NGD: a lil baby Martin!

[jwyles90]

Hey all! Just picked up this new acoustic the other day. I’ve been on the hunt for a Martin for a long time now, but don’t really play acoustic enough to justify dropping a ton of money on a full sized dreadnaught. My local shop posted this recently and I went in to play it and was very impressed with how great it felt to play. I was able to trade in my old, heavily unused acoustics and walk away with this for only a couple hundred bucks.

It’s the “Shawn Mendes” model (I have no idea who that is) and is closer to a parlor sized than a full scale. I was a little skeptical at first, but for the small size and random signature model it sounds awesome and is tons of fun to play. I think I might actually be more of a parlor-sized acoustic guy myself now that I’ve had the chance to try one out. Now I just gotta hook some pedals up to it and see what happens

 

[jwin615]

For rhythm bad tracks, those baby Taylor and Martins record really well.

 

[Harry Klippton]

Looks lovely. Congrats

 

[Alan W]

Small guitars are a hard sell for a lot of people. Me—I love 'em! That looks like a very cuddle-able body— no reason to be uncomfortable with a giant bout to have to wrap your arm over when you're on a couch. I like the simple adornments, also. It's also nice to see an ebony fingerboard that isn't dyed. I have an 00-18, and love the sound of mahogany.

When it's time to put new strings on, if you like a slightly drier, more "woody" tone, try some nickel or monel wound strings on it, instead of bronze.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

Noice. I love smaller acoustics.

 

[Gordo]

I love the punch of parlor size. They tend to have a slightly raw edge I like.

 

[jwyles90]

Small guitars are a hard sell for a lot of people. Me—I love 'em! That looks like a very cuddle-able body— no reason to be uncomfortable with a giant bout to have to wrap your arm over when you're on a couch. I like the simple adornments, also. It's also nice to see an ebony fingerboard that isn't dyed. I have an 00-18, and love the sound of mahogany.

When it's time to put new strings on, if you like a slightly drier, more "woody" tone, try some nickel or monel wound strings on it, instead of bronze.

Good call on the strings, I'm looking forward to trying a few different kinds out over time and seeing what sound I like best. And yea I'm actually pretty impressed with the fretboard and neck. As far as I can tell, the guitar is made from all wood instead of that laminate stuff I've seen on other smaller guitars.

 

[jwyles90]

Noice. I love smaller acoustics.

Yea I think I'm beginning to come around to them. This feels a lot more comfortable to play than the other acoustics I've had in my inventory in the past.

 

[HamishR]

I was blown away with how good the Taylor GS Mini sounded when I bought one for my son. I think it's around a 23 1/2" scale. It made me realise that I prefer shorter scale acoustics as well as electrics. I've played a LOT of Martins and mostly they have been 25 1/2" scale guitars. The one Martin I really liked was an O-16NY, the little 24 3/4" scale 12-fretter with the wide neck.

The shorter scale seems to lend the guitar a more chunky sound; it's not as jangly and "pretty" as the regular steel strings. I had a Gibson J185 which sounded good to me - turns out it was a 24 3/4" scale. I liked the sound better than the J200.

So when Taylor came out with the GT series I was interested and sure enough I liked them better than the 25 1/2" Taylors. But not enough to buy one. But I'm sure that if I ever get another acoustic guitar it will be a smaller guitar.