Chinese Martin D45 Review and Comparison with real Martin guitars 

I ordered one in Mar 24 after watching your video and some others. It said on the website solid Rosewood on back and side plus electronic pickup for $529 plus tax. The only thing I did was replaced original string with Martin silk and steel strings. It sounds full, clear and bright with and w/o pickup. The setup is almost perfect with bone nut and bridge. It becomes my favorite guitar over my ~$800 range guitars.

I have one of these as well, and luckily bought it from a local guy who had gone through it pretty well. Plays and sounds great

nice review, thanks for pointing out the shortcomings.. quite a clear difference in sound between the 3 guitars

I think those five star reviews were a mix of employees and folks who don’t quite have the ear that you do. I was stoked that what I heard on the recording was what you said you heard in person - mostly because I want one of these, and I’m glad that your playing was representative of the sound I can expect. It also sounds bright, which I am a big fan of. I’m a strummer for the most part and I play with Elixir Nanoweb because of the sharpness. Thanks for the review, dude! I’m either going to get this Chartin or one of the new Guild dreadnoughts.

Mike, I just heard you say 0.55 seconds into this video that the Martin DM model was solid mahogany on the "front". That is NOT CORRECT as that "sound board" top is solid Sitka spruce. I have a Martin DM myself and the spruce grain runs down through the sound hole. That is how you can tell the difference between a laminate top and a solid spruce top. I also have a few more expensive C.F. Martin (D-42) and Guild (F-50R & F-512) acoustic guitars as I have enjoyed playing guitar for over 52 years now. And to @cast390 you have absolutely NO IDEA what you are talking about!

The D45 sounds really good.

I bought 4 Chinese made acoustic guitars from AliExpress. 2 jumbos ( j200, guild F15 types), a 12-strings Martin, a Taylor. They were made according to the specs of these famous name brands. They surprised the shit out of me. They sound really good, they are nicely made. I did play those original versions at music stores. Definitely they sound a little different from the original ones. I can’t afford to pay $5k for jumbo Gibson or Taylor’s. I definitely enjoy playing these Chinese instruments. They are not bad at all.

I agree with your analysis.

I have one also, a little fancier. but a d-45. It might have been put together a little better, it is a martin build inside, had it set up and action is low with no buzz anywhere. I can see the back grain inside and out and they do look the same. It does sound decent. I have several acoustics, 2 Wetchers, 2 Takamine 341's and the d-45 copy. Not saying the copy is any better but it looks good on a stand onstage, my amp can make any guitar sound better with tone controls, at least to most in the audience and it isn't bad to play scott

Looks like you got sold a pup ive got the same copy with head stock marking.. Mine came nicely set up with perfect action Swapped out the strings bridge & pegs for bone sounds Great For the price.. Yes solid top Semi laminated back & Sides

Thank you for letting me know about this guitar my dad's thinking about buying one I told him stay away from these Chinese guitars not a piece of garbage if your gas goes out in the winter time good thing to use for to keep yourself warm but in the fire

They all sound great. I love the DM-15M most of all.

The all mahogany Martin was really warm and more pronounced in bass & midrange than the other two. I do like all mahogany guitars too, but I got to your video looking for reviews on some Chinese acoustics I'd seen on ebay. :) I was hoping the ones I'd seen made of koa were all solid koa because whoa what a deal at $500, but I don't think that's the case. Ah well. Someday I'll make my own OM or J-200 koas.

The DM has a solid SPRUCE top.

Very good video, thank you very much. From what you explain, I think that, rather than a Chartin, a Sigma would be much better. // Muy buen vídeo, muchas gracias. Por lo que explicas, creo que, antes que una Chartin, sería mucho mejor una Sigma.

The Marchin sounds good

That sounds sick man

The DM 15 sounds sweet. I love Mahogany wood

Your Martin DM has a solid Sitka Spruce top, not Mahogany. The back and sides are Mahogany, probably laminate, due to the price point. I played a DM back in 2002 and wasn't impressed. The Chinese guitar sounds... well... Chinese: very thin with not a lot of presence. Would not be inspiring for me to play. Most likely would not mellow with age. The polyester finish (easier and faster process) is probably 2-3 times as thick (boo) on the Chinese guitar than a real Martin, which has nitrocellulose lacquer. Now you know why a Martin D45 costs ten grand. Looks nice, though. Nice video...

Thank You I won't but one !!!!

Hey everybody, I highly recommend you play a guitar in person before buying it if possible! I now regret my Chartin purchase. Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel if this video was helpful, thanks!

