Jason Isbell says guitarists who hold a bias against Mexican guitars are missing out on quality gear.

The Americana guitar star has worked with two of America’s biggest guitar-building institutions, Fender and Martin, which also have factories south of the border. While many guitarists believe American-made electric and acoustic guitars are far superior to their more affordable Mexican cousins, Isbell says players shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

His words come from a recent Guitar.com interview about his two new releases with Martin: the U.S.-made 0-17 and the Mexican-made 0-10E, both of which are based on his pre-war Martin acoustic.

“I think people pay for their biases sometimes,” he says. “Not necessarily with Martin but with a lot of companies. I think people will pay more to reinforce the incorrect opinions that they already have.”

The cost difference can be substantial. Consider Fender guitars: American-made models can cost up to twice as much as Mexican models, which can be priced lower due to the reduced labor costs and use of less expensive parts and materials.

While many guitarists see a big divide in quality between the two, Isbell says it's not necessarily so. As an example, he points to his two new Martin acoustics: the premium 0-17, which costs $4,999, and the wallet-friendly, Mexico-made 0-10E, at $1,049.

“I could take this Mexican-made version out and play it on tour, and nobody would know the difference,” he says. “I don’t think anybody could have done a better job on a guitar at that price point at making it reminiscent of the pre-war Martin, for sure. It definitely has that vibe to it.”

Then, of course, there are the people who believe the price of a guitar doesn’t directly correlate to quality, like the guitarist who played a $40 Harley Benton Strat every night of a 113-date arena tour. And as Guitar Player has proven, you can get a lot of bang for 500 of your bucks, or less.

Isbell's 2021 Fender collab, which released the four-star-rated Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster, is another fine example of a high-quality instrument from Mexico. And he pushed Fender hard on it, too.

“Fender did a great job on that guitar,” Isbell says. “I think it was the first double-bound Tele that they had made in the factory, and they knocked it out of the park.”

“It’s great that Fender is still coming up with ways to improve one of the greatest electric guitars ever made,” GP said of the axe. “The fact that the Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster is priced within reach of working players should make Isbell feel pretty stoked about his new signature Tele.”

Isbell's words about Mexican-made guitars take on extra import when you remember that he's a connoisseur of fine instruments. He went to extreme lengths to buy Ed King’s infamous “Red Eye” Les Paul. But that shows how value can be found at both extremes of the scale.

Elsewhere, the Tim Shaw-voiced pickups in Isbell's Tele have now been launched in their own right, and the guitarist has offered some important buying advice for newbie players to make learning easier.

And for more from Isbell, check out these nifty slide guitar and blues tricks, direct from the man himself.

“When I joined Pink Floyd I was trying to play some of Syd Barrett's parts, yet adapt them to my own style and taste,” David Gilmour told Guitar Player in 2003. “The framework I was working in was already set, and it included a style of guitar playing that was already a part of it. It took a while for me to allow myself to stray from what I thought I should be doing.”

It’s remarkable to think that Gilmour’s evolution as a guitarist has occurred almost entirely before the public. He was all of 21 when he joined Pink Floyd in December 1967, after Barrett’s mental health problems diminished his ability to perform. Up until then, he’d barely played in public, aside from briefly busking with Barrett in Saint-Tropez (for which they were arrested) and performing in the blues-rock trio Joker’s Wild, whose covers of chart hits were reportedly so bad that club owners refused to pay them.

As Gilmour himself says, his guitar style developed from his own folk and blues leanings and the requirements of Pink Floyd’s early psychedelic and prog music. If there is one constant in his guitar style over past six decades, it’s blues. The genre is well-suited to his style of soloing, which relies on sustained notes and melodies rather than sheer speed.

“I wasn’t gifted with enormous speed on the guitar,” he told Rick Beato. “There were years when I was younger were I thought I could get that if I practiced enough. But it just wasn’t ever really going to happen.”

