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Martin M-36
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce
VS
Playability
73
Sound
88
Build
90
Value
69
Score
84
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Playability
73
Sound
86
Build
85
Value
66
Score
81
FIND IT ON:
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Martin M-36 vs Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce

Reasons to Get
Martin M-36 over Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce

Pickups Brand
Fishman vs None
Pickups from a renown brand
Nut Material
Bone vs Graphite
Good quality nut with rich tone
Scale Length
25.4'' (645.2mm) vs 25.5'' (647.7mm)
Easier bending, shorter fret separation and warmer natural tone
Fretboard Radius
16'' (406.4mm) vs 15'' (381mm)
Flatter fretboard makes it easier to play single notes and bend
Value Score
69 vs 66
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce over Martin M-36

Release Year
2018 vs 1978
From a more recent year
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm) vs 25.4'' (645.2mm)
Lower action and brighter natural tone
Fretboard Radius
15'' (381mm) vs 16'' (406.4mm)
More curved fretboard helpful to play chords without muting strings

Other Key Differences
Martin M-36 vs Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce

Back Material
Rosewood vs Koa
Different Back Material
Sides Material
Rosewood vs Koa
Different Sides Material
Saddle Material
Compensated vs Synthetic Bone
Different Saddle Material
Bridge Material
East Indian Rosewood vs West African Crelicam Ebony
Different Bridge Material
Body Wood
Spruce vs Koa
Different Body Wood
Neck Wood
Hardwood vs Mahogany
Different Neck Wood
Nut Material
Bone vs Graphite
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Martin M-36 vs Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce

Fretboard Wood
Ebony
Same Fretboard Wood
Headstock
3-3
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Hollowbody
Warm tone, lighter and acoustic sound
Switch Positions
0
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
0
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
0
Same tone control
Number of Frets
20
Same maximum octave
Nut Width
1.75'' (44.5mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Fixed
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Type of Frets
Medium
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • Solid Top Wood
  • Solid Side Wood
  • Solid Back Wood
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Expensive Wood

Common Weaknesses

  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Locking Tuners
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

Martin M-36 Prices

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Martin M-36 is probably the better product overall with its final score of 84 compared to the Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce's 81 score, although not by a lot.

The Martin M-36 wins when it comes to sound, build quality, value for the money. On the other hand, the Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce has the upper hand when it comes to.

If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

Both meet 3 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.

New Player Friendliness

Martin M-36
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Martin M-36 Overview

  • From Martin's 1978 Standard series
  • Made in United States
  • 6 strings
  • 25.4"'' scale
  • 16" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Spruce top
  • Solid East Indian Rosewood back
  • Solid East Indian Rosewood sides
  • Select Hardwood neck
  • Ebony fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Fishman (Preamp/Active)
  • East Indian Rosewood bridge
  • Acoustic Modified Low Oval Set neck
  • 20 Medium frets
  • Chrome Enclosed Gear tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce Overview

  • From Taylor's 2018 Koa series
  • Made in United States
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 15" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Hawaiian Koa top
  • Solid Hawaiian Koa back
  • Solid Hawaiian Koa sides
  • Tropical Mahogany neck
  • West African Crelicam Ebony fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Expression System 2 Electronics (Preamp/Active)
  • West African Crelicam Ebony bridge
  • Acoustic Taylor Standard Set neck
  • 20 Medium frets
  • Gotoh tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Sound Quality Comparison

The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .

Woods Used in Both

Ebony wood pattern used for guitar building
Ebony

Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.

Woods Used in the Martin M-36

Hardwood wood pattern used for guitar building
Hardwood
Spruce wood pattern used for guitar building
Spruce
Rosewood wood pattern used for guitar building
Rosewood

Hardwood is just a generic wood that can come from many species. This type of wood is used to build guitars because it provides a rich, warm sound. The wood also has good structural properties, making it durable and long-lasting.

Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.

Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.

Woods Used in the Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany
Koa wood pattern used for guitar building
Koa

Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.

It's a type of wood native to the Hawaiian Islands, where it's pretty common. Its musical properties make it a great wood for making guitars, but it's especially popular for building Ukuleles. Find out more about Koa.

Winner: Tie.

Electronics

Both come with electronics that allow you connect them to an amplifier or interface for recording.

Winner:Tie.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Martin M-36
Sustain 95
Versatility 85
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 88
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce
Sustain 90
Versatility 85
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 86

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Martin M-36 compares to the Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in United States.

The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

The Martin M-36 has a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.

On the other hand, the Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce comes with a Graphite nut. It's a self-lubricating material that will allow the strings to slide over the nut without a lot of friction. It's a good type of nut if you want to have better tuning stability than with plastic, although it's not as resistant as Bone or Tusq.

Winner: Martin M-36.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. The Martin M-36's are Chrome Enclosed Gear while the Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce's are Gotoh

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Martin M-36
  • Made in United States
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Compensated Saddle
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Solid Side Wood
  • Solid Back Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce
  • Made in United States
  • Expensive Wood
  • Electronics
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Solid Side Wood
  • Solid Back Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • Low-Quality Material Saddle
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Martin M-36
Quality of materials 84
Features 85
Quality Control 100
Build Quality 90
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce
Quality of materials 81
Features 75
Quality Control 100
Build Quality 85

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Martin M-36 Nut Width
Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 44.5mm (1.75'').

This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Scale Length

Martin M-36's Scale Length
Martin M-36's Scale Length
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce's Scale Length
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce's Scale Length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

The Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce has the longest scale: 25.5". The Martin M-36 is only 25.4" long. This is a 0.1'' (2.5mm) scale length difference.

This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.

This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.

Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Martin M-36 Neck Profile
Martin M-36's neck profile
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce Neck Profile
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce's neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

Both the Martin M-36 and the Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Martin M-36 Fingerboard Radius
Martin M-36's Fingerboard radius
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce Fingerboard Radius
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce's Fingerboard radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

In this case, the Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Martin M-36's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Martin M-36.

Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .

Martin M-36:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Martin M-36 and Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce Frets Size
Both have a similar Medium fret size

Both have a Medium fret size. If you like feeling the fretboard when you play, but also appreciate some easiness to press down the frets, this size offers a good balance for that.

Final Playability Scores

Martin M-36
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 80
Playability 73
Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 80
Playability 73

Specs Side-by-Side

Martin M-36 vs Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce
General Martin M-36 Taylor Builder's Edition K24ce
Brand: Martin Taylor
Year: 1978 2018
Strings: 6 6
Made in: United States United States
Series: Standard Koa
Colors: Natural Natural
Left-Handed Version: Yes Yes
Body
Type: Hollowbody Hollowbody
Body Material: Solid Spruce Solid Hawaiian Koa
Sides Material: Rosewood Koa
Back Material: Rosewood Koa
Bridge: East Indian Rosewood West African Crelicam Ebony
Neck
Neck Joint: Set Set
Tuners: Chrome Enclosed Gear Gotoh
Fretboard: Ebony West African Crelicam Ebony
Neck Material: Select Hardwood Tropical Mahogany
Decoration: Mother-of-Pearl Style 38 Spring Vine
Scale Size: 25.4" 25.5"
Shape: Acoustic Modified Low Oval Acoustic Taylor Standard
Frets: 20 Medium Nickel Silver 20 Medium Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 16" 15"
Nut: Bone Graphite
Nut Width: 44.5mm (1.75'') 44.5mm (1.75'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Fishman (Preamp / Active) Expression System 2 Electronics (Preamp / Active)