Review: Fake Martin Guitar Strings

I have a Martin guitar and I prefer to use Martin strings. After stringing up my guitar with my last set I looked around town for another set of strings because it is always handy to have spares around just in case a string breaks. When I first saw these strings I hesitated because I knew they were fake. It was pretty obvious. The sales clerk told me they were Class A. Should have been Class F for Fake.

I bought them despite knowing their dubious authenticity because I figured they are better than nothing and I was curious as to how they would sound. Later I was able to buy a few sets of genuine Martin strings but when my strings finally broke I decided I would give these bad boys a shot.

The first thing you notice upon opening the package is that each string gets its own plastic bag. Genuine Martin strings come two in a paper sleeve.

Next you can see is that the ball end is very different.

The Martin strings have a bit of cloth tied at the end but the fakes do not. I'm not sure how much of a difference that makes to the sound.

Here is my guitar with the new strings on all ready to play.

The fake Martin strings sound really good. They are crisp and sharp and bright. The gauge is light which makes it easy to move my fingers up and down the fretboard. There are also no rust spots. The last few pairs of strings I used, which were genuine Martin stings, had rust spots on them. Maybe they were on the shelf for too long?  It has been about two months since I put the fake Martins on  my guitar and they still sound fresh.

I would buy these strings again if I were in a jam and needed some right away. It's too bad that whoever manufactures these strings is attempting to pass them off as Martin brand strings. Why not make their own brand name and build a solid reputation for their company? These strings are good quality and I don't see why the company that made them couldn't corner the domestic market and become known as the number one Pinoy manufacturer of acoustic guitar strings. But rather than do that they took the low route and stole someone else's name and logo and tried to pass their product off as Martin's.

Too bad.