That DM sounds go to me . But everyone has their preference for their style of pickin. Personally I have always wanted a DM and finally got one last year , I also want a D18 which also is bright with a good bass side like the DM . maybe some day ... There is nothing that is wrong with that Chinese guitar that I couldn't fix ,or you for that matter... The intonation is a quick fix . Just a few mins with razor saw .... $150 to level the frets seems high to me for a job that takes about an hour or less depending how uneven the frets are . and a lowering the saddle is a piece of cake . You just measure the high at the 12th fret , subtract whatever the difference to how high you want the action, (usually .70 .80 or .90) then double that amount and that's what you sand off the bottom of the bridge ...(Or just trial and error like the average person who hasn't done it before would do)..anybody can do that ...and all that info is on RU-vid somewhere ... I think you'll be happy with that Chinese Copy as long as it was glued properly ..

I have a double OODB and it records better than my D18. The D18 sounds better unrecorded, but the OODB sounds better recorded. I believe the more subdued sound records better.

As always a great review Mike. And I agree with you about the sound of the DM Martin. However, you are fortunate enough to be playing an American Martin. I have friends who have purchased Mexican Martins and have a host of quality control problems. Everything from finish to braces coming unglued and sperating to the guitar developing a belly that is hardly repairable. All in the name of cheap labor. I would absolutely take a gamble on the fugazi Martin. If you have luthier skills and patience I think they would be very playable at that price point. I have a 1973 Gibson ES335 for that I bought brand new for $700.00 U.S. and I just refuse to gig the guitar anymore. So I ordered a Chibson 335 copy. After a week of filing frets replacing the bridge and nut I have a very nice exercise guitar that is very playable. All for under $200.00 U.S. .one question did you have any problems with customs? I'm told in America these Martin knock offs come with a detention letter from U.S. customs and a warning letter from the Martian legal dept.

If you want a genuine bone saddle and nut, they are about $1 on many Chinese websites.

Been cool of u had a mahogany chartin to compare to the mahogany martins.

I agree

i own a chartin I can't speak for anyone else and I don't know about y'all but this is as close to a d-45, a guitar that is made down the road from my house that retails for $9,000 as I'm ever going to get so for $299 + free shipping YAHOO froggy went a courtin lol

All defferant sounds wood so you going get I like your pick

"Yahh it weal bone, wife make cat chop suey we use cat bone"!

You should make 2 videos one of actually playing and another of the specs

If a guitar "repair" person claims they need to sand the frets to lower the action never bring a guitar to them ever again.

Yeah, the real wood and intonation are best. Rare Earth made the charting sound pretty cool. I wondered if you had added effects I have a charting. 000-28. $400 Has perfect intonation. Your full mahogany guitar has overall best sound. I had a takamine Jasmine. $129. All mahogany, not bad, but tuners sucked. John Honolulu

sounds like a bin compared to those martins, especially the dark one. such a tone

I am shocked! I think the fake sounds better than either of the Martins.

might be need professional setup for Chinese guitar and change Fishman

That Martin D15 certainly surprised me. Very pure.

for me, i will personally try first and played the guitar I'm gonna buy at guitar shop. I'm definitely not buying online.

totally different top woods on your favorite all mahogany, of course it is deeper and richer and it is properly set up whille you did not spend the 100+ to get the chartin set up... not exactly a good comparison.

they all had their good and bad to me the chartin and the DM were better picking guitars and the D-15 was better at the faster strumming pieces I thought so.....I dunno they all got their highs and lows

To be honoust.. all the guitars sound very thin.. absolutely no bass or is it the microphone that you were using? More important for me personally is to play the F-chord It is really hard hahaha!! And I play since 1974! That's why I prefer Nylon strings and classic guitar. They have more volume, midtone and even more bass!

Most anything would be better than what CFM IV now has produced ( first Martin who can't build a guitar)

The mahogany Martin by far !!

You forgot to take off the polyurethane finish on the copy, your martins have no finish on them so they’re not really equal

I have lots of guitars. Both real and fake. I gig for most of my living. The Chinese guitars are for sketchy gigs (might get stolen or broken) so less worry. The real GIbsons, Martins, etc are for showcases and to hang on the wall. Spend less time hating and take advantage.

This clear and flagrant copyrite violation is an awful thing.

i bought a chibson les paul and after a few upgrades its better than any real les paul ive owned so its worth taking a risk sometimes...

Excellent review. Thanks for taking the time.

I dont give a fuck what anyone sez,theres is NO REASON on this planet for a guitar to cost 8k.or more.

Thanks for the review you did a great job... you are believable and didn't try to use big words and catch phrases, just called it like you saw (heard) it and that came across realistically... I am rethinking ordering a Chartin now...

This is a really rational approach. I really like your style.

