1970s Martin VS Gibson Acoustic! | Martin Meets Guitars

[@mariodriessen9740]

Acoustic guitar addict here. Great video! Two amazing guitars of course. Good idea to focus on two different vintage Dreadnoughts, because age definitely makes a huge difference with acoustics. 2,5 years ago I was fortunate enough to be able to play a ‘67 (my year of birth 😬) Martin 0-18. It kept me awake for months, thinking about how to save enough money as quickly as possible to purchase one myself. You don’t see these 0-18s a lot as you know. But at some day a small guitar shop in my hometown had a two year old Martin 0-18 for sale and the price was so low, relatively speaking, that I contacted the store owner immediately and told him to put it aside for me, because I was coming and I was serious! When I walked into the store he opened the case and this unbelievably beautiful little guitar was smiling at me. Of course it looked completely different from the ‘67 0-18, but gorgeous nonetheless, so I was extremely excited. I picked up that guitar and… it did absolutely nothing for me! It sounded okay, but nowhere near the sound of that old beauty. My first steel string acoustic was a Gibson J-45. I fell in love with it for all the wrong reasons, but it didn’t really sound as good as I hoped it would. If you would play 10 brand new J-45s, they will all sound pretty much the same, but 1 out of 10 will sound considerably brighter than the others and 1 out of 10 will sound considerably warmer, or darker. My J-45 was the darkest sounding J-45 I’ve ever heard and that made it beautiful for certain things, but it wasn’t great for just simply strumming some so called cowboy chords. However, after 10 years of playing that guitar, it opened up and now it’s truly unbeatable. What an amazing sound!!! Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy brand new guitars, because there are many amazing guitars and I’m convinced that this aging process is not just a matter of time, it’s also a matter of learning how to find and use the unique character and qualities that are ‘hidden’ in that particular guitar. Besides, if you can find the perfect guitar, brand new (this is for the fairly small amount of acoustic guitarists that are relatively new to this), this changing of sound over time is not something to be scared of. Your perfect guitar is not going to sound like another instrument, it will only enhance the perfection! This is the reason why I call myself an acoustic guitar addict. 🧡 I’m sorry for the long story. I can’t help myself. Videos like these tend to make me a little overexcited maybe. JUST ONE QUESTION THOUGH (actually, there’s more than just one question if you don’t mind me asking). Since I noticed the good quality of the recorded sound in this video, I wanted to ask you if you are willing to tell me what mic you used to record this. AND I also noticed that the mic isn’t pointing to the direction of the twelfth fret, which is usually where most people would point a mic to when only one mic is being used. It seems like the mic is aiming at the bridge? I’m asking because after all this is still just a 2D-view, so it’s hard for me to see whether or not I am right about this. And the last question: did you edit anything (like eq and/or compression), or is everything completely flat? 😊 Thanks in advance! 🧡

[@guitarattic]

Thanks so much for sharing, we love to hear these stories😁

[@guitarattic]

As for the audio, we used our Neumann TLM 103 for this showcase. It's a great sounding mic perfect for these scenarios. There was very little processing on the audio, a bit of compression for dynamic levelling and a dynamic EQ to control the bottom end. The plugin chain was identical for both guitars so there is no bias at all. We aimed to place the mic somewhere between the 12th fret and bridge for a balance of punch and top end sparkle, aimed towards the bridge at a 45 degree (ish) angle for a little more resonance from the sound hole. Really hope all this info is helpful! 👍

[@mariodriessen9740]

@@guitarattic : Thank you so much for the info. It’s very helpful. I appreciate it! 🧡

[@steveturner6770]

I enjoyed reading this, thanks

[@mariodriessen9740]

@@steveturner6770 : You’re welcome! 😊

[@taylormantoo]

I am a D-28 student. Have been for years. I had a Gibson Hummingbird and it is a great guitar but the shape of the neck on the Martin was the kicker for me. Both are fabulous instruments! The Martin just felt comfortable. Better movement, technique for me. Me and Martin growing old!!

[@RichardKoeb]

....spot-on with your observation on the neck....an aspect that many seem to miss...

[@callumparkin2534]

Really enjoyed this😁

[@mwaugh94879]

Many thanks ;)

[@ft6666]

Could listen to you play all day mate, great bit of KZbin.

[@teodelnorte]

Nice video and playing! D28 rosewood back and sides versus Hummingbird mahogany though, so I'd expect the Martin to sound a little more direct whereas mahogany tends to offer a more mellow tone. Both outstanding guitars. I own a D15m and a Hummingbird and they are both incredible instruments

[@mwaugh94879]

Many thanks 😊

[@curtvahle2018]

Both good. The Martin though, heads and tails above the Gibson...no doubt about it.

[@MrLph427]

At first glance these are very similar, yet they’re actually very different……buy both

[@SanNjig]

The Gibson would go well sitting next to my ES-345

[@guitarattic]

The Hummingbird is still available 😉 Thank you for checking out the video! 🙌

[@RichardKoeb]

W O W..What a "good" video....thank You....😊

[@petesie80]

Och wee man, ye were on a dodgy wicket, now comes down to brand preference but the Martin rang ma bells.

[@landocalrisianguitars]

Martin sounds better, more mellow, Gibson more bright, the back and sides and the internal bracings are differents

[@guitarattic]

Thank you for checking out the video😁🙌