Martin D15Mahogany Bracing Pattern??

[Dan Bombliss]

Is anyone offhand familiar with the bracing pattern for the Martin D15M? At the store I work at, we got a new D15M as the last one sold, both of which sound extremely nice for the price (to my ear) and I don't like new martins one bit. I VERY seldomly believe that a Martin is worth the asking price, and this one sounds killer.

I inspected it with my inspection mirror to find that instead of your standard finger braces, it has 1 on each side with dimensions closer to 3/8" wide x 1/16" tall. There weren't your standard tonebars either, there was a single tonebar that looked close to parallel to the back of the bridge plate that almost connected the x braces. So the belly of the guitar for the most part was unbraced.

All and all a very very light guitar, and I have some flamed Mahogany I'd like to build an all hog out of, I'd like to toy with this pattern.

Thanks,
Dan

[tippie53]

this is the hybrid bracing, The Martin bolt on necks use a non traditional brace pattern. I am a Martin guy and it is all about taste , we all like things differently. Also the plate on that is pretty large . There are some guitars that do sound better for what ever reason.
These guitars are getting very good reviews. you can find the bracing on the martin site.

[Dan Bombliss]

So is there glue on the neck joint of the new D15M?

The guitar is so extremely lightweight, it's got the brightness of the Taylors that I like, and it's got the boom of the Martins. This is 2 for 2 with this guitar for me. The first one I liked alot, and once it had sold, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't buy the only martin I happened to like. And then the second one, is just as good if not better. If it sells and the next one is no good, I'll kick myself in the ass for not buying it, as cost for me is like 750 bucks. But after inspecting the bracing, I'm curious about how it works.

So far it's consistent, and I like consistent with factory instruments, as it implies they are doing something right. Variations of sound and consistency doesn't sit well with with me, granted I know guitars are all going to sound different, but finding a NEW Martin that I like, is far and few between.

-Dan

[tippie53]

the neck is in fact glued in . Martin is doing one heck of a job , They are pushing out over 300 guitars a day out of Nazareth. The process is very well documented. The 15M has cnced braces and not much hand work. One other thing is that all things considered , it has the best warranty of anyone out there

[Dan Bombliss]

How do you get this information on the Martins? Like I said, I haven't been impressed with a "new" martin in a long time. For 1150 (750 for myself) I was blown away with this one. I'm strongly considering of buying one, and then measuring the bracing and blueprinting it out so I could give it a shot.

Are you aware, is the A frame bracing they use on the d15m strictly a pattern for Mahogany? It's so under braced I assumed it couldn't possibly work for spruce, not that I have any reason to try it with spruce anyhow, but I guess my concern is that it's possibly underbraced, if they did use it on any spruces I'd feel a bit better about it.

I've been playing around with this guitar on the daily and playing it next to just about anything up to 3k, it holds it's own. Ditch the binding and the flash, and you've got a killer guitar for the price.

-Dan

[tippie53]

I am an authorized service center for CF Martin , I live close enough to the plant ( 80 miles ) and I have been out there a lot. I also was trained in their repair techniques by them. I even had the honor of giving a tour out there. Most of what I told you is common knowledge about Martins and I do get to hang out in the repair department when I go out . The Technical reference on Martin guitar is also a good book to pick up.

Last year Martin invited 50 repair people out for a week of training and I was there for that. It was a 3 day deal. Pretty cool. Over the years Martin has changed little things about the assembly of the guitars and their design. Most changes are warranty issued changes. After all they didn't go to the adjustable truss rod till the late 80's.

[nkwak]

How do you get this information on the Martins? Like I said, I haven't been impressed with a "new" martin in a long time. For 1150 (750 for myself) I was blown away with this one. I'm strongly considering of buying one, and then measuring the bracing and blueprinting it out so I could give it a shot.

Are you aware, is the A frame bracing they use on the d15m strictly a pattern for Mahogany? It's so under braced I assumed it couldn't possibly work for spruce, not that I have any reason to try it with spruce anyhow, but I guess my concern is that it's possibly underbraced, if they did use it on any spruces I'd feel a bit better about it.

I've been playing around with this guitar on the daily and playing it next to just about anything up to 3k, it holds it's own. Ditch the binding and the flash, and you've got a killer guitar for the price.

-Dan

IIRC there have been a few retailers who have ordered custom runs based on the D-15 using spruce soundboards. Guitar Center/Musician's Friend for example commissioned a run of solid rosewood/spruce top with ebony bridge/fingerboard and gloss-finished D-15 variants known as the MMV. Also IIRC they went on to commission stripped-down verisons of that (satin finish with rosewood bridges and fingerboards) known as the DSM (mahogany/what looks to be lower-grade sitka because of the variance in color of the grain), DSR (rosewood/sitka) and the Custom D models (which also come in mahogany or rosewood with sitka tops.)

FWIW every time I go to Guitar Center I pick up one of those MMV's (which BTW always seem to be tuned down a half-step for some reason) and even if they have the signature cruddy strings I'm always floored. OTOH their HD-28s all sound "tight" in comparison, though the D-35s hold their own (presumably because of the lighter bracing.) At $1300 new/$800 used they hold their own in tone against guitars double their price, though my price range is limited by how many parts I can sneak in at a time before the wife notices! One of these days I'd like to try building a rosewood/spruce dread with an A-frame bracing as well, only with a red spruce, Adi or Carpathian top and a little more "bling." If you could map out the bracing pattern I know that I'd be interested in seeing how things are laid out.

[tippie53]

Actually there are a number of hybrid bracing patterns Martin uses. The one on the D15 is typical of the mortice and tenon necks. Most Mortise and tenon necks get A frame bracing , that means the upper area has no Popsicle brace but 2 1/4 in braces that are A shaped from the neck block , tuck under the transverse brace and butt to the X.
Then the lower braces may be a X pattern , Hybrid or parabolic , while there are technically X brace it is the shape or profile that is different and the way the finger and tone bars work. Also the bridge plate is usually sizable , but the design works

[Dan Bombliss]

John, I've got a good question for you, testing your knowledge, :P

Has this been the specific bracing pattern for this model of guitar since they started remaking them, or is the 2012 A frame hybrid bracing a newer thing with in the past couple years and or this year?

I'm very tempted to buy used ones to save a few bucks, but getting them at a killer discount new doesn't hurt either. But with that said, if I see an older used one, I'm curious which years I'm looking at for this specific bracing pattern that I like.

-Dan

[tippie53]

I think this is the same , the only thing the M is , it means Mahogany , when Mahogany got scarce a few years back the standard 15 series was changed to Sapele before that is was Mahogany , now with a supply return of Mahogany they called the mahogany the M . As for the bracing I believe it is the same but I will get a conformation on that later today