The Martin guitars are popular for top-notch performance and long-life build. The brand has been around for 180 years and has designed an array of acoustic guitars for guitarists with different playing styles.
Martin guitars are made from high-quality wood and have advanced electronics. The two most popular guitar models are 000-18 and 000-28, which is why we are sharing how these two are different, so you can make a reliable purchase.
Martin 00018 vs 00028 Comparison
| Martin 000-18 | Martin 000-28 | |
|---|---|---|
| Finish | Gloss and aging toner | Gloss |
| String type | Steel | Steel |
| Scale length | 24.9 inches | 24.9 inches |
| Frets | 20 | 20 |
| Binding | Tortoise brown | Antique white |
Martin 000-18
Martin 000-18 is one of the best acoustic guitars designed by the company and is equally good for regular jamming sessions and professional and live gigs.
This is a six-string guitar that’s designed to offer rich music tones and has a small Auditorium body. The body is designed with the spruce wood top and has solid mahogany wood on the back, which promises a premium build.
The use of high-quality wood improves the strength of the guitar. In addition to this, the solid build promises exceptional tonal balance, even after long hours of playing.
There is also a low-oval neck design, which is not only slim but is easier to hold as well.
1. Sound
Martin 000-18 is known to produce full-bodied tones that are usually expected from huge acoustic guitars. However, this is a small Auditorium guitar that produces a full-bodied sound.
The sound is well-rounded and warm, which is why it can be used for any music genre and playing style. It adds richness to high as well as low frequencies and many guitarists like the harmonic resonance it adds to the music.
The tones are extremely balanced, making this guitar suitable for studio recordings.
The guitar has a virtual toolbox that helps amplify the guitar. There is a Fishman F1 Aura Plus system, which helps create spacious sound. This system has acoustic imaging technology that allows the guitarists to mix the studio and mic sounds.
In addition, its preamps eliminate the need to mix the instruments on the stage, so you don’t need to worry about the interruptive stage noise.
There is a pair of controls available on the guitar that allow the users to select the image in the Aura Plus system and adjust the treble, bass, and middle.
In addition, there is an anti-feedback filter that helps remove background noise and feedback.
The sound is not very powerful but the upper frequencies have sweet tones and there is a string-to-string balance that eases the playability. It usually warms up after some time and the use of mahogany wood adds earthiness to the midrange.
2. Build
The guitar is designed with excellent playability since it has a downscaled size as compared to regular acoustic guitars.
In addition, the low-oval neck design and a performing artist taper promise better control over the guitar as the slim neck fits in hand. The slim neck profile also minimizes the strain needed to navigate around the frets.
When it comes down to build, it has a durable combination of mahogany back and spruce wood top.
These types of wood are also selected to ensure graceful aging, which not only improves the aesthetic appeal but ensures consistent balance in the tones.
It has a retro design as the bracing is fully scalloped and the bone nuts are added, which plays an important role in adding fullness to the tone. In addition, it creates loud lows and clear and sharp highs.
The integration of bone nuts also improves the sustain, and since they are dense and hard, you don’t need to worry about damage. The saddle is made from Tusq, which adds clarity to the tones.
The fingerboard and bridge are made from ebony material, which results in a sharper attack and adds the sense of snap or bite to the music.
Also, the tuners are made from Grover, which are extremely easy to adjust and install. The controls are added on the side, which creates a very discreet look.
Pros
- Comfortable
- Acoustics and projection of a large-sized guitar
- Compact and easy to handle
- Graceful aging
- Minimizes strain
Cons
- Expensive maintenance and repairs
Martin 000-28
This is another acoustic guitar with advanced features and a modern design. As compared to Martin 000-18, this guitar has an improved feel and sound.
The guitar manages to strike the perfect balance between top-notch build and materials and sound quality. It has a natural protein glue construction that promises durable construction.
In addition, it has flamed maple binding, East Indian rosewood sides and back, and a dovetail neck joint. The guitar’s bracing and top have been heat-treated to add timbral characteristics to the sound.
In addition, the alloy used in the frets is extremely long-lasting and strong, which promises resistance from wear and tear. Moreover, it has a rich color and the body size is extremely comfortable.
1. Sound
The guitar has been designed with a combination of carbon fiber bridgeplate and bridge pins that help achieve the acoustic volume of over 4dBs.
The fingerboard is designed with ebony material that improves the brightness of the tone and leads to a sharp top end. In addition, it has a well-defined yet tight low end.
In simpler words, it’s a suitable choice for guitarists who prefer crispy sound but don’t want the sticky finish.
The guitar is extremely lightweight and has a slimmer neck profile, which makes it easier to handle. In addition, the neck has a high-performance taper, which improves the neck’s stability and leads to consistent sound output.
The narrow neck profile is actually suitable for fingerstyle playing since the neck is more connected to the guitar’s fretboard and helps create elongated chord stretches without causing hand fatigue.
It has a shorter scale length, which makes it easier to play if you want to sit down and adds suppleness to the strings. In addition, it creates a loud volume. In case you use this guitar for strumming, it will add a crispy chime.
The guitar has a dimensional midrange and promises balanced and even notes. Overall, it promises a broad and lively tonal range.
Also, this guitar can hold its ground in a large room as it can dissipate the sound to every corner of the room without losing the bass.
2. Design
The guitar has been designed with rosewood sides and back and there is flamed maple binding. In addition, the top is made from Sitka spruce wood, promising graceful aging.
This material loses moisture over time and adds aged accents to the musical tones as well. It has been designed with a titanium truss rod that’s extremely durable but lightweight as well.
Moreover, it has red dot bridge pins as well as a bridgeplate made from carbon fiber, which helps boost the guitar’s acoustic volume.
The acoustic guitar has been integrated with an asymmetrical neck shape, which means it’s fatter on one side and thinner on the other. This neck helps support the fingers and thumb on the top of the neck and improves the grip.
In addition, there are gold open-gear tuners, which promise exceptional stick/slip performance and improve the tonal balance (they also look pretty nice).
The guitar has an ebony fingerboard with gold frets that promises a sharper attack and leads to a sharp top end.
Pros
- Rich and sweet sound
- Durable build
- Attention to detail
- Higher volume
Cons
- Guitar heads need improvement
The Bottom Line
Martin is a well-known brand and both these guitars are designed with a durable build. However, Martin 000-18 is a promising choice for beginners as it’s easier to control and promises warm and rich tones.
In addition, it promises well-balanced tones but the volume isn’t very powerful.
On the other hand, Martin 000-28 is a suitable choice for guitarists who want livelier tones, and higher volumes because it minimizes the fret buzz, leading to a clear and loud sound.