Martin D-18 sound on a budget. Sigma SDM-18 & DM-18 | Acoustic Union
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- čas přidán 28. 07. 2024
- Martin D-18 - 9rjf.short.gy/R38suZ
Sigma SDM-18 - 9rjf.short.gy/dVaG2H
Sigma DM-18 - 9rjf.short.gy/WB0nJf
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Timeline:
00:00 Intro
00:35 The history of Martin D-18
03:14 Sigma guitars
04:45 SDM-18 & DM-18
05:45 Sound comparison
10:00 Our thoughts
Sigma guitars are excellent in every way.
I have a late 70's Sigma DR-35. Had it 44 years now and it has never sounded better. My bluegrass go to axe.
Made in Japan
Owner of a DM-1ST, that guitar was on the wall at my local guitarshop and I didn't know them, but when I played it, mannn i was impressed. Bought it, play it and taking guitar courses with it. My teacher thought it was a Martin.
I have a 1980 Sigma DM-18 thats still in perfect condition... it looks great, plays great, and sounds amazing at 43 years young!
Same here! I think it was around $250. Still plays fine.
Your Sigma is very different from the Sigmas in this video. They are manufactured by a German Company AMI. Yours is from when Sigma was still owned by Martin. I own three from that era, two Korean made 1980 DM4s and a Japanese made DR7s. Todays Sigmas are not allowed to be sold in the U.S. Those guitars from the Sigma company are known as AMI guitars.
@@jltrem Thanks for the info!
Superb video. Well presented and very informative👍
Great video my friend ! Great playing too ! Thank you - I have been looking into buying a D 18 but now I will try and find a Sigma dealer close by here in the states ! I have been following them since they burst back onto the music scene a few years back. Thank you again !!!
What a great video! Really interesting. I hadn’t considered checking out Sigma. I will now.
I bought a Sigma 18 new back in 1987. mahogany body, spruce ply top, mahogany neck and ebony fretboard. I gotta say, it played beautiful and sounded great.
Great comparison, not a great deal of difference between them except the name on the headstock. Sigma make great guitars, indeed
I can’t believe I haven’t heard of these gems. Especially being a hunter for lower costing acoustics that are secret weapon gems. Just found one recently and am blown away how awesome it sounds for a couple hundred bucks.
I played a Sigma HD 28 copy 3 weeks ago. It was outstanding. Ease of playability and sound were amazing. For sale for £450. The body was indistinguishable form the Martin
The neck woods could be better though.
I have a 2005 Martin which I love. My friend has a 1980’s sigma it’s a GREAT guitar
I regularly play my Sigma DR-7S that I purchased in about 1973. Gold Sigma decal with inlaid sideways M in mother of pearl. Still sounds very nice to me.
Martin sold the brand to AMI Music in Germany, that company distributes the acoustic guitars in over there. In the U.S.A. St. Louis Music is the distributor of the Sigma acoustic guitars. The guitar factories are in China and Indonesia. The double 00 body sized Sigma guitar that I have, the SIG10 Mini that I have, has a lot of Martin characteristic, and it sounds awesome!
wow! Thank u! Great story
I have a DM-3 I bought in the early 80s. It sounds great. It was $250 when bought it new.
Nice review. I bought a new Sigma DM-4 in 1989 - or to be fair, a guitarist friend bought it on my behalf, because he worked in a guitar shop and knew what I needed. In case people don't know, the DM-4 was a D18 copy but with ply top, back and sides, made in Korea. I still have it today, and I still enjoy it. The tone has mellowed beautifully, as has the colour of the top. To my horror, the head got broken off completely after a clumsy fall around 1991, the repair (by same guitarist friend) still holds good. I moved to the south of France and failed to take care of the humidity for several years, so it bellied and messed up the action (lesson learned). It's not worth paying for a neck reset, so I treated it to a Bridge Doctor and a home reset, and it's playing better now than it ever has. A great guitar for relatively little money. It's been a bit side-lined recently because I've fulfilled a long-time ambition and got myself a HD28, but I will still use it for my occasional public sorties, and I would certainly never get rid of it.
What a great presentation, thanks, I love the original Martin D18 but simply can't afford it, these Sigma 18's really seem to give it a good go because of the way back ties between the two companies.
🙏❤️
I have a Sigma SDR-28 that I bought new from Andy's in Denmark Street in 1990. Colour has changed from a very light colour to a lovely golden orange.
This with the electric?
I have 2 Sigma's. A 28H and a Triple OM. Fantastic instruments for beginner or an experienced player. I saved thousands and get tons of compliments on their sound. Mine are a little over 10 years old, a little different than the new Sigma's, but well built and sound virtually the same as the far more expensive Martins.
TODAY...I bought a Made in Japan, Sigma D-18. I'm kind of excited.
800-1000 eur for the Sigma versus 3000-3500 for the Martin...wow! The Martin holds the value in time, but...for 1/3 of the price you have the same sound...I'm curious now to do the comparison in a shop and listen the real sound of these Sigma.
