What would you rather have? A Martin guitar/mandolin or a Triple Lock revolver?

[Flygas]

I’d chose another Triple Lock since I have absolutely no musical talent. When I was in my early teens, I took piano lessons from my next door neighbor who was Miss Missouri in the Miss World Pageant. I kept forgetting there was a piano in front of me, really couldn’t have cared less.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

You could do it like Willie Nelson.
Play a Martin but give it a Gun (horse) name.
Trigger.
Trigger (guitar - Wikipedia)

 

[rincar]

I do not know how to play a Guitar or Mandolin. I can shoot a Triple Lock.

 

[gusui77]

If it is a vintage Martin from the same time period in mint condition, the Martin all day long. No surprise at all the guitar cost more for many of the reasons stated already.

 

[Hoosierville IRN]

The revolver. Definitely.

 

[TheTinMan]

You must know that I would love to own a S&W Triple Lock. However, given a choice between that and a 1918 Martin guitar in playable shape I’d take the guitar in a second. Here’s the catch: the revolver just has to look good and appear to function. The guitar has to sound fabulous and play well.

Someone mentioned Mr. Henderson from Virginia. I met him at an arts & crafts fair in Richmond. He was quietly whittling a top brace with a pocket knife. His display showed the structure of his bracing on a top and that book. We talked for a good while - extremely nice man - and he signed the copy of his book I bought. You all may think I’m crazy, but I’d take one of his guitars over a triple lock too.

There’s a LOT more slow work and hand tool use in a handmade guitar than in production firearms, with the latter, even in the “good old days”, better suited to assembly line construction. And, Martin guitars were primarily handmade back then. Not so much now. Today, they’re assembled out of fabricated components, using synthetic production glues and finishes, as opposed to hot hide glue and French polished shellac or spirit varnish.

A comparison today might be made using a luthier built guitar. There are makers today who build replicas of pre-war Martins, if that’s your thing. Prices range generally from $4-5,000 on up.
What revolver today can compare in terms of “craftsmanship”, if that’s the right word?
Maybe a good modern revolver comparison might be to a Korth or Manurhin MR73? (Thinking Ratzeburg Korth or Mulhouse Manurhin). Modern iterations of either make price out starting around $3,500.

Maybe that’s an interesting way to think about the point made in the OP?

Good points about guitars being hand crafted before WWII. Some still are. Another difference between guns and guitars is that every example of, say, a Registered Magnum will function pretty much the same. Even today, you can go into a guitar store, play 3 or 4 examples of a specific model, and find only one that sings. When I bought my daughter a $350 Fender acoustic 20+ years ago, I played every one they had in the store. The sales guy was not amused. Now her husband who is a professional composer (mostly soundtracks for movies) borrows it from time to time because “it just sounds right.”

 

[buff51]

I own a triple-lock target model as well as a 1952 Martin 0017. I play the guitar several times weekly, but only shoot the gun once or twice per year.

 

[Muley Gil]

Listen to Wayne play:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQcR-8dig_k[/ame]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=wayne+henderson

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

Bought a new D-16 last week. May sell my D-18 now. I'm a small guy with small hands, and the smaller of the two Wouldn't trade it for a triple lock, because I play every day. It fits me better. A big plus is it has capabilities to play through the amp.

 

[rwsmith]

I'd rather have the Martin......

..IF I could get it set up for me as it's probably more guitar than I would care to handle. A friend of mine had one from the 1930's appraised at more than a few tens of thousands of dollars. The reason I don't do the gun is because I'm into the modern era, starting around 1960 on through the 1990s.