Sound:
The sound is Martin Dreadnought - not the ineffable complexity of a D-28 but not far from it either. I also have a Little Martin which has, like the Tawny, a spruce top and laminate back and sides. I think that construction works and sounds great. I love the Tawny guitar and I give it a ten for sound in view of it's price range and category, not comparing it to something three or more times the cost. I like it with no varnish (seems like it breathes better than the D-28). The Satinwood color and texture is ravishing to look at, it smells great and it can go outside for rambles in the bush, beach, park, etc., where I would never take the Diva/Investment Item D-28. And I use this guitar on my gigs - a Shadow SH 145 soundhole pickup sounds good and pleasing although I'll probably get a B-Band installed. I wanted a guitar that was a bit eye-catching and this is it, understated but not plain. Mainly, I think it sounds great and has soul. Other, more useful adjectives - big, full, bright, lush, rich, woody that Dreadnought pressure pong in the well-defined bass register, rave, rave...
Feature:
Like I said, the laminate back, sides and neck works soundwise and for the guitar's all-weather robustness. My understanding is that laminate is far more resistant to moisture and temperature shifts and dangers. The tuners are okay but I'll probably replace them with gold plated better ones soon if the gold doesn't make the guitar look gaudy - it should blend nicely with the blond, caramel, dark brown color scheme. I replaced the bridge pins with Planet Waves boxwood/turquoise inlays to accentuate the Art Deco/Arizona Indian look of the soundhole design and fretboard inlay - I don't know if I'm kidding myself that it enhances the sound but, well, I'm pretty sure it does - I 've done that to the Little Martin and the Epiphone EL-00 whom I also cherish and respect, in those cases, installing ebony bridge pins. So a point off for the tuners and a point off for some tiny flecks/cosmetic flaws on the neck that aren't all that noticable or worth bothering about but we're supposed to be critical too.
Ease of Use:
Played well out of the box, I shaved the saddle a fair bit, now plays real fine. When I get a pro to put in a pickup end jack I'll also get him to optimize the action if there's any to be done.
Quality:
I kind of covered quality in the features - but it's what one would, could, and should expect of Martin - solid, blah, blah..the axe is definitely road-worthy, trail-worthy, park-worthy and beach-worthy. Within reason. Robustness or scratch-resistance is no excuse for carelessness, ever.
Value:
I'm plenty satisfied with the Tawny as a solid member of the Martin line in this price range - I really dig Martin guitars anyhoo.
Manufacturer Support:
I've only had a occaision to fire a couple of questions off to Martin support and got useful friendly answers back within a couple of days, so so far, fine.
The Wow Factor:
As mentioned, I wanted an eye-catcher acoustic for gigging (I sing and play piano and guitar solo in bars, pubs, lounges, etc., in Europe). It was pretty well love at first sight - I'd already by chance played the plain-looking DX1 in a store and was very taken by it - it had way more sonic charisma than most of the vast assortment of Gibsons, Guilds, Larivees etc., that were on hand. Taste is taste - subjective - but I love the look and color of the Tawny - the deciding factors, however, remain sound, playability and quality. This git scores all down the line. Ten for sex-appeal, again in regard to this price range, not compared to a four thousand dollar boutique beauty.
Overall:
Ten, because they really got it right with this - it's a timeless looker but not overdone, the sound turns me on, the guitar beckons - CPM - come play me - I would definitely replace it with same. I'm considering buying two more - one wired up for gigging, the others around the house, all three played regularily for healthy aging. The Tawny model is distinctive looking and maybe won't be permanently produced forever.
I ramble- my style is mainly finger-picking, fingernail strumming, rarely flat-picks and this guitar works good for my purposes. The sheer Dreadnought volume is a plus.
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