Jtm30 output tubes not lighting up?

[g1]

And more importantly...
Are you saying that Martin is using Corian instead of wood to make fingerboards?!?

Some models are using something called "richlite", which doesn't sound like it would soak up much oil.

[Chuck H]

I dunno... I certainly don't know as much about how to make a guitar as the good folks at C.F. Martin, but I'm still partial to wood under my fingers. I like this even less than the resin backs on Ovation instruments.

"Yeah, I got the new Martin with the latest technological advancement. A recycled paper and plastic resin fingerboard!" I had to write this to see what it might look like since I don't expect anyone else is ever going to.

Richlite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[eschertron]

I dunno... I certainly don't know as much about how to make a guitar as the good folks at C.F. Martin, but I'm still partial to wood under my fingers. I like this even less than the resin backs on Ovation instruments.

"Yeah, I got the new Martin with the latest technological advancement. A recycled paper and plastic resin fingerboard!" I had to write this to see what it might look like since I don't expect anyone else is ever going to.

Richlite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If the cellulose component of the richlite is sawdust from rosewood or ebony cutting operations, then the maker could advertise the fretboard is made "from" that exotic tonewood.

When I saw the word "richlite" I thought it referred to people who'd buy a Martin just to say they had one.

[Archie Speed]

Richlite is just the neck. It gets deeper when you look at the 'High Pressure Laminate' used for the back & sides of some models. I saw one smashed in & it sure looked like Formica. Maybe old growth Formica....

Archie

[Jazz P Bass]

This article states that the 'fingerboard', at least on the OMC-160GTE, is made of "Richlite".
Martin OMC-16OGTE Acoustic Guitar Review
The neck is mahogony.

[Archie Speed]

Martin 'X' series instruments...Richilite fb, Stratabond neck (hardwood ply) and HPL sides & back. An effort at cost cutting & sustainability. Different. Play & sound? Don't know 1st hand, but Martin put their moniker on them,so I'm betting they are ok.
X Series | C.F. Martin & Co.

[Chuck H]

I'm sorry, but if I'm spending 800 bones on a guitar it'd better be made of WOOD. I'm just trying to wrap my head around this as a reality! "C.F. Martin is making guitars from laminated scrap wood, paper pulp epoxy resin and photo finished Formica. This is disgusting, 90's Gibson like behavior and I hope no one buys these. Too late for a save though. Once you go there you can never get all the way back. Martin is surely facing some tough times. since the market for top end manufactured instruments is in the tank and there are highly revered custom makers that are only about 25% higher than their top line products. I understand their consideration to target a different demographic. This though, for me, just takes a crap on the prestige of their whole product line. Probably because they have the nerve to set the price relative their reputation. So I have to make the consideration that decisions on the construction of their higher end instruments are also made by the same people. I'm just not putting my money in those hands.

Sorry... Rant over.

EDIT: I just had a minor secure! In their top line products they now offer a "John Mayer" model for 10k

Maybe I should grow a thicker skin but I feel like one of my childhood hero's died

[g1]

Yeah! Even Esteban guitars are made from "real wood" .

[eschertron]

I'm not defending Martin on this, but to make an instrument out of real live wood, with all its imperfections and variation, takes a whole lot more time and effort simply to control quality in the build. Synthetics? Easy. Press the button and watch the gauge as material is carried down the production line.

I'm suggesting that there's no other way to get a consistent quality product in the price gap from U$200 to U$2000. Either the production quality suffers due to inconsistencies, or the aesthetic quality suffers due to alternate (some may say inferior) materials.

Perhaps Martin could have marketed these as the 'economy' line guitars, branding them differently the way Fender/Squier or Gibson/Epiphone does?

[Chuck H]

I do know a little about the inconsistency of wood and the perils it poses to the end product. I understand the appeal of synthetic materials. There's something else in play here. What I'm saying is that if Takamine, made a guitar from these materials it would cost $250 and sound/play about the same, cause, well, the materials are consistent. But if Takamine made a guitar from these materials with a correspondingly appropriate price everyone would instantly brand it a cheap turd made of chip board and plastic.

I'm not even considering any "hand made" aspects. Since only the more expensive premium guitars feature a herringbone inlay I have to wonder how they can offer it on select cheaper models. CNC? Made overseas and only assembled here? Something is amiss and Martin is charging a premium for a product that has about as much to do with their craftsmanship and reputation as that Takamine (except the Takamine probably has more actual hand built construction). I'm not saying you shouldn't make a guitar from synthetic or recycled materials with CNC construction. I'm saying Martin shouldn't. Especially if their going to price them in the "Stop! You're tearing me!" range.

[the great waldo]

So is that to say that the amp is working correctly? No blown fuses and heaters are warming correctly? How long did the guy wait to see if the tubes were glowing, like two seconds?!? The tubes will show a glow after only a few seconds. Standby has nothing to do with the heater supply. Just sayin'. This got confusing and mislead somehow. And more importantly...

Are you saying that Martin is using Corian instead of wood to make fingerboards?!?

Hi Chuck

The amp is working fine, I think he just panicked when he got no sound out of the amp straight away, 2 seconds was probably right and might have even had the volume turned down as well.!! I have been making guitars for over 30 years now and yes Martin is making fingerboards out of synthetic materials corian or similar, it's all down to making a buck corporate thinking (profit is king) and if you want real wood you'll have to pay through the nose. Set a precedent and away you go.!!! I thought that the standby switch was there to allow the 6.3 volts from the heater supply to warm the Valve plates up before hitting the valves with the full voltage to reduce plate stripping/degragation. I'm afraid i'm not that hot on amps, much better with holz!


Cheers

Andrew