Martin D-45

I took delivery of my D45 about a month ago and thought I'd wait a few weeks before I submitted my review. First off, it's almost impossible to find a music store that has more than one of these so comparison shopping is pretty much out of the question for most of us mortals. I had "Brother Bobby B." from Oklahoma Vintage Guitars pick this one out for me. It's a 2007 with a Fishman VT pickup/preamp. It's almost worth it's price just to have it to look at: the abalone is a dark magenta/green/silver, the top is a perfectly book-matched spruce, the back and sides nicely figured rosewood and the headstock with the abalone "C F Martin" inlay is exquisite. There's really nothing quite like a D45. Anyone who is prepared to lay out the big bucks for a D45 expects to be "wowed". And let's face it: it IS the standard by which other high-end guitars are measured. And this D45, by any measure, lived up to it's reputation. The previous Martin I owned was a HD28 that I thought was really a fine guitar. But after playing the D45 for just a few minutes (seconds, really) I realized that any comparisons of the two guitars was sort of silly. If you've ever had the opportunity to play a D45, regardless of your ability, you will probably know what I'm talking about. And although the D45 is a pricey instrument, in the world of handmade guitars it's actually a bargain.

There really is no other guitar that sounds quite like the D45; it has a woody, resonant bottom that is characteristic of the best Martin dreadnaughts along with the glassy, transparent highs that one associates with Taylor guitars. But unlike Taylor guitars, this D45 can be played as hard you want with no compression; it just gets louder. But the overriding character of the sound is it's complexity. There are overtones and harmonics that almost sound like studio tricks. It's no wonder this is the guitar favored by so many great musicians from Neil Young to Gene Autry. I play a combination of finger picking and flat picking and it sounds great either way.

The action is low and fast. But I don't really know if that's the way it came from the factory since Bobby at Oklahoma Vintage Guitars keeps the guitar for a couple of weeks while he does his own set-up. There's plenty of saddle to lower the action but that would probably be counter-productive. The fit and finish is pretty much perfect. The frets are dressed well and the neck is straight as an arrow.

Reliability & durability? It's too early to judge but people are still playing Martins from the 1930's so I imagine this guitar will outlive me.

I'll let you know if I have a warranty issue. But it is a lifetime warranty so I guess that's all you can ask for. And they've been around since 1833.

I spent my professional musical career as a sax player but in the last few years have returned to playing the guitar. Although my career as a professional photographer has overtaken my musical career, I still really love playing a fine instrument, whether it's my Selmer Mark VI tenor sax or my Martin D45. And there is the irony, of course, in the fact that as a musician I could never have afforded to buy a Martin D45 as a second instrument. But that's life. If this guitar was stolen or lost, I would screw one of my corporate photography clients out of a few thousand dollars and buy another one!

I just purchased a 2006 Martin D-45 and it is the best guitar I have ever owned. I presently have (2) HDP-41's, D-28, D-18,oo-X1, Ovasion, Tele & limited edition Strat. I had a Taylor PS-10(same price range, but does not come close to the D-45)- I requested "low action" 5/64" on the low E string at the 12th fret - it came that way and "no buzz". It plays great and when I'm not playing, it is great to look at. It's worth the money ........DK

Made for Country and Bluegrass

Low-Low action and plays great

Year Made 2002. I ordered this thru Elderly Instruments. A standard Martin D45 but I "custom" ordered it with a vintage sunburst and a Gold Line pickup factory installed.

It came with the standard martin thermoplastic case

This guitar is nothing short of incredible. The real problem with this guitar is that once you play it, all my other acoustic guitars seem like cheap junk now, in sound, feel and looks.

The factory installed pickup really sounds better than micing the guitar. Only problem is that the pickup does pick up your hand/fingers as they brush accross the strings, so I have to make a little change and pay more attention to how I chord the strings. (something that I never had to do when on a mic).

The bass strings (5 & 6) really stand out compared to my other guitars

The guitar was setup great. I had read many reviews that action on Martins were high; I can not agree with that. This is my 2nd Martin guitar and the action on both are really nice. (better than my non martin acoustics)

The sunburst finish on this guitar really makes the abalone stand out. I could not find any flaws anywhere. It looked better than a new Alverez I had purchased many years ago in the way it was built.

