This is one amazing music store, packed from floor to ceiling with musical instruments at very…read morecompetitive prices. My musical interests since 1981 has been on guitars and I have owned several acoustical brands- Castillo Concert, Yamaha Concert, Ibanez Parlor, Taylor Swift Baby Taylor, and Martin, to name the ones I remember.
As I gradually moved up the scale of quality and expense I began to lean to Martins because I found I was having difficulty handling the larger models for size and was not terribly impressed with sound of the Parlor and Baby types, all to the physical changes called "aging".
Last year I returned the Taylor to Sweetwater and traded in 3 of those brands listed above at Foggy Mountain for a Martin 000-10. I loved that guitar, but, as I mentioned above, I really needed something that was smaller that I could get my hands around, and still had the fretting and sound of the Martin. I started seriously looking at what was available, pricing, and models.
I did research online and listened to professionals on Youtube talk about which ones they preferred compared to others, like the Taylor, Eastman, and even cheaper beginner brands. A huge majority said that the Martin all wood was the best.
I called up Foggy Mountain, spoke to the very nice gentleman about their inventory, and they had one of the guitars I was leaning toward because of size, weight, fretting, nut distances, etc., and it was a Martin all wood with a Spruce top, and Sapele sides and back.
I looked up the word "S A P E L E" to see what that was. Interestingly enough it is a very high quality hardwood from Africa that tends to be quite strong and also very similar to mahogany. In one of the videos discussing the use of that wood, it was mentioned that the sound and tones were not as "dusky" as the mahogany but did add a particular brilliance to the fret board, while maintaining the softer melodious depths of the music.
Today I decided to go and see this guitar. The size is about 1/4 less in girth and length, and just a tad smaller on the fret board. See the pics to compare the Martin 000-10 to the Martin 000 Junior. The latter is definitely a more suited lighter weight travel guitar than the former. I played a few riffs and decided the size and all the features, including the built in electronic system and tuner, were exactly what I wanted. The trade in was almost equal to the value of both, and I offered to pay the tax plus $100 to cover the transfer.
I brought the Martin Junior home, plugged in my small Laney amp and was tickled with joy that I had made the right decision.
The moral of the story-
1) don't buy a cheap guitar called a "beginner" because they are poorly made and sound awful, in most cases. If you buy online, Amazon is NOT the place to buy- if you can't see it, touch it, or play it, it is a waste of money, a lot of the time.
2) Do your homework- some folks may not like AI, but I found it was the fastest way to glean information that provided suggestions and links to sites and videos.
3) If you are a beginner and are serious about playing excellent music, pony up the dough, and buy some serious instrument that will give the sound you want to produce, fits your body style, and then take lessons until you have a good understanding of what and how good music is produced.
Use your noodle, try out different models and styles, and give yourself a day to ponder your findings. Then, buy the one you willing to pay for, practice like you would anything else that you want to excel in, daily and often. Practice could make perfect, if you stick to it.