Instead, he played to his strengths, developing a slower, more vocal-like style drawn from his own love of blues.

“My style is my style, and it was created out of an amalgamation of the folk and blues music I started with,” he told Guitar Player, “as well as my early years in Pink Floyd when I was attempting to be a psychedelic-type guitar player. That being said, I think I always come back to certain elements of blues phraseology. The blues run pretty deep in my playing.”

And then there is his love of pedal-steel guitar, an instrument that featured almost exclusively in country music until Gilmour became one of the few rock guitarists to incorporate it into his repertoire, alongside his electric guitar work.

“I’ve always had a jack-of-all-trades mentality,” Gilmour said. “I like to be able to pick up different instruments and be competent on them. It would be nice to be good at everything, but, well, you know,” he said with a laugh.

The instrument, as well as a lap-steel, is heard in memorable flashes throughout his Pink Floyd and solo catalog, most notably in “Breathe,” the opening track from The Dark Side of the Moon.

“I’ve always loved steel guitar,” he said. “I bought my first steel—a pedal steel with no pedals — at a junk shop in Seattle in 1968. I had to get the pedals made when I got back to England. That was the same instrument I used on ‘Breathe’ from Dark Side of the Moon."

But of course it’s with a six-string — usually a Fender Stratocaster — that Gilmour has given his most memorable performance. His solos in tracks like “Money” and "Comfortably Numb" are celebrated as the best of his career, if not in rock itself.

But which of his performances does he like best?

“There's a solo on ‘Dogs’ that I thought was pretty good and unusual,” he says, citing a track from Floyd’s 1977 concept album, Animals. It’s too bad the interview didn’t ask him which — Gilmour delivers four brilliant solos in “Dogs”: one at 1:50, another at 3:40, a third at 5:32, and a final one at 13:26 — but we’d bet he’s referring to the third, given his use of the word “unusual.”

“It hasn't entered the pantheon of the ones people seem to like because it's a slightly different style for me, I suppose,” Gilmour continued. “I tracked it with an old Tele, and I was really thrilled with it.

“Also, ‘Echoes’ has a guitar buildup that I love,” he added, referring to the Meddle track that constitutes side two of that album. “It's a creation of dozens of different parts. That sort of textural thing often thrills me more than a particular solo I may have played.”

He said he often is surprised when he hears certain tracks, like “Echoes,” as if it were performed by someone else.

“I get a charge out of thinking, How the hell did I actually do that? You get this out-of-body experience. You're not quite sure if it was you who did it.”

And yet for all the emphasis placed on his work as an electric guitar player, Gilmour said it is an acoustic guitar that has been the backbone of his songwriting.

“I guess it would be my Martin D-35," he said, referring to the guitar that sold for $1,2 million in a 2019 auction of his gear. "I used it on Wish You Were Here, and I've been using ever since.”

Gilmour’s latest album is 2024’s Luck and Strange, an album he called his best work since The Dark Side of the Moon. “The album feels like a solid body of cohesive work,” he told Guitar Player in our November 2024 issue. “It’s the cohesiveness of the whole thing — the writing, the work, the thrill it still gives me to listen to it all the way through as an album. We’re not talking concept album here, but there’s a consistency of thought and of feeling that runs through it that excites me in a way that makes me make those sort of comparisons.”

“At first, I thought every kid had a music store in their family,” says Ben Harper, whose grandparents founded Folk Music Center in Claremont, California, 66 years ago. 

For a short time, his family also ran a venue (1965-1970) called the Golden Ring – playing host to names like Doc Watson, John Fahey, and Reverend Gary Davis – and presented the Claremont Folk Festival.  

In Folk Music Center, musical instruments hang in every corner, and the store has seen some exceptional gear pass through its doors in the two generations it has been open. 

Perhaps right at the front of that long list was an acoustic guitar that once belonged to folk music legend Woody Guthrie, who was friends with Harper's grandparents, Charles and Dorothy Chase. 

