Why do Martin guitars smell so good?

Question

Today, I played a $1000+ acoustic guitar for the first time in my life. It was a Martin with a Jumbo body and a cutaway. I still prefer my $300 Dean Performer E's sound, but something about the Martin made me go "WOW!"

It was the smell. The wood smells so sweet. I can inhale it forever. I can even burn the thing and use it as wood to smoke some beef jerkey. So, why do Martin guitars smell so good? Is it a perfume? Or is it the natural smell of the wood?

Answer 1

It is the smell of the wood...that's only one of the reasons of their high price.

Answer 2

A few years ago, I decided it was time to upgrade to a better acoustic guitar. I'd saved enough gig money to justify something decent. Taylor was probably top on my list of potential guitars. In fact, I'd played a few older Martins and wasn't really impressed. I went to a local guitar shop and started playing every Taylor in the store. They played nice, but the tone leaned toward the treble end. On a whim, I tried a Martin D16RGT and was blown away. The guitar had the full balanced tone that all the Taylors were missing. From that point on, it became a matter of which Martin I would choose. The D16GT is a solid wood guitar. The top, back and sides are solid wood...a feature found on all the best guitars. The only thing I couldn't wrap my brain around was the fact that the fretboard and bridge are made of a synthetic material called "Black Richlite". Intellectually I know that this doesn't affect the tone and is actually more stable than real wood, but it bothered me. Frankly, I never would have known it wasn't real wood if I hadn't read the specs.... Anyway, I ended up buying a more expensive Martin D-35. The Standard Series Matins start with the D18 and up. The 16 series is almost there....but there are a few differences. The "GT" stands for Gloss Top. Unlike the standard series, the 16 series has a matte finish except on the top. It doesn't matter on tone, and it's a few things like that (and the Black Richlite) which allows Martin to produce a great sounding guitar at a slightly more affordable price. The D16GT has mahogany back and sides....similar to a D18. The D16RGT has rosewood like the D28. Each wood has a slightly different tone, so you might want to try both models. All in all, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the D16. It's a great value.

Answer 3

You got it - it's the mix of really good solid tone woods... and a very well-applied finish. Inexpensive guitars are made from "laminated" wood - in other words - Plywood. Plywood has none of the aroma of real solid tone woods. The other thing a really good guitar will give you that no inexpensive guitar can match is "feel" - even if the two sound exactly the same... the guitar built from solid tone wood will feel like it's alive in your hands - and that tactile feedback is just as important as the sound IMO

Answer 4

I do not know.i own gibsons, epiphones,fenders, blueridge and others and none of them come close to smelling like my hd 28.its almost acidic and pungent. its not distasteful, just really different.