The only problem in this area is that for the cost of the instrument, and the way it looks you have to think twice before taking it out and about. This thing is a work of art

I have been playing for 25+ years, and own a Martin J40-12 String, Alverez 6 String acoustic, Takamime 6 String acoustic, Fender Strat, Gibson Les Paul, Dean 12 String Elect. I would definitly replace this guitar.
I can not compare it to my other acoustics or other acoustics I have played, once I started playing this it had been very difficult playing the others.
The hardest thing about the guitar is the wait; I had to wait 4-5 months for it to get here. That seemed like an eternity...But worth the wait (once the wait was over)

Italian and (poor) english version.
Comprata nuova nel 2001 ma costruita nel 1998. Made in USA (ovviamente). Acquistata da Essemusicstore (Montebelluna, TV), il piu' completo negozio in Italia con eccezionale assortimento (sembra un negozio USA), buoni prezzi e buona valutazione dell'usato.
Legni: tutti masselli sceltissimi, tavola in abete sitka dalla tessitura fine e precisa, molte sfumature trasversali ("medullary rays" o "cross grain")e dal colore gia' giallo-oro "vintage"; fasce e fondo in palissandro indiano della piu alta qualita, come il top tagliato a quarto ed unito perfettamente a libro; manico pezzo unico in mogano dalla sezione a "c" discretamente bassa e confortevole; tastiera in ebano nero che piu' nero non si puo' con 14/20 tasti e larghezza al capotasto di 42,5 mm. (1 11/16"); ponte in ebano.
Carenatura: tradizionale Martin X brace scalloped. L'interno della chitarra e discretamente pulito e preciso (anche se non ai livelli della Santa Cruz), con fascette di rinforzo sui fianchi in palissandro.
Battipenna tartarugato, meccaniche dorate Schaller marchiate Martin (eccellenti, molto piu' dolci e precise delle mini-Schaller), capotasto ed osso del ponte sintetici (Micarta), pioli sintetici bianchi con inserti in abalone.
Finiture: verniciatura gloss leggera (il manico rimane molto scorrevole); binding bianco singlolo sulla tastiera, doppio bianco sulla paletta, multiplo bianco-nero-abalone su tutto il resto (buca, top, attaccatura del manico, fasce, fondo, sciocchetta). Striscia centrale sul fondo fatta da un mosaico di minuscole tessere di legno di vari colori. Logo grande verticale CMartinF sulla paletta in abalone, segnatasti sulla tastiera ad esagoni in abalone (piu' grandi delle D-40 e D-41).
Custodia in abs ben protettiva (da traumi e umidita') anche se quelle usate per la serie vintage sono molto piu' belle. Brugola, manuale di cura, garanzia comprese. Tra l'altro e' una custodia non solo per le dreadnought ma anche per le jumbo, quindi non e' precisa. OK, si puo' cambiare, ma quando si spendono piu' di dieci milioni per una chitarra si pretende sempre il massimo (tra l'altro e' la stessa custodia fornita con la D-18 che costa un quinto della D-45).
Ho indugiato molto sulla descrizione in quanto ritengo la D-45 una chitarra mozzafiato (il trionfo di abalone su un top perfetto e dal colore "vintage" e impressionante). Puo' essere troppo "luccicante", (io ho sempre preferito acustiche semplici come la D-28), ma ci si abitua presto...
Gli unici dubbi li ho sulle parti in plastica (capo, ponte e pioli) in quanto sarebbero piu' intonate in osso (anche se so che per lavorare l'osso ci sono normative restrittive e il sintetico offre una qualita' piu' costante) e sul binding bianco (sarebbe meglio color crema - ivoroid), gia' che c'erano potevano fare la striscia centrale sul fondo in abalone...

