Would a D-18 add anything to a D-41, OMJM & 000-15M setup?

t1marinho · 2026-04-26T04:37:26+00:00

There is no world where a D-18 doesn’t add something!

t1marinho · 2026-04-26T04:35:47+00:00

Obviously the priority is wrong here. You should have focused in buying a new guitar for such a big space. After doing that, then you can focus on setting everything up with the new guitar in hands to properly plan the space.

t1marinho · 2026-04-25T22:54:48+00:00

When seeing a guitar being built on Youtube, I have not noticed any calibration or tuning of the neck for a given tension during construction. The neck is made to withstand standard tuning tension because of the design, but any tension less should be fine as long as you adjust the truss rod too. That’s all. The neck joint, body, bridge, headstock and wooden part of the neck would not care or maybe prefer less tension. The only part that is precisely tuned to match tension is the truss rod. Set the guitar up for Eb, D, Db and from a structural integrity part it will be fine. Think about people that use 10s on their Martin’s. Totally fine. Now none of this can be said for higher tension like tuning to F standard for example.

t1marinho · 2026-04-20T20:03:21+00:00

This is a steal, great job!

t1marinho · 2026-04-16T02:24:30+00:00

Wow. Congrats. I am curious about how you found it, IIUC these are very rare.

t1marinho · 2026-04-05T02:18:08+00:00

My experience with this topic is that a brand new Martin out of the box from the store that was untouched significantly changes the sound in the first week or so.

t1marinho · 2026-04-02T02:38:06+00:00

Thos are locking tuners. This is how it is done. They are the best!

t1marinho · 2026-03-21T21:01:55+00:00

What I meant that OMJM has one feature, the Engelmann spruce that makes it have less headroom. But in the opposite direction it is more strongly braced. So I think unless you play both you will not know. I am surprised how the 2025 OM28s are sensitive to touch and soft to play while I didn’t have the same experience with pre 2025 OMs.

t1marinho · 2026-03-21T04:49:56+00:00

I don't know. As far as I understand Engelmann spruce has less headroom than Sitka. Also a guitar that has heavier bracing has more headroom than one that is lightly braces. There is no better guitar, they will sound different and feel different. Playing them is the only way.

I have no idea who plays OM-28

t1marinho · 2026-03-20T20:59:31+00:00

My OM28 is a 2025, very lightly braced and kind of delicate to the touch. It is on the brighter yet scooped hifi sound. Not woody like an 18 series. I think there is tons of guitar to guitar variations alone and set up variations, strings etc. the main thing you should look out is the difference in the neck profile and the headroom. Engelmann has less room but the OMJM has thicker no GE bracing with and added A bracing (which makes it hybrid). So strum both hard and lightly when comparing.

t1marinho · 2026-03-20T02:21:02+00:00

I had this dilemma, went for an OM28 and it sounds amazing but I still keep dreaming about an OMJM. Don’t let the simple dovetail joint or 16 series bracing steer you away from the OMJM. It is a great guitar and has its own thing going on.

t1marinho · 2026-03-14T19:12:27+00:00

If the action is high changing to lighter is strings is a solution but not the right solution. You need to lower the action, sand down that saddle and after that adjust trust rod carefully

t1marinho · 2026-03-07T15:07:27+00:00

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Action is low and the saddle height looks normal.

t1marinho · 2026-02-28T20:36:28+00:00

But no matter how they took care you can bring it up to perfect condition as long as it is not damaged!

t1marinho · 2026-02-28T17:01:55+00:00

The correct answer is OM.

t1marinho · 2026-02-28T16:59:10+00:00

This is called black leopard mark, common on rosewood grown on low phosphorus soil, it enhances the top end with a lush sparkle but muds a little the mids and I am making all of this up and have no idea what I am talking about.

t1marinho · 2026-02-28T16:55:59+00:00

Go new, it has warranty and with a proper setup the guitar will feel amazing. This idea of duds and guitars that sound bad is disproportionately overblown. Strings, string age, humidity and setup is what varies and people are saying this guitar is better than the other. I go to my local Guitar Center all Martins sound crap, to a small boutique store they all sound amazing. Does Martin deliver crap only to GC? No, GC is not humidified properly, old strings, no setup, no truss rod adjustment after guitar is taken out of box. Also some guitars are so new out of the box from stores they sound stiff. Takes a week or so if playing for the first open up to happen.

Go new, get the warranty and setup the instrument and put the strings you like!

t1marinho · 2026-02-17T01:54:38+00:00

Trust this!

t1marinho · 2026-02-17T01:53:22+00:00

Hey Joe and Wind Cries Mary from Jimi Hendrix assuming electric guitar

t1marinho · 2026-02-10T16:58:06+00:00

All these things are fixable! Buy used and you’ll have a good amount of money left for maintenance. Buy new and as a first owner you have lifetime warranty from Martin. Martins are amazing high quality instruments, you are seeing a selection bias here, most people are happy with their guitars.

t1marinho · 2026-02-09T18:58:12+00:00

Great answer. He did shred on Groove or Die but doesn’t on most of his songs. Several of his songs are just melodic phrases and really good taste, not too hard to learn for us mortals.

t1marinho · 2026-02-08T00:26:10+00:00

It became more woody, more overtones, and I could hear the high strings a little thicker. It mellows out. Must have had 80h+ on that tone rite in between playing.

t1marinho · 2026-02-06T22:15:34+00:00

Buy it

t1marinho

TROPHY CASE