Ragamuffin

!±8± Ragamuffin

Macyn Taylor playing "Ragamuffin" by Michael Hedges on a Martin D28 guitar.

Ragamuffin

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Is There a Fingerpicking Guitar?

!±8± Is There a Fingerpicking Guitar?

What is a fingerpicking guitar? There has always been a division of acoustic guitars between "folk" and "classical" which mostly refers to whether the guitar is fitted with nylon or steel strings. A nylon string guitar is ideal for fingerpicking because it is easier on the finger nails. The steel string guitars are suited to flatpicking but some people do play fingerstyle on steel strings.

Some guitar makers have recently taken up the practice of calling certain guitars - like the Martin OM-2 - "fingerpicking guitars". Is this label really accurate? Is one guitar really better for fingerpicking than another? Some people say that guitars best suited for fingerstyle measure one and three-quarter inches across the nut and guitars better for flatpicking measure one and eleven-sixteenth inches. That could be getting a little technical.

Of course Dreadnought size guitars, that many guitarists see as flatpicking guitars are a bit awkward for fingerpicking. This is not a universal opinion - some players prefer the larger size guitars for fingerstyle. There's even evidence that Merle Travis played a Martin D28.

The Dreadnought guitar was specifically designed to project sound in a live, unplugged setting. As most of the live acoustic gigs of the time were oriented to bluegrass, this would suggest that the larger guitar was made for the flatpicker.

Indeed flatpicking sounds excellent on a Dreadnought or one of the larger style guitars because they produce a uniformly big sound. This contrasts with the smaller guitars that do not have such an overpowering bass but have wider nuts to accommodate fingerstyle players.

A guitar like the Martin D28 is ideally suited to bluegrass, gospel, country and rock. Everybody agrees that the guitar has a great bass response but some people actually find the treble a little on the thin side. Of course, the strings you choose to play on has some bearing on the sound.

A guitar that does not need to be picked with a great deal of force will always be better suited to fingerstyle players. The guitars with small bodies are thought by a lot of guitarists to be fingerstyle guitars because the treble notes are not overpowered by the bass as would be the case with Dreadnoughts.

This article has given you some of the opinions from all sides of the debate about whether particular guitars are for fingerstle or flatpicking. In the real world nobody takes any notice of rules or specifications. You find a guitar that you like to play and you stay with it.

Is There a Fingerpicking Guitar?

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Martin D-28 Marquis

!±8± Martin D-28 Marquis

Taking the new Martin for a spin. In Drop-D and recorded with a Flip. Enough has been said about the specs on this guitar; this is just a quick sound demo using a cheap recording device. I love the tone of this guitar. Inspires me to play more. Sounds good played hard and soft.

Martin D-28 Marquis

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Great American Guitar Manufacturers - Martin Guitars

!±8± Great American Guitar Manufacturers - Martin Guitars

C.F. Martin & Company is one of the oldest, if not the oldest guitar company in the United States. Christian Frederick Martin founded the company in 1833. After years of developing their guitars and setting a standard for excellence, it is easy to say that Martin is one of the most popular acoustic guitar companies in the world.

Despite the fact that the company was founded around 175 years ago, it still remains a family operation. The current company chairman and CEO is 'CF' Chris Martin IV. He continues the tradition started by his family in creating high quality acoustic guitars. As a side note, they also produce some electric guitars and basses.

Christian Frederick Martin, Sr. was actually born in Germany. His family made cabinets for a living, and that was to be his future. But at the age of 15, he left Germany and traveled to Austria to apprentice with Johann Stauffer who was an expert luthier. He learned his trade well, and returned to Germany to set up shop.

He was met with serious resistance. Not from his family, but from the Violin Makers Guild. Martin wasn't the only cabinet maker who was showing an aptitude for making stringed instruments. The violin makers feared it would hurt their business. Eventually, Martin left for the United States, where he started his illustrious guitar making company.

Martin has both a regular line of guitars and a custom shop. The Dreadnought is possibly one of their most popular guitar series and many consider Martin's Dreadnought series to be amongst the best. Other acoustic guitars include their Limited Editions, The Backpacker, the Road Series, the X Series, the Golden Era Marquis, and the Vintage series. They have plenty of other styles and options so you may want to visit their website to take a look.

A lot of guitarists swear by Martin guitars. These include Beck, Jimmy Buffet, Eric Clapton, Sting, Nancy Wilson, Norman Blake, Bob Shane, Steve Miller, the late Johnny Cash, Buddy Guy, and Paul Simon. However, this is an incomplete list. Visit their website for more names and their profiles.

Here is what people have to say about their Martin Acoustic Guitars.

About the Martin HD-28 Acoustic

Simply, the guitar sounds amazing. Very well balanced, bass, mids, and treble all come out very clearly but don't step on each other at all. Sounds especially nice capoed up a few frets. I got the guitar about 2 and a half years ago and I have noticed it starting to open up since I play it a lot.

About the Martin D-18

This is without a doubt the best guitar I have owned or played. Over forty years of playing I have had the opportunity to play many guitars. I can't think of one that I would consider trading for my D-18 including my 1962 Stratocaster purchased from the same music store as my Martin. The strat is long gone but the D-18 is still here...thank God.

Great American Guitar Manufacturers - Martin Guitars

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Martin D-35 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

!±8± Martin D-35 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

I think the heart of every guitarist falls in love instantly upon seeing a Martin 1833 logo decal upon an acoustic guitar's headstock, no matter how it looks there's something that makes it irresistible to play and hear how it sounds. Although the factory may not put as much time and effort into every guitar they build these days they still are capable of producing wonderfully beautiful instruments and in this article we're going to have a look at the D-35. It's got a price tag so is worth it?

Well the first thing that strikes you is it's appearance with a 3 piece rosewood back, it looks gorgeous enough to eat! Adding to it's overall appearance is a bound ebony fretboard. It's a dreadnought and with such a huge top the bass in its sound is strong and punchy without being overbearing. To balance this Martin have used ¼" bracing which actually makes the treble sing out more.

Let's take a quick run down of the woods behind much of this guitars beautiful tone. There's a spruce top and 3 piece rosewood back, the sides are also of rosewood and the fingerboard is ebony. Like any good acoustic guitar maker Martin take much care in their wood selection and the quality is consistently good across the range.

Martin guitar cases are always of a high quality and the case which comes with the D-35 is a deluxe case. The guitar fits into it perfectly and of course anyone who owns a Martin acoustic guitar and case will know what I mean when I mention the smell! Delicious right? It's something only us devoted guitar players can understand and appreciate.

So if you're looking for a Martin dreadnought be sure to add the D-35 to your list of models to check out.

Martin D-35 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

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