Bought new in 2001, 1998 made, all master grade solid woods, the top is a beautiful gold-orange sitka with straight grain and lots of medullary rays quartersawn and perfectly bookmatched as the exceptional indian rosewood on back (2 pieces) and sides. Mosaic backstrip. Scalloped X bracing, one piece mahogany neck with medium-low "c" section and 1 11/16" at nut, black ebony fingrboard and bridge. Schaller/Martin gold tuners (very smooth and precise, the better I have ever tried). Synthetic nut, saddle (micarta), pin and endpin (with abalone dots).
Multiple w/b/w and abalone bindingall around the top, rosette, back, sides, endpin. Exagonal abalone on fingerboard (bigger than D-40 and D-41). White binnding on neck and headstock. Large vertical CMartinF logo in abalone on headstock.
ABS hardshell case, very strong and protective from heat and humidity, but I prefere the vintage Geib style cases (on the vintage series). It's not only for D shape but for 0000 and jumbo too, so it's not perfect (when you pay 5000$ you want the best).
Ke

Volume molto elevato ma senza perdita di definizione e senza cali in alcuna parte della tastiera. Bassi corposi e rotondi, evidenti e predominanti ma mai invasivi, medi bilanciati e alti cristallini. Armonici presenti ovunque, anche al primo tasto! (veramente mai sentito armonici cosi'). In generale il suono e estremamente ricco, pieno e nonostante tutto bilanciato e definito. Si tenga presente che non e' una chitarra nata per sonorita' sottili ed estremamente definite e bilanciate come le archtop, cio' nonostante si puo' con uguale soddisfazione suonare strummin' come fingerpickin'. Suonando seduto, e una chitarra che ti fa vibrare tutto il corpo. Altre chitarre, pur eccellenti (e costose, vedi Santa Cruz, Breedlove, Larrivee, le troppo blasonate Taylor) hanno un'impostazione differente e non hanno sonorita' cosi' piene e forti (affini sotto alcuni aspetti alla Gibson J200) E' questione di gusti, ma non ho mai sentito una chitarra cosi': come suono e come suonabilita'(e alla fine e' cio' che conta) e' il massimo.
Attenzione: a differenza delle chitarre acustiche, dove la qualita' sonora e' sovente costante, una chitarra acustica ( fatta essenzialmente a mano) deve essere provata e comparata con altre possibilmente della stessa marca e modello. Ora, e' difficile nella nostra povera (come varieta' di scelta) Italia trovare un negozio con una D-45 (io l'ho trovato solo da Merula di Bra e a Essemusicstore di Montebelluna), figurarsi un negozio con 2 D-45! Per farla breve, ho provato (in tempi diversi) le due D-45 comparandole con la mia Santa Cruz D ed ho trovato una grande differenza tra le due D-45, preferendo di gran lunga quella proposta dal negozio (che ritengo il migliore in Italia come assortimento, prezzi e ritiro e valutazione dell'usato) Essemusicstore di Montebelluna (TV) (www.essemusic.it).

High volume, sound rich and full, great piano-like bass (predominant but no excessive), balanced medium, bell-like high. No loss of volume or tone in every fret. With this guitar you can (at your preference) strummin, flatpicking and fingerpickin' too with high satisfaction (one size fits all). OK, it's no precise and definite as an archtop or an 000 but playing, the guitar vibrate your body, it's a wonderful sensation.
There are lots of good guitar I've tried (Santa Cruz, Breedlove, Larrivee, the too much blasonated Taylor) but no one with a sound rich as this one. The sound is very better than D-28 and D-35 too (never tried D-40, D-41 or D-42).
One attention: when you buy an acoustic guitar you must try it and compare with other acoustic, possibly same brand and model. I've tried great differences between two D-45.

Azione media che si puo' abbassare a piacimento. Internamente ed esternamente le finiture sono eccellenti (anche se non meticolose specialmente nel binding intorno alla rosetta e nell'interno come le Santa Cruz)con due piccoli difettucci: la "N" del logo presenta una parte di abalone marrone scuro e da lontano sembra quindi che manchi un pezzo di abalone e si veda il legno sotto; c'e' un piccolossimo "gradino" sulla tavola lungo circa 2 cm. dove si uniscono i due lembi del top in basso alla tavola stessa (sopra la sciocchetta, ovvero il blocco finale dove e' inserito il bottone reggitracolla). Il tutto si nota perche' la verniciatura e' (giustamente) sottile, ma e' un'imperfezione comunque notevole su una chitarra di tale rango anche se ritengo non preoccupante in quanto sotto c'e' la sciocchetta.

