I prefer the crisp dry sound and projection, of the J-40. Both sound great.

A Master of the instrument; both as a craftsman and an artist.

I have a new J-40 (2018) coming tomorrow - the one your playing sounds very good - has the punch of a dread - can definitely hear the difference between it and the shop D-18.

I'll buy it!! Great work Bryan, really appreciate the detailed overview and demo comparison to your shop D18. The tonal transformation stands out in the recording more than I expected, I thought I would need to wait for hands on. For anyone else watching, it was previously very nasaly (sp?) with notes melding too much, and now the notes sound much more differentiated and pronounced on both low and high end. Can't wait to play it!

Bryan, appreciated the comparison. I play a 2017 J40 and it plays so comfortably that it wasn’t until a short time after I bought it that I found it’s a bit wider than my dreadnoughts. The tone, sustain, neck shape are also what sold me on it. First time I played it at the store I wasn’t impressed with the tone; later they put on different strings (Elixir 80/20 bronze, 12-53) and it sounded so good I bought it right then. As soon as I got it home I went through about a dozen sets of various sets of strings over just a week period to compare the tones to see if any sounded better to me than those Elixirs; none did, so that’s what it always strung with. I’ve done the same testing with my other guitars and different ones sound better to me with different strings. A lesson I wish I’d learned decades ago about trying different strings in quick order to find the best for that guitar, rather than just fumbling around as the strings died. Only fault I have with my J40 is a noticeable difference in color of the top and bottom half of top of the guitar

Both sound great. J40 is articulate. D18 is very mellow for mahogany. THX

J 40 for me. Thank you for the comparison.

Somebody has been practicing or playing a lot. Sounding good there, Bryan.

Nice comparison Bryan. - What year is that beautiful J-40?

Very nice comparison. The J is a very versatile guitar for most styles. Is the articulation and sensitivity about comparable between the J40 and D18?

Hi Bryan, you mention your "standard" Martin modifications. Have you made or are you planning on making a video that goes through these mods? I read a post on the UMGF that lists the following as mods you made to a 2016 HD-28V. 1. Remove bridge and excess lacquer underneath. 2. Reshape bridge to prewar height and reglue with hide glue. 3. Convert bridge to true through saddle. 4. Lower #3 and #4 back braces. 5. Remove popsicle brace. Always look forward to your videos and insight. Cheers

What would be a good pickup to install in the J40? I have a 1995 and want to use it when playing for free beer in noisy bars. Thanks for your thoughts on this! Cheers!

Why doesn't it have the capital CF MARTIN logo on the headstock? That's the standard on 40+ styles (that has the cursive logo as on 18, 28 etc).

what yr was it made?

To me the strings sound much newer on the J40.

Shorter scale?