Although, at the time of stocking the strangely modified guitar, its history was lost to Charles. 

“A guitar wandered into the shop,” Harper explains in the latest issue of Guitar Player. “It was a Martin that been cut in a way that doesn't even make sense. It had been sawed straight down the middle [like a sandwich]. 

“Someone had opened it up and placed tongue depressors inside to space it out, as an experiment to see what it would sound like. My grandfather's first thought was, 'What a shame, you've ruined a great Martin!' It was a double-0 or a triple-0.

“My grandfather buys it for a nominal fee because it's damaged goods. It hangs on the wall for one or two years. Finally, someone makes an offer and my grandfather says, 'Good riddance, get it out of here.'”    

Another folk great, Pete Seeger, later came into the store looking for some Martins. Harper's grandfather then relayed the story of the strangely expanded acoustic he'd just sold. Seeger posed a few questions about its details, all of which Chase confirmed. To that, Seeger said: “That was Woody Guthrie's guitar. Woody and I did that in his shred!” 

Unfortunately, Charles' attempts to get the guitar back were in vain. By the time he discovered the guitar’s history and called to try and get it back, the new owner had already spoken to Martin. They’d discovered that Guthrie was the registered owner and refused to resell it to the store. 

Harper agreed the instrument should be a museum piece, but its whereabouts today are sadly a mystery. 

Harper’s recent interview with Guitar Player also saw him discuss working with Harry Styles on the Grammy-winning record, Harry’s House. The former One Direction star had asked for a particular guitar to be brought to the studio, but Harper had already gifted it to his daughter.   

To pick up the new issue of Guitar Player – which features a lengthy discussion with Harper about the inspirations and gear behind his new album, Wide Open Light – head on over to Magazines Direct. 

An extremely rare prototype Martin guitar made for Eric Clapton has been put up for auction. 

A 1995 prototype of Martin's 000-28EC signature acoustic guitar, it is only one of four ever made, as the pair tried to ride the success of Clapton's limited-edition 000-42EC.

Though extremely pricey and made in limited numbers, the 000-42EC had proved successful upon its release, with the 000-28EC intended to be tonally identical, while undergoing several cosmetic tweaks to minimize its price tag. 

The prototype pairs hand-selected East Indian rosewood back and sides with a central back stripe. It also features a mahogany neck with vintage-style volute, an ebony fingerboard bestowed with abalone cut diamond inlays, and Martin-branded Grover Sta-tite tuners. Clapton’s signature also features on its 20th fret. 

The instrument will be auctioned off with its original hard case and two 1998 Eric Clapton Lexus US tour guitar picks. 

Though its premium features were scaled back to represent a more affordable version of its progenitor, Clapton is full of praise for the acoustic. 

Writing in the 2003 Martin Guitar Masterpieces book, guitar-builder Dick Boak said: “We sent one of the prototypes to Eric in England, and he sent me these exact words back through Lee [Dickson, Eric’s guitar tech]: ‘Don’t get me wrong. I love my 000-42EC Martins. The craftsmanship and detail are superb. But this new 000-28EC model is the best-sounding acoustic guitar I’ve ever played.’” 

In the book, Boak also recalls how the 000-28EC featured at NAMM in July ‘96, garnering “a slew of orders,” with Clapton also adding it to his collection of performance guitars.

Boak added that Clapton “continued to be surprised at how a lower-cost instrument could stand up to the top-of-the-line guitars.”

Although not visible in the photos of the prototype released by auctioneer Gardiner Houlgate, it talks of “substantial scratch marks” on the instrument, corroborating Boak’s claims that the instrument had graced Clapton’s stages. 

“The nature and position of the buckle scratches point to the distinct likelihood of that being the case,” the firm believes. “Sitting in the comfort of a living room or studio would never create marking to this extent.”

It is expected to fetch between $25,404 – $50,809 at auction, after two models from the same production sold for $31,250 in 2008, and $34,956 in 2011.

