The Difference between Martin and the GIBSON wood guitar

There is a post in the Forum, and the response is very good and helps the piano friends a lot. But it may also give some piano players the illusion that it seems that only Martin is a good pianist. Some know only Martin, Taylor, and no other piano. The similarities and differences between the two traditional American factory pianos: Martin and Gibson’s xylophone are not just Martin, but all the stars shine

There is an illusion that it seems that only Martin is a good pianist. However, Martin can only represent one kind of the American tradition, not all, or even if there is a guitar that generally represents “America,” the guitar is not Martin, but Gibson. Plus, the late Taylor did a good job with treble and pickups, with many fans in the US, even though I wouldn’t say I like Taylor’s timbre.

The three companies are the factory organs. The factory piano can not be compared with the workshop piano. It is like the difference between an apartment and a villa. In addition to Olson, Ryan, Breedlove, and Goodall, even if the civilian middle and high-grade workshop piano, such as Collings, the bourgeois is much better than the factory piano, and the quality is more continuous and stable.

Regardless of the private workshop piano, we will say that Martin and Gibson are the two iconic factories (Taylor is new). In fact, in many ways, the style of different, or each has an advantage, not who is high and who is low. Although Gibson faced a crisis at one time (an unknown boss acquired it in the 1970s and 1980 s), many  Americans said that Gibson’s piano had higher discontinuity and instability.

In the United States, Martin qin and Gibson qin each have fans, like Martin called Martin powder like Gibson called Gibby powder, and people like other brands. Neither Martin nor Gibson is the dominant family. In style, it is generally relative and complementary. Martin is more vigorous, bold, bright, more masculine, like a man, more suitable to express joy and even lively jubilant mood, so more suitable for white folk music (such as bluegrass, country style), especially good at doing rosewood back (in the United States, prefer rosewood back people called rosewood powder).

Compared to this, Gibson is more delicate, graceful, gentle, and warm, like women, more suitable for expressing a dark, depressing delicate mood. Super Jumbo both SJ200 represents strong man American music culture from blues to rock, a microcosm of the most representative products, suitable for blues and other black music and rock music, so later rock bands mostly use Gibson rather than Martin band instruments, Eric Clapton with 00028 play blues is a rare exception, so Martin 00028EC is particularly striking. Gibson is especially good at making mahogany and maple backs (in the United States, it is called mahogany pink).

Corresponding to the white, black culture, Martin overall represents white folk music, represents the European tradition that was brought to the Americas; Martin began in Germany, later by the producer to the United States, came to the United States the German area, now Martin’s town (located in the north of Pennsylvania Nazareth, Nazareth, is Israel’s mother Jesus home name) seems to be the German immigrant descendants. Martin qin is expensive, elite, noble, and happy; the venue is clean, and orthodox moral is the original mainstream.

Gibson was grown in Native America, Born in Kalamazoo Kalamazoo, northern Michigan (now Gibson’s electric organ in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, Xylophone in Bozeman, Montana), But traditionally used to express black music, Representing the sentiments of the blacks brought to America, Gibson is cheap (after becoming mainstream, Naturally becoming more expensive, Even more, expensive than Martin), Grassroots roots, poor, The venue was a little dirty, Free Dissex, Initially not considered as an orthodox morality. Still, Not Martin, but Gibson, became mainstream in American pop music (represented by black blues rockers).

In terms of style (I think I know of the star example), Martin’s main style types are 00,000,0000 (M), OM, and D.

1. Type 00

Bob Dylan first started with 00-17

2. Type 000

American folk holy hand Woody Guthrie had used the Type 000-18 model and later had the Type 000-18WG model, Clapton’s Type 000-18 EC model

3. Type OM

Type OM42 PS of the late Paul Simon, The OMJM type of the John Mayer

4. Type D

Elvis is said to have used D35, Johnny Cash D35, and Canada Neil Young D45.

