Sigma DM1-ST

note: the dm-1st that i am reviewing (based on all info that i have gathered) is a older model (probably mid 70's to early 80's) it has a solid spruce top, laminated mahogany back and sides. i got it off of ebay. the previous owner(s) undoubtedly played/abused it very little. tuners are enclosed (most likely original), holds tune just fine. made in korea (based on reviews that i found, better made than the japan or indonesia models). standard dm, however i have yet to see another dm-1st with a top as pretty as this one (and i've looked at quite a few).

wow, the most impressive thing about this one is the sound. of course the older a solid top gets, the richer and fuller the sound. excellent tone low to high, plenty of volume. a friend of mine has a martin dm (that he paid @ $500 for), we traded off a couple off times (playing together) to try to discern any difference. there was little to no difference.

upon receipt, i removed the strings. the saddle (probably a replacement) was not a snug fit (had play and leaned as a result). i replaced the saddle with a tusq (snug fit, self filed to make the height correct), replaced the cheap plastic saddle pins with some brass ones, and made a truss rod adjustment ($40 total for parts). i now have $235, a few hours time in it and wouldn't take $500 cash for it. it now plays as good as any acoustic i have ever played and sounds as good or better than most.

based on the assumed age, the fact that i plan on taking care of it as if it costed 2 or 3 times as much, the tone will only get better with age, i have to give it at least a 9 in this category.

haven't attempted to contact them. not much info on their website.

i have been playing guitar for almost 30 years and am absolutaly thrilled with this guitar. i compared this one to a newer dm-1st (4-5yrs old also korean made)model. i noticed 2 structural differences. inside the soundhole of the newer one, there was a thin ring of wood {like a thin doughnut) that mine doesn't have. the newer one also had a thin strip of wood that ran down the center of the inside back that mine doesn't have. mine was considerably louder and richer in tone.

NOTE: I'm reviewing an older model, made in Korea, year of production unknown since SIGMA serial numbers are very hard to find information about - mine starts with 95 and ends with 79 so I figure this could be 1990's guitar. I bought it used, so I don't know. Here's the FACTS:

The DM-1 ST is your standart DREADNOUGHT (no cutaway, no electronics) with a solid spruce top (incl. the X-bracing), rosewood neck and laminated mahogany neck, back and sides, closed chrome tuners, black binding (body and neck). Nothing fancy, but it doesn't look cheapo and it sure gets the job done.

I'll give this a 10 because it has everything you need and what is there is really good. There's more beautiful guitars around, but in its simplicity, the DM-1 ST looks absolutely CLASS. Both thumbs up!

One word: PERFECT. I've been looking for an acoustic guitar that would suit my deep male voice FOR AGES - and this guitar was the ONLY dreadnought who would REALLY deliver. Before this SIGMA, I had to play JUMBOS in order to get a decent acoustic guitar sound.

This SIGMA has a very beautiful projection, the bass is boomy but not muddy, the mids are crip and crunchy, and the highs are clear without ringing in your ear forever. What more could you ask for? This is the ultimate dreadnought sound, known only from guitars that cost about 10 times as much as this one.

I'm not saying this far east budget guitar sounds better than an american made MARTIN, but if you close your eyes and just LISTEN, you will hear no difference. Neil Young, Zeppelin, Johnny Cash - it's possible with this SIGMA, and it all sound very very good.

Remember "Led Zeppelin III", Johnny Cash's "American Recordings", the "Silver And Gold" DVD from Neil Young? Or "Polly" from Nirvana's "Nevermind"? I have no idea what kind of guitars they used for that - but that's how this guitar sounds! So if you're on a budget and looking for that particular sound - GET THIS GUITAR RIGHT NOW! For the money, I have never heard a better sounding dreadnought.

Action is a matter of individual preference, so there's no need to comment on this. It can all be adjusted on the DM-1 ST, and this guitar can be set up both with low and high action, always playing smooth and sounding fantastic. The tuners are very reliable, work very nice and absolutely stay in tune with 47 and 52 gauges (never tried other gauges on this guitar).