Funny ! I agreed with your comments on the three guitar sounds exactly. Great vid mate.

I have no plans on buying a Chinese Martin copy, but after stumbling across this video, I just sat though the entire thing. Great, articulate, well thought out review, I agree with your assessment. The D-15M definitely has the best tone of the three, but the other two aren't bad by any means.

Nice review, thanks.I reckon I'll take the same gamble as you've done, with the exception that I'll specify the "Martin" on the headstock. Just so's I can tell my friends it's genuine & see what they think.

Wow! Your Martin d15 sounds amazing, classic Martin tone.

Excellent review my friend. Very thorough inspection of sonic and visual qualities. There is another factor that we should be aware of and that is the age of the Chinese Martin D45 compared to the othe 2 guitars. As guitarists know, the wood on a guitar resonates more with age. Hopefully time will be your guitars friend. I also have a D45 and I think it is my best guitar by far. I think that you received a bad example. Such a shame you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase. Those scratches are unacceptable on the pickup control unit. Thanks for the review and hope to see more.

Great review.. very informative

Hiya, I just received one of these and have two very shorts videos of my channel, doing a full review in a few days ;) loved the video BTW

I have owned a Martin DM when they first came out in 1995 or so - From Hanks in Denmark Street. There was a batch of about ten to chose from. I was told that the DMs were made from bits of old wood lying around the Martin yard. It's a really good guitar for the price. It resonates and you feel it on your chest, which is a good sign, due to the lack of lacquer applied. The top has aged nice and got darker. Very easy to play. As mentioned previously in a comment below - the Martin DM top is spruce, not mahogany as the Mike states incorrectly. I think the back sides and neck are mahogany, hence from the name DM - M for mahogany.

Hey Mike, any chance you could link me to tabs for the chill fingerstyle number that you played at 4:27? I would really love to learn how to play it. Also thanks for the great review!

Great review, Mike. I had the pleasure of playing, over the weekend, a Martin D28, HD28, a D35 and a D45 at my Martin dealer. I do own a Chinese guitar and the immediate difference I can share playing the Martins is that you can actually feel the body of the guitar vibrate as it's played. The Chinese copy feels dead in your hands. Almost like the back and sides are laminate, and the top feels like it's been cut too thick, in comparison to the Martins. Either that or no effort's been made to try and replicate Martin's bracing pattern (a lot of the proprietary sound of Martin guitars is down to choice of woods, and careful, proprietary bracing, among others). In the end all you're getting with the Chinese Martins are just visually correct copies. They don't sound the same, and they come with intonation, action and other problems that are absent on a Martin. I spent a further $200 at a luthier to get mine into playable form that in retrospect I should have spent on a Yamaha LL16 for similar money, or saved it for a real Martin.

Nice review, thanks.

I am very thankful that I paid $325 for a brand new Brazilian D-28 in 1968. Not even tempted by a Chartin - unless I need to go on TV with Abalone front. But my 2001 000-15S gets picked up a lot too - all mahogany guitars are very sweet.

They get their bone from the employees who died making them.

Very very nice job sir ! I live down under, listened to you about the Chinese D45, I then ordered one & it is the BEST looking guitar ever! Everyone just loves it! I placed Martin strings on it & BOY, what a guitar! Best to go with the plain D45 without the Fishman, keep it simple hey, it is flawless! Plays better than any US Martin I've ever played.

Cool. You've just made this straight forward. I definitely agree on everything you've said so far. My conclusion is that I'm definitely not buying a 8 thousand bucks guitar… and for those who may want a 45 ish sound, chartin guitars are good enough, specially for the price-quality comparison. specially if you are a bit out of the budget. Thanks for your video.

Great review thank you

Wish I was in SF. I'm located on long Island, NY. I saw another post saying stay away from the ones that say "drewdnaut" misspelling dreadnought. This one has that spelling error. Any thoughts? Thanks

Dude, great video and excellent sound comparison. If you read this I have a question. If you had it to do over again would you still buy and/or would you leave off the electronics? Thanks for sharing...

Thank you for the video review. Very helpful. From your description, overall I get the sense that there's no pride in the workmanship of the instrument. The pride and attention to detail usually shows, and it comes through in the sound and playability. To me some things are deal breakers: bad intonation makes a guitar useless. The electronic pickups were terrible, pointless altogether. For $500 any player is way, way better off buying the best Yamaha at that price range.

I like how the chartin sound, but WOW the d15m sound so so good!!!

Agree with your verdict on the best guitar. I came soooo close today to buying one of these Chintins, but I've decided it's not worth it as it probably won't be any better than what I already have. I'll save up for a genuine D-28 or something.

good review they all sounded different but I thought good.

very good review

I recently bought a Takamine G Series at a pawn shop for $80. It's a discontinued model, I saw ones selling on eBay for about $350-$500. Had to get it. Put some new strings on it, and it's an amazing guitar.

