1952 Martin D18 vs New Martin D18! | Guitar Battles #14 | @ The Fellowship of Acoustics

No comparison... That aged wood is insane!

isn't brazilian rosewood outlawed in Europe? Like not even possible to fly with it anywhere? Totally crazy idea especially for a vintage guitar, but that's "progress" for you

I think the boxiness of the new one is the biggest difference. Sort of woofy in the low end. Construction-wise they're not that different from each other but the new one needs time to open up. I have a newer D-18 and keep thinking I want a '50's but the difference in price vs the value of it for my work is pretty hard to justify. Both are great guitars obviously, and classics at that. The D-18 is the J-45 of Martins in my mind.

Not even close, age before beauty!

Both sound great...I want to get a new D-18.

Il faudrait que ce soit le même joueur qui joue les deux pour vraiment comparer car les deux personnes jouent différemment ,la 52 est bien plus précise et puissante mais le manche de la nouvelle est tellement plus facile
Merci pour votre comparaison

very close!! gimme a new d 18 any day...the 52 was drier a bit crisper but did not kill the new one!

I'll take 'em both, but I ordered the new one.

The new one is so much better!

Dankuwel....from Seattle, United States 👍🏻

Really unfair compassion the old D-18 has 60 year head start. Hence the premium only time can bring to a guitar. The reality is that sound only comes from time. But i really enjoyed the comparison.

Insanely close between the two. The new example is astonishingly good for a new instrument, not to mention cheaper, no structural hassles, dependable on the road and will only get better.

As beautiful as the vintage 18 is, the new one gets my money.

Great videos. Please make a guitar battle between the Martin D41 and a Gibson Sj200 Standard.

The '52 D-18 had Coen sounding a little bit like Neil Young or Bob Dylan. There's nothing like the sound of an aged Martin guitar. As for that new Martin Maarten was playing, I was surprised how good it sounded and how close it sounded to the aged Martin. But the '52 wins !!! Hands down !!! Thanks and stay safe.

Nice comparison. Listening with old ears on an ipad may not be the best way to listen but, the difference is obvious to me. Both great sounding! Like Martin says about a new guitar, “This is the worst it will ever sound”.

The clear winner to my ear is the new D-18! Rich, full-throated and no worries about the usual issues one must consider with a vintage instrument.

Great video! Really hard to make a comparison until you play them personally, however prefer the vintage from what seemed to be a faint difference in the low end, possibly (?). Any chance of doing a Martin 12 string vintage comparison? Cheers!

Quality of musicianship makes a big difference. The vintage guitar is great but would sound better with a better player and demo

What kind of strings did you use?

Great comparison, thanks. Maybe it is my crappy sound system (portable computer), but I thought they sounded more similar than different. Perhaps the older Martin was crisper with more articulation?? Both sounded really nice though.

I've watched this twice.

If I had the money I definitely would buy the vintage one, but the new one sounds also great.