The finish is pretty simple, but it's just BEAUTIFUL and totally CLASS - everything is very well done. I really dig the top. Remember, my DM-1 ST is over ten years old when I'm writing this, and the top has aged very well both soundwise and lookwise. What I'm saying is:

Nothing wrong in this category, so again it's a ten.

Again, this guitar is more than 10 years old - it never needed repairs and stood the tests of home recording, travelling, small pub live performances and backporch jamming. What more could you ask for?

I never had any problems with this guitar, but I like to know the year my guitars are made. So I looked up the Martin website and wrote a mail asking the Martin company about some information for the SIGMA serial numbers. I asked very nice, incl. a big nice PLEASE and lots of cherries in top - in all THREE e-mails! ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE! They didn't even say "Sorry, we don't know!" - For the ignorance they are deserving ZERO POINTS. The guitars are great, but the customer support has to be improved dramatically.

Well, read what I wrote about the SOUND.

It's a fantastic guitar well worth the money.

New 2005 model - solid top spruce, ebonized neck, compensated bridge, grover tuners. Made in Indonesia. Looks great.

Nice sounding guitar, bright and lots of sustain.

After a little neck adjustment plays great. Couldn't be any better for any price. Finish is fine, nothing wrong anywhere....nice finish for any guitar.

Only had if for a month, am using it to give guitar lessons with so it is in and out of the case alot. Stays in tune....I'll try to check back in in a year or so. No problems so far with the bridge like others have noted.

Not sure....you can't find much info about Sigma...certainly nothing on the Martin site...not sure of warranty...

Not going to find much in the under $300 range with solid spruce top, grovers and the Martin-Sigma name on it. Sigma's seem to hold there own over years price wise so think its a good playing guitar that will certainly have a resale value down the road.

This guitar is very similar to most Martins. I think that it if you scratched the name off of a Martin and a Sigma, it would be very hard to tell the difference. It is just a typical acoustic. I like it's machine heads, they stay in tune and are very firm. The rosewood frret board has a nice finish and combined with the neck is very easy to play.

I personally think that whoever made this guitar may have messed up and put "sigma" on it instead of "Martin & Company." This is by far the best non, have to be rich in order to buy it guitar! Literally, the first time I played it I fell in love with it and bought it two weeks later. It has a nice Martin sound and plays incredible. I use a Dean Markley pickup through a Vox Cambridge AC30 amp. With the bass and treble not to high you can bring out an amazing sounding acoustic! I find that if you play it closer to the bridge you can get an Ovation sound. If you play it closer to the neck you get a nice Gibson sound. And anywhere in between you get a great Martin sound! I love this guitar, and will probably never get rid of it! I recommend it to anyone!

It's playable, and is very easy to get along with! I especially like the tuners! The only thing that I personally didn't like is that it had no strap holder near the neck so I had one installed. It still works fine and looks great!

I treat guitars like antique china. This guitar is very reliable. I only gig with this acoustic. It takes some powerful strumming and holds its own! Good and reliable I'll say!

I never had to deal with them, but by the quality of their guitars, I don't even know why they would need customer support!

I use this now instead of my Epiphone AC-15. It took a long time for me to replace my old one and this one is definately worthy enough to do it! The first time I played it, I played "Crash into me" by the Dave Matthews Band, and it sounds just like his guitars. I think that this guitar deserves a lot more credit! It works, sounds and looks great! It is really worth it!

Well it's just your average looking acoustic guitar with decent pre-amp. The sides and back are rosewood and there's a spruce top. Basically a Martin looking guitar since it's made by a company they own.

When plugged in it sounds pretty nice through my Crate CA-60D. Unplugged it sounds OK too. There's not much warmth in the sound. It lacks alot of the really great acoustic sound you find in Guild, Gibson, Carvin, or whatever other good acoustic you might have played. Remember though for the price you pay for it, it's very good though.

This guitar was set up pretty nicely from the shop I bought it from.
The tuners are very nice, but the finish, dot inlays, and yes glue look kind of sloppy in areas. The body feels cheap and the neck doesn't play the greatest, but remember for the price this is pretty good.

