D50 and Martin D 18V and D 03

[sutton]

Folks, I am considering trading my Martin  D 18 V  in on a D50.  I have owned a D 03 for along time and still feel that is a much more comfortable guitar to play with terrific sound.  Problem is nobody in my area has a D 50 in stock and I have never played one. Is it similar to the D 03 or much different? The martin in my hands is uncomfortable and feels "bigger" even though the specs say it isn't. I also feel, that the workmanship on the martin -even though it sounds wonderful isn't nearly as nice as the Larrivee.   Any isight is appreciated

[jeremy3220]

Thats weird, not only is the D-18V not bigger, it's smaller in both width and depth and probably shorter in scale length. Maybe it's the V neck?

[sutton]

Jeremy, I thought exactly the same thing but the D03 just seems to fit better

[jimmyd]

Yep. The D18 has a smaller body that the Martin D18V. I think the scale length difference is neglidgable. The Martin v neck is certainly bigger. I've played a D03 side by side against a D50. I didn't hear much difference at all. The D50 has a typical Larrivee voice. It's looks are pure tradition so if you like a glossy finish and a Martin appearance then the D50 may please you. It looks like a Martin but sounds like a mahogany Larrivee.

[Denis]

The D50 has a typical Larrivee voice. It's looks are pure tradition so if you like a glossy finish and a Martin appearance then the D50 may please you. It looks like a Martin but sounds like a mahogany Larrivee.

Nothin' wrong with the sound of a mahogany Larrivee!!!

[jeremy3220]

Yep. The D18 has a smaller body that the Martin D18V.

Are you sure? I thought all Martin 14 fret Ds are the same size.

[jwsamuel]

It looks like a Martin but sounds like a mahogany Larrivee.

I have a D50 and a Martin D28 and I do not think they look alike. The Marting has plastic binding, the Larrivee has maple. The Martin has a black pickguard, the Larrivee has tortise. The spruce top on the Larrivee is darker with better grain than the pale top on the Martin.

Jim

[jimmyd]

Whoops. My bad. I meant to say the D18 is smaller than the D50. Larrivee and Taylor have the biggest dread sizes. Santa Cruz and many Asian imports run a bit smaller than a D18.

The Larrivee D50 is not "exactly" like a Martin but was certainly designed to look like one w/ paddle headstock, herringbone, etc,,, This ain't just my opinion. I'm simply paraphrasing what Jean Larrivee said in an interview w/ acoustic guitar magazine.  The traditional Larrys are made to look like a Martin to encourage players  who might otherwise pass over a Larrivee because of it's looks to try them out. It's the same reason they dumped the clear pick guards in favor of the " Martin-like " ones they now use on most models. Fact is that Martin has a huge market share and an appearance that most players recognize as "the standard". I'm not suggesting wheather it's good or bad, it just is. One way to sell more guitars is to have some of them look familiar to the average player. Breedlove and Goodall introduced Martinesque guitars for the same reasons.

[woody b]

Without actually measuring I'd say any size difference between a Martin and Larrivee dred is small.  I use a Martin 545 Geib style case for my Martin D18V,  my Larrivee D03MT and my Guild D40 and they all seem to fit the case pretty snug.   The modified "V" neck on the Martin is pretty big,  and it's got a different feel.   FWIW I wouldn't trade any of my dreds(Martin,  Larrivee Guild) for any other guitars.   I like 'em all.   

[ElJefe]

Jim at Trinity Guitars has 1 slothead d-50. 
1 11/16 that comes on most dreads.

[swainsong]

The main difference between a D-03 and the D-50 (aside from price) is that the latter has an enlarged sound hole and therefore does indeed sound better IMO. It also comes with the standard upgrades including bone nut and saddle, gloss finish, and ebony pins - and of course the wonderful slothead.

I spent a few hours in the 12th Fret after Christmas and of all the guitars I played that day the one that stood out far and away above the rest was a D-50 slothead, which I didn't even know existed until I saw it because that model is not listed on their website. The Boxing Day special price was comparable to the one presently at Trinity, but in Canadian dollars! If it had a nut wider than the 1-11/16ths I'd've suffered an insurmountable case of GAS, but even so this D-50 SH sounded (and felt) better than any Martin I've ever played. And new it was still significantly less expensive than a used Martin.

[george kraushaar]

I recently played a used D-50 directly against a new D-18A and most listeners in the room liked the Larrivee better!  They had similar power but the Larrivee had a rounder, richer tone.  The D-18A was tight and had a more strident tone, but promised good things when it finally broke in.