I used to own a 00028 with an OM scale length from 1929. It was the single best guitar that I've ever had in my possession. It was this guitar that made me realize, for the first time, that a great instrument can truly magnify your abilities. Before that time, I had no real understanding concerning the affect that a great instrument can have regarding one's playing ability.

It was also the one truly fine instruments, that I've had the pleasure of owning, that got away. I foolishly offered it on consignment to an unscrupulous dealer. When my consignment contract was up, I immediately called and asked for my guitar back and he refused to send it back to me. Instead, I received a check. That model guitar is now one of the most highly sought after instruments that Martin has ever made. It ranges in price to about 60,000.

The thing about the copies of that guitar that Martin and others have been making is just what Justa Picker has already mentioned. They are all overbuilt and braced far too heavily.

My Martin had back bracing that was tall thin and scalloped much like a suspension bridge. If you look at what so many of the modern copies offer, it is nothing like that. That's why they don't sound good. They can't sound good being over braced and over built.

I'm not sure why they over brace them. Maybe they think that over building them will help their guitars last longer. I notice that a lot of folks toss around the banter, that once it ages it will sound better and maybe these modern makers want their guitars to last until they actually start to sound better. Well, ya know what? I don't want to have to wait around for 50 or 100 years for my guitar to maybe start to sound better. I want it to sound really good right now, not at some future unknown date.

A lot of those copying the older models today hype their instruments as looking just like the original but the problem is that they sound nothing like the original. If you want to make guitars that sound good, you don't reproduce something simply because it looks like something that once sounded sweet. You play with the design until it actually works to create a better sounding instrument. Many makers these days are content to settle for good enough, to sell image instead of craftsmanship. Instead of pushing the envelope of instrument design to truly make amazing sounding instruments, they slap some celebrity's name on it so they can use star power to get the instrument out the door. It's a cheesy gimic but one that is common in today's marketplace. IMHO

"Hey, look! That movie star is wearing, smoking, drinking, driving, playing ______ (fill in the blank with any of a gajillion products that makers are trying to sell) If I wanna be cool, I'd better wear, smoke, drink, drive and play _____"

I check each time I've seen the copies around and so far no one has managed to get it right.