Medium action but you can lower the saddle as you want. You can play easy.
You can like or not the tons of abalone on it, but the wood work is exceptional (master grade woods, perfectly bookmatched).
The interior is very good but no ultra-precise as Santa Cruz.
The binding is well placed, with very very little steps on rosette (that's why the gloss finish on top is correctly thin).
The "N" of Martin logo on headstock have a little piece of dark brown abalone, so it seems there is no one piece.
The only flaw is a very thin step of 1" on top over the endblock, where the top is bookmatched. I think it's not a problem because the step is very thin and under there is the endblock, but each flaw on a 5000$ guitar is important.

Con questa chitarra si puo' suonare di tutto ma suonare dappertutto dipende da te: e' vero che le chitarre sono fatte per essere suonate, ma portare la chitarra in pubblico per suonarla con la massima cautela, non poter abbandonarla un attimo, stare attenti a tutti i colpi possibili ed immaginabili ed alle variazioni di tempreatura ed umidita' puo' portare piu' stress che piacere. Personalmente ho intenzione comunque di usarla, con qualche precauzione, anche fuori casa.
La chitarra e' costruita solidamente ma, come per tutti gli strumenti in massello, attenzione (pena anche la rottura) alle brusche variazioni di temperatura e all'umidita. Non bisogna mai: lasciare la chitarra chiusa nella sua custodia in macchina sotto il sole per ore e subito dopo aprire la custodia in un locale fresco, tenere la chitarra in locali troppo umidi (sopra 65% umidita' relativa) o peggio troppo secchi (sotto il 40%, quando i termosifoni sono accesi). Meglio tenere la chitarra nella custodia quando e secco e fuori quando e umido, ma mai appesa (o troppo vicino) al muro. Vedi il sito Larrivee o Santa Cruz per consigli al riguardo.

You can play everything, but do you want play everywhere with a 5000$ guitar? The guitar is well made, but you must preserve it from the rapid change of temperature and/or humidity and from too high and especially too low humidity. See Larrivee or Santa Cruz web site for details.
If you have a D-45 and you play out, what backup do you want?

Ho mandato una lettera di complimenti a Martin e mi hanno subito risposto con un pacco di cataloghi, giornali, ecc. Mi hanno prontamente risposto anche a dubbi sul setup e sulla cura. Molto gentili e professionali.

Very friendly, professionaly, quickly to answer to my questions. For a simple letter of commpliments I have received lots of catalog, and Sounding Board magazine.

Mai trovato una chitarra dalle caratteristiche sonore migliori di questa. Estremamente decorata ma e' parte anche del suo fascino. Il sogno di chi suona acustico, non solo mio ma di (credo) moltissimi.
Dopo anni ho realizzato che e' meglio puntare subito al massimo piuttosto che continuare a comprare e vendere strumenti sognando il top (alla fine, e' forse anche meno dispendioso).

Never found a guitar with this sound. Really the acoustic dream, mine and of lots of players. OK, is not cheap butI think: just one instrument for all the life, but the one you want.

I bought this Martin D45 new in 1998. It is American made, 22 fret neck, with spruce top and rosewood sides and back. The bridge and fingerboard are ebony. The abalone and pearl work makes this guitar a piece of art. The tuners are gold plated. The guitar came with a hardshell case. I have no pickups mounted right now but will soon add a fishman blender system to it. The D45 is considered the top of Martin's standard line and well deserves the compliment. Definalty worth the money to get one of these.

Rather than the bluegrass twangy sound (ie. Taylor), I was looking for more of a dark & heavy sound. Not only does this Martin have that characteristic but it also has the volume to carry each and every note. This guitar is ideal for both strumming and picking. The sound that this guitar creates is beyond words. One must play this guitar in order to understand the beauty it creates.

I have heard rumors that the Martin guitars usually came with high action. I guess I was one of the fortunate ones to not have this problem. I bought this brand new so it is too early to tell how well the wood was treated. I am sure, due to Martins excellence, that I will not have any problems of warping as long as I take good care of it.

I have played live with this guitar many times and have had no problems of cracking or splitting. However, due to the amount of money I have paid for this guitar, I have taken extra care so that nothing will happen to it. I do not think I would play with this guitar outside. Too risky.

