The Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum-Modern Deluxe (2024)

I was by Gryphon a couple days ago and played a 000-18MD, 000-28MD, D-18MD, and D-28MD.

I liked all of them. And even though I'm a 1 11/16" guy who intensely dislikes the MLO neck shape, I found these MD's much more comfortable to play than their reimagined, non-MD counterparts. It felt as though the MD neck borders were more rounded off than on the MLO, and that let me grab an "F" chord over the top with no discomfort in my left thumb joint.

They aren't Authentics which, to me, are in a separate class by themselves. But take the Authentics out of the equation and I feel these MD's are well worth giving a test run.

Bill

6L6 wrote: ↑

Nov 03, 2022

I was by Gryphon a couple days ago and played a 000-18MD, 000-28MD, D-18MD, and D-28MD.

I liked all of them. And even though I'm a 1 11/16" guy who intensely dislikes the MLO neck shape, I found these MD's much more comfortable to play than their reimagined, non-MD counterparts. It felt as though the MD neck borders were more rounded off than on the MLO, and that let me grab an "F" chord over the top with no discomfort in my left thumb joint.

They aren't Authentics which, to me, are in a separate class by themselves. But take the Authentics out of the equation and I feel these MD's are well worth giving a test run.

Bill

Bill, may I remind you of your recent quote,” I’m done with MLO necks.” Something like that at least. Problem is they are attached to too many otherwise nice guitars. Though my 00 15 has been with me for eight years, I’ve never really liked the MLO neck.

Br1ck wrote: ↑

Nov 03, 2022

6L6 wrote: ↑

Nov 03, 2022

I was by Gryphon a couple days ago and played a 000-18MD, 000-28MD, D-18MD, and D-28MD.

I liked all of them. And even though I'm a 1 11/16" guy who intensely dislikes the MLO neck shape, I found these MD's much more comfortable to play than their reimagined, non-MD counterparts. It felt as though the MD neck borders were more rounded off than on the MLO, and that let me grab an "F" chord over the top with no discomfort in my left thumb joint.

They aren't Authentics which, to me, are in a separate class by themselves. But take the Authentics out of the equation and I feel these MD's are well worth giving a test run.

nd significantly more comfortable to play.

Bill

Bill, may I remind you of your recent quote,” I’m done with MLO necks.” Something like that at least. Problem is they are attached to too many otherwise nice guitars. Though my 00 15 has been with me for eight years, I’ve never really liked the MLO neck.

Not a MLO neck on the MD's, Brick. Something they call "Vintage Deluxe". Definitely different from MLO and much more comfortable to play (for me anyway).

Bill

Bill - Spot on. I preferred the neck profile of the D18 MD vs that of the post 2012 D18

Regarding "Vintage Deluxe" below is from Maury's blog.Maury's Blog - Martin Neck Shapes

Vintage Deluxe Profile
Too new to appear in the illustration of Martin neck shapes, the Vintage Deluxe Profile was introduced on the2019 Modern Deluxe Seriesinstruments. It takes its shape from the priceless 1930 OM-45 Deluxe found in the Martin Museum, considered by many to be perhaps the most comfortable vintage Martin neck ever made. But really, the shaping of this new Martin profile is a bit of a trade secret. Shhhh!
The profile is considerably lower than other vintage necks, with a V apex that is softened to be barely noticeable. But the real secret to this new neck is found in what Martin refers to as its “skewed” shape. The deepest part of the neck is off-center and gradually changes position, to better fit into the nook of the hand where the palm and thumb come together. It adjusts to the shape of the hand as it moves up the neck, rather than expecting the hand to adjust to the shape of the neck. It simply must be experienced to be fully appreciated!
The Vintage Deluxe Profile is available with the High Performance Taper on theD-18 Modern Deluxe,D-28 Modern Deluxe, and000-28 Modern Deluxe. It is also available with the wider Standard Taper on theOM-28 Modern Deluxe.

Br1ck wrote: ↑

Nov 03, 2022

6L6 wrote: ↑

Nov 03, 2022

I was by Gryphon a couple days ago and played a 000-18MD, 000-28MD, D-18MD, and D-28MD.

I liked all of them. And even though I'm a 1 11/16" guy who intensely dislikes the MLO neck shape, I found these MD's much more comfortable to play than their reimagined, non-MD counterparts. It felt as though the MD neck borders were more rounded off than on the MLO, and that let me grab an "F" chord over the top with no discomfort in my left thumb joint.

They aren't Authentics which, to me, are in a separate class by themselves. But take the Authentics out of the equation and I feel these MD's are well worth giving a test run.

Bill

Bill, may I remind you of your recent quote,” I’m done with MLO necks.” Something like that at least. Problem is they are attached to too many otherwise nice guitars. Though my 00 15 has been with me for eight years, I’ve never really liked the MLO neck.

Here’s a video in which T. Spoon Phillips describes the inspiration for and shape of the “Vintage Deluxe” neck shape on Modern Deluxe guitars: Vintage Deluxe Neck Shape

Every Modern Deluxe guitar I’ve demoed has sounded incredible. For decades, boutique builders have been building guitars that are a modern take on Martin’s vintage guitars—I think of the Modern Deluxe line as Martin’s modern take on Martin’s vintage guitars.

As far as the best 000 model Modern Deluxe? The 000-42 MD looks amazing, and there are a lot of people loving the 000-18 MD, so I'd say you can't go wrong with any of them.

I would agree. I had a chance to audition the 000-42MD and 000-18MD models in Nazareth last spring and reported on the experience in thispost. Here's the video demo that was included in my post back then:

chip505 wrote: ↑

Nov 17, 2022

People who complain that the 000MD's are too bright should maybe try out some different strings and see if that can tone it down. So far I like D'addario NB lights the best on mine. I've also tried out Martin Retro and GHS Americana and Thin Cores PB's. Anybody have any other suggestions for a new 00028 MD?

I don't own a Martin MD, but I like John Pearse phosphor bronze lights. They are less "brassy sounding" than the D'Addario Nickel Bronze, IMO. The set is well-balanced, and they last a long time for non-coated strings.