The auction will be held on June 11, with the 000-28EC acoustic guitar featuring alongside two of Gary Moore’s Gibson Les Pauls, two guitars previously owned by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, and Ian Bairnson's Wuthering Heights Les Paul. 

Head to Gardiner Houlgate for more information about the auction. 

Joe Bonamassa has a new signature acoustic guitar with Martin on the way, and it's based on a pre-war “museum-grade” build that Bonamassa recently got his hands on. 

The guitar, a 1941 000-45, is in impressively good condition and had been a family heirloom before Bonamassa added it to his vast collection.

Taking the signature prototype out of its hard case in a video posted to his Instagram page, Bonamassa reacted candidly, saying, “Holy s**t… this is not a cheap guitar.” 

Such a reaction probably speaks volumes of the level of faith and care taken with the recreation, which has clearly left its mark on the bluesman. As such, Bonamassa has called the signature model, “The honor of a lifetime.”  

Bonamassa had sent the original guitar on a return journey to Martin's Nazareth, PA, headquarters, where the company has since been pouring over every detail of the impeccably clean build to create a signature model for the guitarist.

“The guitar has never left Southern California since it arrived from Nazareth, where the Martin factory is,” Bonamassa said of the original instrument during a conversation with Guitarist last year. “It was sold in LA County, East, and ended up in Costa Mesa, Orange County.

“It has the receipt and the original price tag which was $225 – a lot of money in 1941. It belonged to a lady whose husband had passed away and it was once his grandfather’s guitar, so she had inherited it. 

“She was about to lose her house, but the money she got from me via Guitar Center ultimately saved the situation. It’s got this beautiful flamed spruce and it’s a museum-grade example of a premium Martin that just happened to come into my life from out of nowhere.”

The full specs of the Martin Custom Shop model are expected to be revealed in the near future. In the meantime, side-by-side shots shared by Bonamassa on social media highlight just how meticulous the guitar's recreation is. 

For more information on the Custom Shop collaboration, keep an eye on Martin.

The roots of American guitar builder CF Martin & Company can be traced back several generations to the early 1800s. The story in America began in 1833, when Christian Frederick Martin Sr (son of German cabinet maker Johann Georg Martin and former apprentice of renowned Viennese guitar builder Johann Stauffer) emigrated to New York City. That same year, he set up shop and founded CF Martin & Co, before relocating to Nazareth, Pennsylvania in the late 1830s, where the company continues to thrive

Few guitar builders can claim to be as crucial an influence on the history of popular culture as Martin. Remaining at the forefront of guitar evolution since the mid-1800s with innovations such as X-bracing, larger body sizes, steel strings and 14-fret necks, Martin has endured as an industry leader, while the guitar continued to gain in popularity over the years with different musical styles emerging.

Although numerous benchmark Martin designs have stood the test of time with their understated elegance and world-class tone, spanning multiple music genres, the 18-series of acoustic guitars stands out for many as the classic embodiment of the instrument.

“Style 18s first appeared in the 1850s, before the U.S. Civil War,” Martin’s museum and archives specialist, Jason Ahner, tells us, “and at that point, they had a rosewood back and sides. Although, nowadays, most people think of 18s as having a mahogany back and sides, they didn’t change to mahogany until 1917, at a time when large manufacturers – mostly out of Chicago – were buildings thousands of guitars a year. Martin was trying to compete against the likes of Lyon & Healy, who built Washburn guitars, and I think because mahogany was cheaper than rosewood, it was a way to build some more competitively priced models, but it would have been what we refer to as ‘genuine mahogany’ sourced mainly from Central and South America.

“From the 1870s up until the 1910s, every guitar Martin was building had a rosewood back and sides – they weren’t using mahogany at all during that period. But if we go further back to ledgers from the 1850s and 1860s, we find guitars that had a mahogany back and sides with wholesale prices from $13, along with [rosewood] Style 18 guitars that cost $18 wholesale. That’s where Martin got the ‘18’ from. What we now call the ‘level of ornamentation’ originally referred to the wholesale price in dollars.

