Hi Folks. I had the opportunity to play a CF Martin DXB acoustic guitar over the weekend and I thought of a previous discussion here about wood and how luthiers use tonewoods. This guitar (http://www.mguitar.com/MartinGuitar/StandardOutput.asp?RECORDID=72) is made almost entirely from "high-pressure laminate". Newer models appear to be wood-grained but this one was high-polish black. The neck and bridge are "Morado", apparently some sort of Bolivian rosewood with deep pores, but the top, back and sides are this laminate material. The first thing I noticed is that even though it's a "dreadnought" style this guitar is *light*... possibly the lightest non-toy guitar I've ever played. The top is not much thicker than a piece of shirt cardboard and is braced with Martin's X braces. One strum told me that this is a very loud and resonant guitar, with a very rich full bass. While the strings are nicely balanced in tone, the higher frequencies you tend to associate with Martin guitars seem to be more attenuated than with a spruce top guitar. It definitely sounds like a Martin, though I thought the neck felt a little "cheap" due to the deep unfilled pores. They don't tell you exactly what that "high-pressure laminate" is, but it appears to be an interesting material, at least for guitar bodies. It shows something about how "tonewoods" aren't as important in a guitar as some people may think. I'm curious about whether this is a material that piano makers have looked into for soundboards. Oh... this one's for sale slightly used for about $350 US, a little more than half the new price. They appear to be about $150 cheaper than a comparable laminated wood Martin guitar. In comparison, a solid wood Martin D-18 lists for nearly $2,100 US . Incidentally, the "top-of-the-line" Martin D-50 Deluxe can be had for a mere $50,000. See the Martin WWW site for a look at it as it's *real* pretty! John John Musselwhite, RPT - Calgary, Alberta Canada http://www.musselwhite.com http://canadianpianopage.com/calgary Pianotech IRC chats Tuesday and Thursday nights and Sunday Mornings http://www.bigfoot.com/~kmvander/ircpiano.html
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