I have the D15M as well. I love it! I will play it forever for sure.

Did you do the test with all the same make and model strings(New as well)?

totally agreed with your opinions regards tone,also thro the pick ups, shame the mahogany 1 don't look like the chartin ..

Curious on your thoughts, Seems like you gave some solid pro's and cons. Curious what exactly you paid dollar amount for this, and if you consider if you paid the same dollar amount at a US music store if you feel like you got a better/worse quality? Let me know what you think!

gotta say i thought my Martin DM is one of the nicest sounding guitars i've played and that was 17 years old when i bought it - really resonant, maybe in part due to the lack of lacquer on it...?

Hi Mike just to say something about the Pickup system I had fitted in my Chinese Martin. I opted for the top of the range Prefix-Plus T , I was not disappointed with this system that they installed , I thought at one point I had an issue with it but this turned out to be a guitar cable issue. If you look at the true price of this system it is listed at around $500-600, although it can be bought cheaper on Amazon. What intrigues me about it, and it is what made me choose it, is the fact that it had such good reviews. Although it comes out of a Chinese factory which is understandable. I have since found out via the Luthier who is looking at my Chinese Martin, he has recently fitted this system into a guitar at quite a cost. He interestingly said that the system he fitted came from China…….I must get him to have a good look at my system and to see if there are any similarities ……..probably came from the same factory!

What strings do you use? I just started playing guitar not to long ago (3 months) and my G string broke.

Hi Mike, really liked the sound of the D-15M, what was the action like when you first bought it and did you have to re-set it. Lovely guitar.

I was gonna say kind of the same thing. On your recordings, I preferred the Martin copy out of all of them. But I was wondering how it felt/sounded in person. I have an old Seagull S6 that doesn't sound like anything special in person, but for some reason it records really well. Thanks for the review!

Good review. I own a Martin D35 and I have wondered about the Chinese models. Now I have a better idea of what to expect. Craftsmanship is the key to everything and that is obviously lacking. You may have even found more as you played it. Solid wood IMO always sounds fuller and obviously will age better than a laminate. Good info...

Nice review. My guitars ranging over 45 years playing, 54 Strat, 77 Gibson Maurader, 73 Lyle elect, Ovation Breadwinner, 1981 Strat,,ect. All my guitars have been a consesion one way or another, ether cost as the Lyle made in Japan in the 70's or just the limits of each. Of course my 54 Strat is very popular but, even it is still 1950's tech. Funny, my Japanise Gibson style copy was not great , but look how far Japan has come in building guitars and pianos and I expect the same will happen in a short time with China. I was rather surprised the Chinese built guitar stood up as well against real Martins and yes I wore my headphones.

Mike was a Fishman fitted?

The Martin D15M sounds (and looks) best. That one is a keeper for sure !

Martin does laminate???? Thanks for the info and vid.

Well done.

Nice little arpeggiated riff there :)

im not sure if this has been addressed or not, but the first sound test for all three guitars is beautiful. is it a song i can look up? thank you!

The D-15M definitely sounds and looks the best, no question

Looking to buy one of these locally for $425. Very helpful info. Great job.

Abbey said the removal was down to copyright issue and dh gate took the listing down - its back up now but a different listing

is it better than an epi aj or a yamaha 700 or series

Mike, thanks for the honest and unbiased review, I've been nosing around wondering about picking up a D45 nor J200 off a China website, the jury is still out as to whether I might but, yes, I could hear all those things you mentioned in your side by side tests, the mahogany Martin sounds sweet, unamplified and with the pick up... It is such a toss up, I'm not keen on putting up the big bucks for a acoustic I'm only going to use on occasion for recording, buried in the mix, but still.... I did get a Chinese '59 LP reissue, and have to say, aside from a bit of fret dressing and a tiny tweak of the neck, it plays and sounds pretty good, I've owned two LPs before and neither played as well, though the picks were a bit richer sounding... Anyway, thanks for helping me out in my decision making... Best, Steve

You are right about the D15M being the best. It's simplicity in design and sound make it what it is.

They all sound fine and in a recording NO ONE would say anything negative because they wouldn't know any different.

Thanks...you did a great job comparing. And this video should help people not make the mistake of buying these. Too bad it cost you $500. Anyway, for that money someone could get a really nice acoustic guitar or for $899 there is the Martin Custom D which is actually made in the Martin factory and has solid Spruce Top and solid Mahogany Back and Sides, plus it will hold it's value.