137- Taylor VS Martin: The Definitive Showdown

★ All show notes and links: https://acousticlife.tv/at137 ★ Get the show: https://tonypolecastro.com/get-acoustic-tuesday   In this episode of Acoustic Tuesday, I'm doing the MOST COMPREHENSIVE comparison of Taylor Guitars and Martin Guitar. I've interviewed Bob Taylor, Chris Martin IV, and Andy Powers; I've seen factory tours, played dozens of models, read tons of books, and now...I'm ready to end this debate once and for all. In order to give you the most holistic, the most comprehensive review of these two iconic guitar companies, I've broken things down into SEVEN categories: history, sustainability, manufacturing, standard model lineup, innovation, custom shop, and artist roster. Beyond just looking at individual Taylor guitars and Martin guitars, this definitive guide for Taylor vs. Martin will shed light on topics no-other video has discussed. I can't wait to hear your thoughts in the comments and I do hope you let me know how I did on evaluating each category in regards to Taylor vs. Martin. For those of you short on time, here's a quick overview of each category... Round 1: History Martin takes the cake on this. As one of the oldest, continuously-run, family-run businesses in America. They built instruments during the Civil War, have survived economic crashes and depressions, and innovated the entire time. Martin: 1 Taylor: 0 Round 2: Sustainability At first glance, Taylor seems like the clear winner. With the sustainable harvest and cutting board company, Taylor has made big strides. However, Martin hasn't been slacking off. Martin's Smartwood Series is extremely sustainable. But what separates these two is Taylor's near-zero wood waste in their manufacturing process. Hat's off to Taylor. Be sure to watch my interview with Bob Taylor! Martin:1 Taylor:1 Round 3: Manufacturing I've visited both the Taylor and Martin factories. The sheer level of precision and craftsmanship — on a MASSIVE scale — is awe-inspiring. I was impressed by each one of these companies for their manufacturing efforts, for their ability to produce a high volume of high-quality instruments. But, I have to say...Taylor takes the cake in this category. Be sure to catch my explanation and tour of the Taylor factory to see why... Martin: 1 Taylor: 2 Round 4: Model Offerings For this category, I wanted to make sure that both Taylor and Martin have a wide variety of model offerings. I want to see everything from beginner guitars to performance guitars. Now, since Martin Guitars has been around for hundreds of years, they have almost too many offerings. Meanwhile, Taylor has a much more streamlined approach to their guitar models, each one with specific appointments and tonewood specifications. For this reason...Taylor wins this category. Watch the full video to see why. Martin: 1 Taylor: 3 Round 5: Innovation Let's think about this one...Martin created the dreadnought guitar, made the 14-fret neck, and introduced the X-bracing pattern. Martin essentially designed the guitar that we know and love today. Meanwhile, Taylor created V-class bracing to great success, created a new neck bracing, and designed and developed the ES-2 pickup. All that being said, I think this is a tie. Martin: 2 Taylor: 4 Round 6: Custom Shop I've made custom guitars using both the Martin custom shop and the Taylor custom shop. Both experiences were downright amazing, and I loved each one. While I designed two guitars, one from each shop, there was only one guitar that I truly wanted...and that was the Martin. Be sure to watch the video to see why Martin won this category. Martin: 3 Taylor: 4 To see what I have to say about the Artist Roster for Taylor guitars and Martin Guitars, watch the full episode of Acoustic Tuesday!