Never had any problems with the guitar yet. Knock on wood. A life time warranty came with it but it is a very limited warranty. There is a long list of problems that Martin will not cover under the warranty. Pretty much, once it cracks, breaks, or anything else, your on your own.

I have been playing guitar for 10 years and would definatly buy another D-45 if something were to happen it. I would not have been able to get this guitar if I didn't get a good deal on it. The retail price was $7,000 but somehow I was able to talk down the price to $4,000. It was definatly worth the sacrifice though. If the D-45 sounds this great I wonder how awesome a pre-civil D-45 sounds like. The inlays are very very nice and adds a lot to the visuals of the guitar. The sound that this guitar produces is out of this world. This has to be by far the best guitar I have played yet. I would have to call this the Stradivarius of the guitars.

I bought this Martin D45 dreadnaught new in 1991 from Carl McIntyre, a luthier and guitar retailer. It is American made, 22 fret neck, with Martin's better spruce tops and rosewood sides and back. The bridge and fingerboard are ebony. The finish is gloss nitrocellulose. The abalone and pearl work is absolutely gorgeous. The tuners are gold plated. The guitar came with a hardshell case. I have no pickups mounted and I don't use a strap since all my playing is done at home. The D45 is considered the top of Martin's standard line and it looks it. You can special order inlay work, such as the Tree of Life inlay, for the neck. Overall, a gorgeous, conservative appearance. The neck is slightly thicker than the thinner (and more comfortable) neck on my Taylor 910 dreadnaught.

My music style is fingerpicking 80% and strumming with a little flat picking about 20% of the time. This guitar is the perfect guitar in my opinion for both types of playing. My mother, who has essentially no interest in my playing, once commented that this guitar was the best sounding guitar she'd ever heard. I've owned a D18 and have played D28's and D35's and the D45 has a much better sound. The lows are solid and boomy but the highs are delicate and bell-like. Perfect for fingerpicking. I use this guitar as the benchmark for all other acoustic guitars I play. Before buying the Martin, I bought a custom 1990 Taylor 910 - probably the prettiest guitar I've ever seen with rose inlay on the peghead, the Cindy pattern on the fretboard, and the prettiest, figured walnut I've ever seen. However, this guitar is dull sounding from bass to treble. It is after this big disappointment with the Taylor that I bought the D45. I've also spent some time playing Martin's J40 - Martin's best Jumbo model - and the J40 has the same gorgeous sound as my D45 but without all the inlay work.

I've heard that Martin's come from the factory with high action and my D45 was no exception. I had my luthier compensate and lower the saddle. The action is still a little high and everytime I change strings, I sand a little more off the saddle to try and improve the action. The Taylor mentioned above has better action. However, that guitar needed, when new, much work to properly shape the warped fretboard. Once it was set up however, the action on the Taylor was the best I've ever played, better than the Martin. The neck on the D45 is more rounded than the Taylor but still comfortable. The neck on the Taylor is thinner and in my hands, a better feeling neck. The fit and finish on the Martin was excellent. I saw no flaws with the guitar's finish as it came from the factory. My rating of 8 is based solely on the fact that the action is higher than I think it should be.

I don't play live - just for myself in my house - so the guitar is not subject to any potential for abuse or temperature changes.

Never dealt with the company nor have I had any warranty work done.

I have been playing for 34 years and own a Taylor 910 Custom, a Guild 412 maple 12 string and a Custom Les Paul. My first good 6 string was a Martin D18 which I had for 25 years and finally sold to my brother. This is my reference 6 string guitar and so far, I've not found any other guitar to sound this good. If lost, I would replace it with the same model. One comment may be helpful to others. I have a friend with a Martin J40, Martin's top of the line Jumbo, and it sounds just like my D45 and, after his was set up by the luthier, actually has lower action than mine. This guitar has abalone inlay in the peg head but lacks the large amount of decorative inlay that the D45 has. Sonically however, I would rank it with my D45. If I was to have to choose between the two, I would still buy the D45 because I wanted all the inlay work. In spite of the action, which I will continually modify, I think this is the best guitar I've ever played.