“I’ve seen 13s, 14s, 15s and 16s in our sales ledgers from that period that were mostly smaller mahogany guitars with very simple appointments, and the vast majority of them would still have [Spanish-style] fan bracing. Even 17s were fan-braced up until the turn of the 20th century, but once you got into a Style 18, you see that most of them have X-bracing.”

Designed by CF Martin Sr in the early days of the company, Martin’s revolutionary X-bracing system was a first for the acoustic guitar and is still in use today. “CF Martin Sr was experimenting with bracing in the late-1830s/early 1840s,” says Jason. 

“The [Stauffer-style] guitars he learned to build in Vienna tended to be ladder-braced, and when he started emulating the designs of the Spanish guitar builders he began using fan-bracing. We think one of the issues that came up when he was trying to use pin bridges with fan-bracing was that he’d drill into the braces – and then he’d have to pull everything apart, fix the brace and put everything back together again.

“What we do know about CF Martin Sr is that he was a perfectionist when it came to building, so we see him experimenting with bracing patterns quite a bit, and then in 1843 the first guitar with braces arranged in an X-pattern appears. It was built for an extremely popular Spanish guitarist that came to the U.S. in 1841 named Madame de Goñi. We can only assume that [Martin] liked it structurally because he could use a pin bridge without hitting the brace and he really liked the tone of the guitar – otherwise he wouldn’t have stuck with it!”

Like so many other breakthroughs in guitar evolution, the X-bracing system was notable for its ability to help improve the instrument’s volume. “X-bracing helped give the guitar more volume – even with the gut-string models of the time, it gave the guitar more of a punch,” says Jason. “If you play the Madame de Goñi guitar we have in our museum collection and compare it to a fan-braced model from around the same time, you’ll find it’s a noticeably louder instrument. And that would have been perfect for her because she was playing large venues at the time.

“Little did CF [Martin] Sr know that, around 80 years later when Martin really starts getting involved in steel strings, X-bracing would be the perfect pattern for a steel-string guitar. It just so happened that it worked. And it still works. It’s very hard to improve upon that design, and that’s why we still use it today.”

In its ongoing pursuit for greater volume following the introduction of X-bracing, Martin developed two larger bodied variants – sizes 0 and 00 – during the 1850s.

“The larger the instrument is, the more volume and low-end you’re going to get from it,” says Jason. “Early on, we see that everybody had what’s commonly referred to as a ‘parlor’ guitar – so-called because the guitar was mostly an instrument played by women as a form of entertainment in the parlors of their homes. It’s a bit of a loose term but, personally, I would say that anything below an 0 size [i.e., sizes 1, 2, 2½, 3, 4 and 5] would be a parlor guitar.

“But as the guitar grew in popularity, it started being played in larger venues and so the size of the guitars started growing. Martin built the first 0 size guitar in 1854, then you see the first 00 in sales ledgers in 1858. Prior to that, a size 1 was the largest model, which is what the Madame de Goñi guitar is, so we can see the demand for larger guitars was really starting to happen from then onwards.”

Throughout the late 1800s and early 1910s, guitar players increasingly broke away from the confines of the home parlor and became a prominent voice in band settings, orchestras and banjo/mandolin clubs. While seeking to be heard among the more strident-sounding metal-stringed fretted instruments, the guitarist’s need for additional volume was met by Martin with further advancements in guitar design.

“The first 000 appeared in 1902, as did the first steel-string that Martin built – a special order 00-21,” says Jason. “But Martin didn’t get into producing guitars with steel strings on a regular basis until the 1910s. Hawaiian music was huge at that time and that’s when Martin started building Hawaiian-style guitars with steel strings. After that, they would offer a guitar three different ways: with gut strings for classical playing; with steel strings for classical playing; and with steel strings for Hawaiian playing.”