I have Sigma dm2, I had bone nut saddle installed, and new tuners
I have decent headphones, for me it would be impossible to recognize the Martin and the Sigma SDM from the sound only . The DM 18 is good for the prize, I think with some heavier strumming the difference is clear, but we are talking about an instrument with a completely different price. I'm really impressed, i didn't know about the brand Sigma and story behind it.
Itsprobably more about the feel , sustain and definition ect
First guitar I ever bought God I wish I still had it it sounded so good
Which one? Martin d18?
Cool 😎 story teller y player! Salamat pô fr CA🎉
🤩
My sigma 12 str is 30 yrs old. Made in korea. Has great tone.
The song you played for the sound comparison was beautiful, what was it?
C.F Martin & Co. has always held that all Sigma models were ALL LAMINATE, but the question has remained whether the S for solid top, or for scalloped bracing. I own a Sigma SDR-28H from the 1980's, and compared it with a friend's DR-28H - my SDR-28H is notably lighter, and fuller (the two guitars were about the same age). Looking at my SDR-28H with a magnifier, it appears to have a solid top and no scalloped bracing, so I tend to believe that the S is for a solid TOP. Martin shut Sigma down in the 90's, there was just too much competition, and forgot to renew their legal claim to the trade name "Sigma est. 1970". A German company picked up the name and started offering the guitars again. The examples you demonstrated were the new Sigma, no longer controlled by Martin, and according to their website the SDM models are indeed all solid wood (for the price, I'd hope so), but are production line guitars rather than "hand made". I think you'd be doing your followers a service to make the distinction between the older Sigma guitars (Sigma by C.F.Martin) and the new ones (Sigma guitars by AMI Gmbh.). Nice playing in the demo.
S for all solid :)
I have a Sigma SGJA SG200 what is a copy of the Gibson J200. Full solid sitca spruce top, and full solid flamed maple back and sides. And I love it. It did need a little time to open up, but now ... hmmmh 🙂 I have more good guitars, but since the Sigma, I nearly never pick them from the wall.
Yup, that's right. Just like the other brands, if you can't afford a Takamine, get a Jasmine, Guild, there's Madiera, Ovation, there's an Applause, Fender, it's the Squire or a Gibson, it had the Epiphone.
I have 3 Martin era Sigmas, 2 DM4s and a DR7. I also have 4 Fender 1970's F-series acoustics, made in Japan by the Moridaira company for Fender. In my opinion the F-series Fenders rival Martin era Sigmas. I am not referring to the currently German era Sigmas.
I picked up a Sigma at a pawn shop, like new for 225.00 solid top, bone nut and saddle. It has better fretwork than my Martin om28. It has the same dimensions as my Martin. Take it where you won't take your Martin. Sigma is not cheaply made. They are pretty amazing. The new AMI faunt is my only gripe. It doesn't look very classic.
The Sigma has less mids, less bass, and less sustain than the D18 but it still gets the job done and faithfully recreates the tone. The solid sigma is nice too. I am happy with my 2019 D18 standard though.
I've had a Sigma for over 20 years, it's been mistaken for a Martin many times, it has the same sound. Wouldn't trade/sell it for any other guitar.
Any reduction in quality on the AMI (American market) guitars crafted in China?
Is Sigma SDM 10 e is as good as SDM 18?
Sigma have always been great guitars. They aren't Martins, but the SDM comes very close indeed. If you cannot afford a Martin (I can cos I buy 2nd hand), there are alternatives which lick Sigma at not much more money (if at all). Yamaha LL16 is all solid woods, and so is Epiphone J200 copy. They sound amazing and will get better over time. The Sigma DM is great, but won't get better; the SDM will. To be honest I was shocked at how good the SDM was (at least over the internet). Or, you can buy a Martin 2nd hand. Nice playing, by the way. This was altogether a great review.
I can absolutely hear the diff'c. between a real D-18 and the Sigma SDM-18, but for the price, the SDM still sounds great in its own way.
I had an old Sigma from the 80s. Gave it to my youngest son. He traded it for a guitar with a pickup. I tried to get it back, tried to buy it back. But I was too late.
I have a Sigma 000m-15 and it's a lovely guitar - well happy for what i paid for it about 5 years ago. You're not getting a Martin, but you are getting a decent instrument in it's own right that also pulls off a decent impersonation of a Martin.
Sigma the best!
Wait, so the S stands for solid. Right? So is that solid back and sides? Or just a solid top? I just traded one of my Taylor’s for a Sigma late 80’s made in Korea SDR-41. Did I just hit the jack pot? Lol
In the Sigma catalogs of 1988, "S" stand for sculped (brasing). During that time, there were no solid-wood Sigmas because they were all made from laminate.
Sigma D28 player here.
What's a geetar?
A+! Keep it up!
Саша красавчик!
martin made a Sigma move in the 70s
I thought Sigma closed down, then AMI essentially bought it and has taken over? No?
Correct 👍🏻
AMI bought the name.
@@jltrem So, does that mean that AMI, which has been producing guitars for a number of years now under the AMI brand, is now once again selling these guitars under the Sigma name ...too? I ask because the seller and maker too, I guess, is Acoustic Union, whose contact information appears to be in Serbia. I was under the impression that AMI was a German company.
