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Which Guitar Is Better And What Are The Differences Between Them?

Which Guitar Is Better And What Are The Differences Between Them?

2020-10-27

Martin and Taylor are two of the biggest acoustic guitars  manufacturers in the world. Martin are steeped in history, having been established in 1833 whereas Taylor are a more modern company, starting out in 1974. We sell a lot of guitars from both camps and many customers ask us which brand is better between Martin and Taylor, and what the differences between them are. As with such things as this, the answer is not so simple – neither brand is ‘better’ per se; they offer players different things. Also, guitars are very subjective so what’s right for one person isn’t always right for another.


That said, we will try to break down some of the general differences between Martin and Taylor to help you choose which guitar is right for you.


Martin VS Taylor – Bracing

For well over a century now, acoustic guitars have generally been built using X-bracing – even Bob Taylor accepted that that was how it was done. The only problem with X-bracing is that it’s very difficult increase sustain without decreasing volume, and vice versa. Andy Powers, the Master Builder at Taylor guitars, not happy with having to make a compromise, worked for years on coming up with a new way of bracing acoustic guitars – enter V-Class Bracing.


In a nutshell, V-Class Bracing helps increase both volume and sustain, without forgoing any tone. A very fortunate by-product of this bracing method is that the guitar’s intonation is improved, so your notes and chords ring out much more in tune, no matter whereabouts you play on the neck. To my ears, the guitars that feature V-Class bracing have a very focused, studio-like sound to them and really come in handy especially when recording. V-Class Bracing is only used on a selection of Taylor Grand Auditoriumns at the moment, click here to browse them. Martin use traditional X-bracing methods and so produce a more traditional acoustic guitar sound, with the directness of V-Class – neither is better, per se, just different!

Martin VS Taylor – The Sound

Both Martin and Taylor offer a variety of body shapes and combinations of wood that result in a whole range of different tones so we’ll have to speak pretty generally. Given that Martin have been around, and indeed popular for so long, the sound they give is what many people think of as ‘the classic acoustic guitar sound’ – listen to the acoustic guitar on any big, classic album from the 60s or 70s – a lot of the time, it’ll be a Martin. 


Taylor guitars have a more modern sound – usually very crisp, balanced and articulate. Over the last 10 years or so, they’ve grown so much to become one of the biggest and most popular acoustic guitar brands in the world, rivalling (or perhaps complementing) the likes of Martin and Gibson. Generally, they tend to be a bit richer in the upper mids, with Martin having a bit more in the lower mids.


Both Taylor and Martin have great pickup systems that they use. Taylor, on most of their models, use the second generation Expression System (ES2). This captures string movement behind the saddle, instead of underneath it – this helps better recreate the natural acoustic tone of your instrument through an amp or PA. Martin work closely with Fishman so that they get cutting edge pickup designs to capture that traditional and hallowed tone. The Fishman pickups on many of the new Martins are designed to give you sound of a studio quality mic in front of your guitar, again so you get a natural, acoustic tone.


Martin VS Taylor – Playability


This is a bit of a funny one, as all Martin and Taylor guitars can be adjusted so that they play how you want them to. Both brands also offer different neck profiles. Taylor guitars, however, are made in such a way that makes it easier to adjust the neck angle to get the action that’s exactly right for you – it’s worth noting that here at Reidys we have a technician specially trained at Taylor USA that can do this for you in store. Martins have a set neck, which you cannot adjust the angle of, though this does mean you get better energy transfer between the neck and body, therefore, slightly more tone.




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