The main type of Gibson is very rich, in some ways better than Martin (Gibson also has convex piano)

1. Piano Body(blues qin body is based on this, represented by the L series)

a. Robert Johnson model

Robert Johnson model and Robert Johnson model are based on L-1

b. Nick Lucas Special

Bob Dylan Nick Lucas for <My Back Pages> (my passing time) and <Mr. Tambourine Man> (Mr.Drum) is based on L-0 and L-1, Bob Dylan-s Nick Lucas Special (adjusted: repainted to nearly log color, changed Martin guard, Guild bridge, so it doesn’t look like Lucas at all)

c. later Canadian Avril with 1937 replica L-00

2. Original shoulder type D (J45 / J50, AJ, SJ class)

a. J45

Later Green Day lead singer Billie joe sang in J45 Bob Dylan <Blowin’in the wind> (answer floating in the wind), <A hard rain’s a-gonna fall> (Heavy rain coming), <Don’t think twice, The it’s all right> (think thinking more, Okay) with a J45. Still, his piano has also been adjusted; Paint is painted in a log color, Looks like a J50.

b. J50 is the log color version of the J45.

James Taylor uses J50. and his ex-wife (the batting plate removed)

c. SJ (Southern Jumbo) Woody Guthrie

SJ is the stylish version of the J-45. The main difference is that the board inlay is an inclined square, not the simple dot shape of the J-45 / J-50. Woody Guthrie (Bob Dylan Bob Dylan’s early folk idol and teacher) labeled the modern J-45 of Bob Dylan under the label “This Machine Kill Fascist.”

3. Jumbo

4. Super jumbo(The most American -style representative model)

SJ200 countless artists have used this performance recording to shoot the film MV; SJ200 fingerboard inlay is a major feature of Gibson.

5. Square shoulder D type

Mainly talk about Martin and Gibson classic D piano (Martin rosewood D, D28 / D35 / HD28 / HD28V, Gibson original shoulder mahogany D, J45 / J50 / AJ (Advanced Jumbo) / SJ (Southern Jumbo) as represented) in wood, shoulder, finger length, string pull strength and tone differences. The first four characters affect the timbre.

Martin’s classic is rosewood back, shoulder, body space, long fingerboard, suitable for 013 strings, overall sound masculine, low frequency mellow full (but if the degree is cloudy), have a long delay (excessive appear high and low level unclear), high frequency, especially medium frequency is not ideal (especially the second string, meet cloudy fog, a little stuffy, this may be rosewood back), so low in high audio is not enough balance.

The sweeping string is very powerful, especially two bass strings, suitable for a sweep and pick playing (Martin is said to detect the rosewood back D piano by the sweep and pick playing) but not suitable for solo or melodic accompaniment. In general, the Martin rosewood D type is mainly suitable for accompaniment instruments; the applicability is not wide.

Gibson classic is mahogany back, the original shoulder, short fingerboard, for 012 strings, overall tone gloomy warm, high frequency is better (no Gibson small body good), has certain singing. Still, the bass is slightly weaker (compared with rosewood D); much old beauty said Gibson bass is shorter, du, du sound, but some old beauties like the bass; they don’t like Martin rosewood D type too heavy too long bass, think it cloudy. This low and high audio is generally relatively balanced and can adapt to various playing styles. Both accompaniment, sweep, but also solo accompaniment or even solo.

The sweeping string is not as powerful as the Martin Rosewood D type, but the sense of hierarchy is clearer. In addition, Martin’s traditional type D piano, such as D28, HD28, HD28V, D41 / 42 / 45, is more suitable for paddle play, Flatpicking, and the corresponding Gibson original shoulder J, such as J-35 / 45, SJ, etc., can be used both paddle or finger play, fingerpicking.

This point can be seen from this piano-type standard 012 tension strings. If you refer to playing Martin’s traditional D-type piano, it is either necessarily not possible or a little weak drive, equivalent to a chicken knife to slaughter cattle. This point can be seen from this piano-type standard 013 high-tension strings.

Given the back materials, Martin has added a mahogany back model, such as the D18, which has improved the boom and medium frequency. The D18GE is a classic, using the Adirondack (Red Spruce) panel, which is said to be less cloudy and clearer in sound than the usual Sitka spruce.

The Gibson added custom models, such as the J45 rosewood model, strengthening the low frequency. In addition, Gibson J45 used Adirondack red spruce panels later in the first years of 1942,1942, and 1943. Later J45 true vintage models used the Adirondack panel.

String: Martin D type (X beam frame) standard is Martin MSP4200 Phosphor Bronze (013 pull, highlight mellow, strong), Gibson original shoulder D type standard seems to be 80 / 20 012 pull (highlight soft, warm), can not remember, there may be no so-called standard.

I prefer Martin. But I also like some sound advantages of Gibson; I also have an HD28, which is more classic Martin (although HD28V is more classic).

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