If you wanted I'm sure this would be an ok playing guitar for live situations. I really like the sound when I've got it plugged in. Everything seems solid enough, but if acoustic is your thing, go for something that's really nice. I mainly play electric and this was my guitar to learn on when I started playing seven years ago. It's lasted me this long though so I figure it's pretty reliable.

Never dealt with them only the guitar shop which has always treated me well. One of the best whole in the wall guitar stores I've been to.

Well I've been playing seven years, and for acoustics I have this and a Penco thing made in Japan. Both are cheap acoustics and they do the job when I feel like playing acoustics. Since I'm not much of an acoustic player I don't have much else to say. It was a good guitar to learn on for my first two years and probably made me better since it's not the easiest guitar to pick up and play. It just doesn't have that nice feel to it like some guitars do, but for the price I paid for it I really can't complain.

New, made in Korea but apparently finished and set up by Martin. Decent solid spruce top with medium tight grain (about 20/inch) and some figuring. Mahogany neck, sides and back, Grovers. A plain D28 copy. After looking at the kits Martin advertises, I wondered if Sigmas are kits sent to Korea for assembly or, maybe the kits are made there too.

I've tried many acoustics in the lower price ranges and this is one I think I'll stay with. I wanted an instrument that would hold it's own, volume and tone wise, with some bluegrass jammers and as well one that "felt right". A typically bright dread sound with enough base to be heard but not booming like some jumbos.

Set up was okay from the store but there were finish cracks on the top beside the finger board. The bridge was starting to part at the tail. Fixed these myself after price negotiations were done. One thing I did not like was the two carelessly cut plastic shims stacked under the saddle. I replaced these with a piece of hardwood...sounds better. Finish seems okay, not too thick and must be lacquer according to my repair success.

Don't anticipate any reliability problems but who knows; it's brand new. Wouldn't balk at relying on it for a gig (but I usually have a backup anyway).

You certainly cannot gain access through Martin's website; Sigmas aren't mentioned. The guitar did not have any literature with it so I don't know if it is warranted. One almost gets the impression that Martin doesn't really want to acknowledge Sigma as one of theirs except on the headstock. Too bad because my idea was that if this guitar worked out, I might spring for a Martin (by CF Martin!).

Twenty plus years of playing on too many guitars to list. Would replace the Sigma if I found one as good as this one (without the damages, of course). This guitar feels right in terms of tone, action, neck is fine, no humps...yet. It's not a Taylor or a Martin/Martin but my experience is that you have to try different guitars of even the same model to find the one that's right. At the lower end of the price spectrum there are lam-tops from the sixties out there which sound way better than some of the thick-topped solids with heavy plastic finishes. At least Martin showed restraint in these areas with their Sigma.

Your standard, no-frills, beginner dreadnaught acoustic guitar. Korean copy of a Martin D-28. No fancy inlays or binding, but has some pretty decent tuners.

This was my first acoustic guitar, and for the price, the sound is hard to beat. It sounds far better than any Fender or Washburn in the same price range. The guitar has a problem with buzzing if you strum it too hard, and the bass should be a bit louder for the size of the body. I would highly recommend this for a beginner guitarist who wants to spend under $500.

The initial appearance is nice, with a ton of gloss laquer, but upon closer inspection there are finish flaws here and there, especially along the border between the neck and fretboard. The action was a little high from the factory, but a tweak with the allen wrench fixed that problem. One of the tuning pegs was loose, and the 14th and 15th fret started coming loose from the fretboard after about a year.

The basic guitar seems very solid, but I would watch the tuners and the higher frets. When I took the guitar into the dealer to fix the frets, the idiot dropped a pair of needlenose pliers directly onto the body! The guitar was slowly repaired quite poorly(the dent is still very obvious) but it should last me a long time.

No contact with Sigma or Martin.

This is my only acoustic guitar, so I really don't have any experience with other models, but the sound makes me long for something better, like a nice Taylor or Gibson. It almost feels like the sound is degrading over the years. Again, I would recommend this guitar to a beginner who can handle a larger guitar.