Martin guitar Golden Era Vs. Authentic

I'm not well versed on current Martin guitar stuff and tried to figure out what the difference is between the Golden Era 000-18 and the 000-18 Authentic but I'm not able to come up with any real differences in the specs that I notice.

Anyone here know what they are and why the big price difference?

I'm considering buying one because I don't have that type of acoustic in my arsenal and I'm a fingerstyle player.

Thanks!

Try UMGF forum if youre serious but I tried a D18 Authentic vrs a D18 GE and the Authentic was about 15% better, and it was a 2k upcharge, so it depends on your wallet, if you got the money go Authentic,

Try UMGF forum if youre serious but I tried a D18 Authentic vrs a D18 GE and the Authentic was about 15% better, and it was a 2k upcharge, so it depends on your wallet, if you got the money go Authentic,

Sorry for the double post I cant see how to delete it...

Your post sparked my own curiosity so i read up a little. From what i can gather the Authentic is basicly a 1937 copy. They use the actuall pre war bracing which is lighter than the GE. The GE is a pre war desighn too but the bracing isnt " authentic" to 1937 even though its scalloped and forward shifted. The authentics also are constructed with hide glue as they did then. What the advantage to that is i dunno. A little more time and material cost+ labor is involved in making the authentic id say hence the price difference. I couldnt justify the price difference myself over true copy bracing vrs the GE scalloped and forward shift and hide glue myself. Martin stiffened up the tops for a reason as well

Your post sparked my own curiosity so i read up a little. From what i can gather the Authentic is basicly a 1937 copy. They use the actuall pre war bracing which is lighter than the GE. The GE is a pre war desighn too but the bracing isnt " authentic" to 1937 even though its scalloped and forward shifted. The authentics also are constructed with hide glue as they did then. What the advantage to that is i dunno. A little more time and material cost+ labor is involved in making the authentic id say hence the price difference. I couldnt justify the price difference myself over true copy bracing vrs the GE scalloped and forward shift and hide glue myself. Martin stiffened up the tops for a reason as well

Thank you! this is what I was looking for. I wonder if the neck profiles are different and what other things like maybe the neck heel?? Man! they sure are proud of those Authentics though! I can't believe their cost is actually driven up that amount proportionately. I'm sure the 000-18GE is a fine guitar. I'd have to play both and see what I hear.

Anyone here know what they are and why the big price difference?


Basically, the GE is vintage style but made with modern methods, such as Titebond glue and a truss rod in the neck,

The Authentics are made with vintage style and vintage methods, such as hide glue and no truss rod.

Jim

Basically, the GE is vintage style but made with modern methods, such as Titebond glue and a truss rod in the neck,

The Authentics are made with vintage style and vintage methods, such as hide glue and no truss rod.

Jim

Is it even practical to have a guitar with no truss rod?

Basically, the GE is vintage style but made with modern methods, such as Titebond glue and a truss rod in the neck,

The Authentics are made with vintage style and vintage methods, such as hide glue and no truss rod.

Jim

Thanks for the added clarity.

I will have to go play them each and see what I hear. But that is a really stiff penalty price difference, I'm not sure it is justified yet.

Authentics use a t-bar neck reenforcement and hide glue .
The truss rod is self evident , however the use of hot hide glue requires better joinery as hide glue will not fill voids . It also greatly shortens the usable time for the glue which translates to much different techniques being used for assembly . The Authentic series guitars are hand assembled off of the assembly line . There is actually one man that every employee at Martin goes through to learn the techniques .
It is ironic that I , amongst four others , had lunch yesterday with a member of Martin's management and the Authentic thing as well as the use of the term custom were topics of discussion brought up by that employee .
My presence was purely random since all of us , over 35 of us , were at the factory for a group tour associated with Ed-a-palooza and the table that I and the other four sat at had an open seat that this guy sat at . Yes , he did intentionally seek our input . This was at the Italian restaurant that is next to the Martin parking lot .
Back to the topic . The methods used for the assembly of the Authentic line do require more man hours and specific training that mirror the techniques of the past . They are intended to be true copies of the old style guitars as much as is possible , which leads me to another question that was asked . Martin would like to introduce a D28 Authentic but for obvious reasons they can't use Brazilian Rosewood . They do have a good stash of legal Madagascar Rosewood and he wanted input about using Mad instead of Braz with the Authentic badge .
I hope that this is helpful and doesn't muddy the waters concerning this matter .
Is an Authentic worth the extra money ? This is a personal decision that each of us will make for themselves .
As an offer of proof of my attendance at this event , you can see a group photo of us over at the UMGF . I am the bearded guy that appears almost dead center . All you can see is my head and it looks like I have 1 tooth when , in reality , my mouth is missing 1 tooth only . Anyone got a toothbrush ? :grin:

Authentics use a t-bar neck reenforcement and hide glue .

Correct. I should not have given the impression that there is no reinforcement in the neck. I meant to say that there is not an adjustable truss rod.

It is ironic that I , amongst four others , had lunch yesterday with a member of Martin's management


Sorry to hear that.

Jim

Sorry to hear that.

Jim[/QUOTE]

He was quite cordial and friendly . No apologies required because it was very interesting to learn from someone on the inside .

He was quite cordial and friendly . No apologies required because it was very interesting to learn from someone on the inside .

Glad to hear it. My encounter with Martin management was not very good.

Jim

My 77 D-41 has no adjustable rod and I've had not problems, as for the authentic, a friend of mine has one and I gave it a play, WOW, it sounded fantastic, slight v-neck so it played a little different than what I'm used to but a great, and expensive , instrument.

a friend of mine has one and I gave it a play, WOW, it sounded fantastic, slight v-neck so it played a little different than what I'm used to but a great, and expensive , instrument.

UH-OHHhhhh!! I was afraid of this.

Crap! :lol: