Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar 

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

I bought my brand new Martin J-40 from Musicians Friend back in spring of 2003.It arrived on time, in perfect condition, set up to play immediately out of the box. I've owned 27 other high end guitars of every imaginable shape, style and price, and wood. But none of them matched the balance, tone, beauty, quality, or clarity of this J-40. It is easier to play and hold than a Dred, with much more balance of the mids and singing trebles and rich chunky lows....all three totally balanced for any music you play. It's looks are stunning with the finest woods I have ever seen on any guitar in the world...but it's the sound, and the rich buttery tone that reminds me of Heaven, because it just seems too good to be true. Get one, you won't regret it. And as always Musicians Friend is a class act. I did not hesitate to buy this expensive guitar from MF as I knew they would take care of me if something happened to be wrong with it.They always do. Mine was delivered in perfect condition. So you have nothing to lose. This J-40 is a once in a lifetime guitar, with a once in a lifetime tone and look. It blew my Dreds away with its rich and powerful base, and yet still it was able to deliver the most delicate and sweet notes ever heard this side of Heaven. The Martin J-40 is simply amazing, and better than any, and every, other Martin I have ever owned or played in shops for over 30 years. Do yourself a favor. Get yourself a piece of heaven while you can. Because that is just what this Martin J-40 is. Heaven.

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

I've only owned my J-40 for a week, but I've been playing a long time and know acoustic guitars pretty well. I currently own Taylor and Guild acoustics as well as another Martin. In the store, I compared the J-40 head-to-head against a Taylor GS7, Gibson J-200, J-45, and Hummingbird, a Guild D-55, and Martin D-28, HD-35, and HD-28V. The Martin J-40 was the standout of the bunch, which speaks volumes to me. I love the tone of Martin dreadnoughts, but the J-40 has their big, rich bass without the boominess and with much better treble high frequency response - in short, it has a much more balanced sound, in my opinion. It's also just as loud as the dreadnoughts. The string spacing at the bridge is a little tight for fingerpicking, in my opinion, making this primarily a strummer's and flatpicker's guitar; however, it does sound outstanding played fingerstyle. How to describe the sound? Full, deep, rich, balanced; but beyond that adjectives fail me. It sounds beautiful to my ear, better than all the other amazing guitars I compared it with. I think it's the most underrated and least known of Martin's line, but possibly the best. I'll have this guitar for life and eventually pass it down to my daughter.
For my taste, the J-40 has just the right amount of ornamentation; a little bling, but not overdone. I would have preferred a factory-installed pickup system, but I can have that added easily enough. I don't understand why Martin doesn't include strap buttons on their guitars, but that's almost too minor to mention.
In a word, perfect. I've been over my J-40 very carefully, and I can find no flaw in it, anywhere.
It's pricey, but not unreasonably so considering the quality, features, and tone, as well as the fact that it's American-made.

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

I have come to love the higher end Taylor guitars, too. And I'll never forget that one lovely afternoon I spent with a beautiful Collings in Nashville... My she was sweet.
For about 20 years i owed cheap guitars. Then I saved my pennies with the goal of finally owning a quality instrument. At the time, Martins, Gibsons, and Ovation were the only acoustic makers I knew of that the "pros" played. It was in 1990 that I bought my J40. This was after playing just about about every single quality dreadnought for sale in town over the course of 2 years, literally hundreds of guitars. And that was a lot of fun. Then I got to play a J40, which I had never heard of before. That was it. I still have it and still love it. Every time I am in a music store I play the good wood that's available, and have many times temporarily fallen in love, only to realize my folly when I get back home to my true love, the J40. It did have neck binding issues twice in the first few years, both times repaired under warranty. Of course I have several other guitars, but none compare in quality of tone, balance, and warmth. It's my honey.
Beautiful book matched rosewood back, fantastic Sitka spruce top, perfection in the finish. It did have neck binding issues that were repaired under warranty almost 20 years ago and still holding up. Magnificent sound,action and playability.
Quality has a cost and I never minded what I paid.

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

The Martin J40 evidences Martin's uncompromising attention to quality. My Martin J40 is 26 years old and still plays and sounds as great as the day I bought it.
I have owned and played this guitar since its manufacture by Martin in 1985. It is the finest acoustic steel string guitar I've ever played, and I've been playing guitar for over 50 years. The sound and playability of the J40 are unsurpassed. I recommend it without reservation or equivocation.
Great attention to detail, as usual, by Martin.
The guitar has held its value over the 26 years that I've owned it.

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

I have owned my J40 since 1986. I am primarily a finger-picker, and the neck is perfect for this style of playing. It allows for longer reach with certain bar chords and faster runs. The dreadnought depth of the body allows it to go from sweet melodies to the hardest driving bluegrass, and volume that competes with the banjo. If you could only have one acoustic that meets the standards of a wide variety of playing styles, this one is it.

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

I'd been looking for 3 years for the right guitar as I was willing to spend some serious cash and did'nt want to buy something only to find something better the next day.I tried em all,production and custom, and played a lot of nice rigs.My j 40 was on sale at half price and I only took it down off the wall on a lark cause I'd never heard of one and was curious.1st strum and my knees buckled.The salesman saw that and escorted me like the zombie I'd instantlly become into the sound room to have a little quality time with the guitar.Might have been the 15 years hanging on the wall being played on and around in a climate controlled environment,basically ripening on the vine,but I really don't think you could reproduce that sound at any price.

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

I have owned my J-40 for five years and it is the go to acoustic for me. Flat picking and strumming is its calling. Mine has a perfect fit and finish and being a luthier myself I am impressed with a large company crafting a guitar of this quality for the price. I love the tone of the J-40 the most. It has an almost haunting sound. The neck is one of the most playable that I have seen. It is so very comfortable to play too. It just seems to fit "right". I believe the Jumbo sound is superior to the dreadnaught's. If you can spare the change go with the J-40.

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

I have always wanted a D45....the beauty, the sound...Having had several D35's, the Graham Nash 000-28, and several other lesser guitars, I was ready to step up to the ultimate. When I got the chance to have a nice D45, I happened to play the J40 as well, as one of the guys at Tall Toad music said "You might just like this one better". The J40 was incredible!!!!! It has the balanced sound of an OM model, mixed with the depth and volume of the D series. In addition, it had the beautiful inlaid Martin signature headstock of the D40's series, and all at much less than the dreadnaught 40's. I'm a singer/songwriter, and I could not be more pleased with the sound and style of a guitar. No need to upgrade here!!!!

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

This is my 2nd "J40", as my first was lost in a fire, at my home studio. I will just say that of the 7 guitars I lost in this fire... My "J40", was the first one I replaced, as Once you play this insrument you will find it to be the Most Important guitar for any type of music you might be called upon to perform. My new J40, needed no adjustments to make it feel like my old one, and the only!! change I would suggest would be to replace the original tuners w/ "Waverly open geared models", as the Martin machines dont hold tunings as well!! ONE SWEET AXE!

Comments about Martin J-40 Jumbo Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:

I called the music store and asked my salesman to suggest a good, all around guitar with a great sound and ease of play. When I got to the store he had the J-40 out and said, "this is it, the best sounding guitar in the place". There were 50-75 other guitars hanging on the wall. I picked it up, picked a few bars and was immediately sold. The action is too smooth to be believed, and the sound is perfect. I have a really nice Taylor 410 and it just doesn't compare. I'm an old guy, and this is probably my last guitar. Couldn't imagine needing another one.