of these oldies had scalloped bracing and I guess that is part of the reason. In my view I would need to go for a HD-28 to get something slightly better. OK, I'm aware that the HD-28 is another type (rosewood sides and bottom). But I like both mahogany and rosewood. And they both have the Martin tone which I am a freak of. OK, I am getting carried away and a bit off topic. Thank you Ed for a very interesting clip!

Another parallel in our lives, Johannes... I fell in love with a used D-16GT a few weeks ago. It was a trade-in at my local music store. It was a very plain guitar, and had a few dings and things, but it played really well and it sounded awesome...I went back in a few days, after I did some research into the instrument and how much it might be worth, to try to arrange some trade-in and layaway of my own, to get it, but the original owner, who had trade it in on an upper end Martin, had come back, said, "I made a terrible mistake", and bought it back from the shop.

If I had to miss out on getting it, I suppose that's the best outcome...

Congratulations on what must be a wonderful guitar...

Re:Taylor and Ebony
Thursday, June 07 2012 @ 06:47 PM CDT

Quote by: DavidConnell "If you could fly over them... as far as the eye can see..." You can fly over them. Take a look at the big rain forests with Google Earth. Logging areas are very easy to find, and the size and number of clear-cut areas is staggering. I recommend starting with western Canada and USA.

I didn't know that, David...I'm going to check that out...

Re:Taylor and Ebony
Wednesday, June 13 2012 @ 06:34 AM CDT

Quote by: Ed Hannifin Quote by: Cori Ander Just a few weeks ago I got myself a Martin D-16GT. It is a cheap Martin, about half the price of a D-28. This one has no ebony whatsoever. Bridge and fingerboard are made of "Richlite", which acording to Wikipedia is: a dense material made from partially recycled paper and phenolic resin. Phenolic resin is made of formeldahyde and phenol. Individually, these are potent chemicals, but create a harmless, inert substance when combined I don't know how much the mateiral effects the sound qualities of the instrument, but in my ears it works just great. If I am happy with the new baby? YEEEES! Just love it! Martin has not saved on the sound on this model. It has such rich qualities play and soundwise. Top made of Solid Sitka Spruce. Sides and back of Solid Genuine Mahogany. Scalloped bracing. I would really recommend the D-16 to anyone who loves Martin guitars but, like me, can't afford more than this. Long ago (36 yrs) I had both a D-18 and a D-28. But I have never had a guitar that give away so much love as this new one. Neither of these oldies had scalloped bracing and I guess that is part of the reason. In my view I would need to go for a HD-28 to get something slightly better. OK, I'm aware that the HD-28 is another type (rosewood sides and bottom). But I like both mahogany and rosewood. And they both have the Martin tone which I am a freak of. OK, I am getting carried away and a bit off topic. Thank you Ed for a very interesting clip! Another parallel in our lives, Johannes... I fell in love with a used D-16GT a few weeks ago. It was a trade-in at my local music store. It was a very plain guitar, and had a few dings and things, but it played really well and it sounded awesome...I went back in a few days, after I did some research into the instrument and how much it might be worth, to try to arrange some trade-in and layaway of my own, to get it, but the original owner, who had trade it in on an upper end Martin, had come back, said, "I made a terrible mistake", and bought it back from the shop. If I had to miss out on getting it, I suppose that's the best outcome... Congratulations on what must be a wonderful guitar...

That's really interesting Ed! Well there are more of them in this world. And even new ones are not expensive at all ... well compared to what you get (I had to stretch very far to finally be able to get it – it started with a very good deal from my local music store, about 20% off, and that lit my fire and I started so sell off some very good things I owned).