New Martin 000-18 Authentic 1937 and Vintage 1937 Martin Acoustic Guitar

[MatthewOTuama1]

The new Martin needs a better set up and a better performance of the piece.. The old Martin sounds great but a little to loose.. And of course the player is much more comfortable on it and finds it easier to play .. Ease of playing seems to be necessary here .. So it's not a fair comparison .. Although I'm sure the old guitar is much sweeter it would be nice to hear the new one played without so many weak notes.

[JoMoMoss]

The vintage sounds much sharper with bright loud tones…. I hope my D15 improves with age & some play time.... :-)

[kfwahine]

canyou do without the profanity ????

[sirgreggins8824]

@kfwahine fuck you

[SUNNYBULS]

Authentic sounds young tone with desirable tension, 1937 sounds punchy deep open sound, both are nice to listen to.

[BMXplease11]

second one sounds better looks better but this is the most boring shit

[Bigerjoel]

The second sound !

[bgrass11]

These re-issues are amazing I have a 1997 0016DBR 12 fret slot peghead which has scollped bracing . herrringbone inlay and it sounds and plays so good with light gauge strings that I sit around the house and and play it more than my 1943 Herringbone.

[bottomfeeder73]

The old one sounds much more alive!!

[tom27j]

@bottomfeeder73 i agree, the vintage one sounds much better. but in my dreams could i afford that one.

[fngrpkn06]

Great soundin' guitar.

[billsdubious]

Martin doesn't claim that a new Authentic or Golden Era model sounds the same as an actual original. That is of course impossible. They need to be played in vigorously, and age several decades, to get close. All the designation means is that the new instruments are built with generally the same specs, and where possible, the same type of materials as the beautiful pre-war vintage models. A 1937 D18 and a 1985 D18 have a lot of differences, even more so the rosewood-body models (21 up).

[hanghang71]

@billsdubious i dont think you can still get rosewood outa brazil,i hear it's extinct

[billsdubious]

@hanghang71

Brazilian rosewood is not extinct but it's endangered or threatened. Brazil outlawed its export long ago, and it was added to the CITES list of endangered species in 1991. Other varieties of rosewood such as Indian and Madagascar are not on the list. Some guitar makers still use Brazilian in extremely high-end instruments--using wood that was cut and exported prior to 1991. I wouldn't buy a new one, but its hard to argue with the appeal of a pre-1969 Martin.

[punkdolphin21]

I have a 1960 vintage. It sounds much more like the vintage 1937. I am surprised how close.

[leonkennedy74]

They each sound quite distinct from one another. Although both sound good, I don't think calling the reissue an authentic representation of the '37 original is accurate at all.

[treatb09]

@leonkennedy74 no replica will sound like a 70 year old guitar though, there are resins in wood that harden over the years...but if they can make a guitar that sounds quite close to a vintage guitar now, then in 70 years imagine how it will sound

[leonkennedy74]

@treatb09 I'm not saying the guitar doesn't sound great, I'm saying that it doesn't sound anything like the legit vintage. I understand the resins in the soundboard, etc all make the sound as well. You make a good point with the old replica though, It'd be very interesting to look at those compare to the guitars they were replicated after in the same period of time.

[kaptenmax]

@leonkennedy74 also if that 000-18a is directly out of the box this video is just a bad comparison, the first year the guitar develops massively if played

[NylonStrungGirl]

So... this is a great comparison, but we shouldn't assume that both guitars are identical in setup. That much of a sound difference could just be new vs old strings (I doubt that's the case here though). The real 37 sounds like it could really benefit from a setup, it's buzzing a lot.

[Moods45]

The old one sounds much more open. Kinda night and day IMO. New Martin's are very decent guitars and with some time it will open up.

Great comparison.

[jazzysam1314]

both song nice, subtle difference only, the old 000-18 have a smoother, rounder tone typical sound of an aged mahogany martin, i did have the om-18v, and it sounded very similar to your old 000-18. The new 000-18 authentic have a slightly more overtone, just slightly, maybe from the strings, and have the typical marquis GE powerful forward brazing sound, Nice guitar,but the authentic 000-18 sounded abit modern, which is still a good sound. nice picking btw

[sanQ]

The old one has way better sound.

[Timbertone]

The old one is a lot better to my ears.

[ryan06105]

The 37 sounds brighter and clearer.

[ex0ja]

So the new one sounds warmer?

[12Radius]

nice the the v neck martins.

[pokechop22]

I also have a 37 000-18, and it sounds great-The tune he is playing is Chuck Berry, Promised Land, whether it is intentionally that or not, I don't know. "Left my home in Norfolk Virginia, California on my mind, Straddled that Greyhound, rode it past Raleigh and all across Caroline..."

[apekuk]

good playing, nice guitar.

[tomdadomdomdom]

So--did both guitars have new strings in same gauge and model?

[Henjo29]

What tune are you playing? It sounds great!

[Benja123456]

great video ! The 37 000 18 is very impressive !

[admtutt]

Wow what a differnce 70 years makes.