… but let's not call the whole thing off.
Bass… I like it so much I have a special stompbox on my pedalboard to emphasize it (Electro-Harmonix’ The Mole).
And I like Martin guitars. Playing electric guitars seems to have spoiled me. On an acoustic concert guitar, I found the high action difficult to get used to. But Martin’s steel string guitars have a much lower action and even their affordable models with parts made from laminate wood sound great.
So, when I chanced upon a combination of the two in a store in Lübeck, it proved irresistible. A all-mahogony Martin D15 dreadnought. It has a well grounded tone that in a band context would make a good rhythm foundation.
Played solo, it has two personalities. Fingerpicking yields a deep, resonant hum, as if a contented crowd of tomcats purred a melody. Strumming chords with a pick (I like orange, 0.6 mm Dunlop Tortex ones) elicts a deep, almost-but-not-quite boomimg voice. High notes do come through, but you want to listen to the bass.
And like all acoustic guitars I’ve had, It shows up errors in playing mercilessly. Frets are low and you’ll have to get your fingers close to them to avoid string buzz. Likewise, you will hear even a bit of damping of adjacent strings, something that you’d strum right through on an electric. So, a Martin is a great teacher for proper technique.
P.S.: Oh, about the title. Isn’t it funny that the German name for this wood is so incrementally different from the English? As long as no one says mohagony …