@@truthray2885 Martin let the U.S. rights to the Sigma name lapse and they were purchased by AMI. Guitars with the Sigma brand name are manufactured by AMI for the European market. I put a link to Sigma on this reply but CZcams removed my post.
@@acoustic-union So, through the present, I've seen plenty of AMI acoustics for sale, regarded as quite good. Do these Sigmas indicate a complete switch from AMI back to Sigma, or is Sigma essentially another line of AMI guitars? My question goes to whether they have a common manufactuer and process, so whether there are structural / manufacturing differences between these and the AMI approximates of D-18s and D-28s AMI's been making? Sorry to be a bother. It's just that I'm shopping.
It's just the salability with Martin, I've had quite a few Martins different modals but the Sigma I have 00028 is 50+ years old and I would not part with it, I also have a OM42-EC Custom with slotted head stock and Cedar top which was made for me in China took 2 months only to make and you could not tell it wasn't made by Martin it's deep body and play's and sounds soo good. Difference is If my house was on fire the Cat would now come first as I wouldn't be losing too much money on guitars.
Could have been a BASS E Geeeeetar
man that was annoying
I have the sigma but got to admit Martin sounded better to my ears
Gee-tar! 🤣🤣
Sigma are decent enough..but they are not 100% Martin and equal to a Martin ..
However, there are some significant differences.. they did cut some corners. Older Ones were not solid ..I couldn't use one in a venue.. but in an acoustic setting.. well there's some stuff missing ..
This cannot be heard on CZcams... you are going through electronics.. which turns it into bits and reassembled it... and then it has to go through amplification and then to speakers..
When you pick up a New Martin and a Sigma the first thing you'll notice is how it feels . Regardless...
And the way a Martin fills the room . I will admit that Japan luthiers are excellent..
China? Well it depends.. Quality control lacks depending on the company . Obviously Eastman has good workmanship with every worker good at his or her station....
Sigma sometimes you might see glue squeeze out inside . I don't know about everyone else, but to me if I see a simple thing like that which only takes a couple minutes to wipe clean I have to wonder where else they push through.. maybe and X brace wasn't firmly seated . Or a clamping job didn't have as many clamps .ect ..
And this is disregarding material choices . There's definitely a difference.. Especially with the laminate ones....
I have a friend who owns an as ... I can not quite put my finger on why , but I have a Laminate version of that same Guitar from Martin and there's no comparison .. Its playable. And that's all I can say for it ..
This isn't the same as an 80s Takameme vs Martin.. if that's what you are thinking.. just saying..
yamaha is not cheap my friend
Not available in the US. What is a geetar?
He's from Serbia and his English is probably better than your Serbian
@@rickcar94 Inexcusable. Show me anywhere on your tube where guitars are said to be geetars?
Lots of information available.
you should look for AMI in USA it is the same manufacturer
@@stasbatov Thanks.
SIGMA is available in CANADA.
Wow! This is what it means to like to copy, not being independent is not a problem for some. I prefer brands that manage to do something different and have their own character like Yamaha.
Nice sounding acoustic. But to compare to quality, I wouldn't use Martin. My Martin is a POS that I never play. The back of the neck is so rough that I can use it as an Emory board to file my fingernails. But then I am a lefty, I have to have my guitars made for me. My Martin was made in mexico. poor workmanship. My Taylors on the other hand were made in California, they are excellent sounding guitars and excellent workmanship.
I think the worst thing of these guitars is the headstock logo, that font that screams "poor and cheap" much more than the real quality of the guitar. Yes, I know, it's stupid. But, believe me, I just can't bear it.
I'm at a point in my life where I’ve got the $$$ to own what I want, without worrying if I can buy gas for my car. I wanted a real Martin D-18, so I bought one. I play a Martin. I own a true piece of history and I'm touring the Martin factory in May to see where my guitar was born. How do you explain love? I followed my heart.
Tssrrf😢rff😢😢😢😢😢é Ich glaube d😮😮😮😮😮😮rddddd
Sigma by martin in japan only
Martin guitars are overrated.
@@BryanClark-gk6ie the bottom of the high end Martin guitars, the d-15, 000-15, 000-16, 000-17 are all guitars that the manufacturer recommends light gauge strings only. These are expensive guitars for a beginner and even with light gauge strings, if you play hard, you will have to lean on the truss rod too much. If you play a bunch of low end type Martin's, sigma guitars and you find one you like, so be it. If I were to purchase a new guitar, a Martin, I would want a big dreadnought that can handle medium strings. I would like it if it were set up mediums. Even then I would have to play a half dozen to find one I like. And big Martin dreadnought that can handle mediums do not come cheap. I would be looking at spending over 2000 dollars. I might even prefer one that is over 4 thousand dollars. That's more than I'll spend. If you play a bunch of Mexican Martin's and you find one you like, that is fine. I'm just not a fan of the d-15. I want something that handles mediums with ease.
A bass is a fish. Smelly guitar not good. Bass(prounced bayss) makes good sound? Huh ? 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻
Dude, bASSy describes a fishing lake. Basey (bassy) describes a sound.
So what? He is from Serbia, can you speak Serbian as fluently as he does English?