Ultimately, steel strings became so popular that in 1923 they became the standard option for Style 18 guitars, while gut-stringed versions were referred to special orders. By the late 1920s, this became the norm for most other Martin styles, marking a new turning point in the history of the company.

“And then the Dreadnought arrived in 1916,” says Jason. “Originally, Martin only built Dreadnought models for the Oliver Ditson Company – the 222 and the 111, which was pretty similar to what would later become a D-18 [via the experimental D-1 model], because it had a spruce top with a mahogany back and sides. In 1931, after Ditson went out of business, Martin started building the Dreadnought under their own name.

“Early on, the Dreadnoughts didn’t do that great because they were still the large 12-fret models with the thick neck. They had a 1 7/8[-inch] nut width and there was really no fingerboard radius, so it was kind of a classical fingerboard on a big steel-string guitar. 

"But in 1934, Martin changed the design to the 14-fret neck and from there we really see the Dreadnought models take off. Martin had been building smaller guitars with 14-fret necks since the arrival of the OM-28 [in 1929], and they had 14-fret 0-18s, some with sunburst tops, in 1932. That became the standard very quickly. By 1934, Martin had switched over the majority of their line up to 14-fret necks.”

With mahogany backs and sides, spruce tops, X-bracing, steel strings, larger bodies and 14-fret necks, Martin’s 18-series had finally arrived in the form of what many see as an archetypal American acoustic guitar.

“As far as the 18-series goes, if you want the most balanced sound you can get, then you’re going to want an 0-18,” says Jason, “While a 00-18 is going to have a little extra volume and bass, and a 000-18 even more so, if you’re really looking for maximum volume and bass response, then you’ll want a D-18. That’s why the early country and bluegrass players gravitated towards Martin – players needed the most out of their instrument.

“The D-18 and the D-28 are both workhorse guitars when it comes to the history of popular music, but I think what really set the D-18 apart for a lot of players is that, although it was always a cheaper model, after a while people learned how well it records and how good it sounds live. 

"Personally, I prefer a mahogany Dreadnought. Mahogany is less prone to feedback than rosewood. Because it’s not as dense, you’re not getting as much low-end, which is really where the feedback problems occur. And, to my ears, a D-18 records better. I think they sound a little more focused than a rosewood guitar and I can separate the notes a lot easier.

“There are tons of guitar players who have used 18s throughout the history of popular music. Bob Dylan used an 0-18 and a 000-18, as did Steve Earle. Elizabeth Cotten, Muddy Waters and Steve Howe played 00-18s. Woodie Guthrie and Martin Carthy played 000-18s, as did Elvis originally, then on his Sun Sessions he played a D-18. Gordon Lightfoot, Clarence White and David Crosby all played a D-18.

"We have Kurt Cobain’s [1953] D-18 in our museum. He nicknamed it ‘Grandpa’. It’s old and beat-up. And then there’s the [1959] D-18E he played on the MTV Unplugged show. After the folk boom of the ‘50s and ‘60s, Martin sales were down in the late ‘70s and through the ‘80s, but we saw things take off in the ‘90s when the MTV Unplugged shows aired.”

In more recent years, Martin has continued to build 18-series guitars by hand in time-honored tradition by taking inspiration from its golden-era production years of the 1930s and ‘40s.

“The sound factor is what makes golden era 18-series Martin guitars so attractive,” says Jason. “I think part of that did come down to the use of ebony for the fingerboard and bridge. 

"Martin moved away from it for decades. Although it wasn’t recorded until 1940, you see the smaller 18s changing from ebony to rosewood fingerboards and bridges in the late 1930s, followed by the D-18s in 1946, but we went back to an ebony fingerboard and bridge, along with the earlier-style forward-shifted scalloped braces, on the D-18s in 2012. It’s been very well received and, since that time, we’ve started building the 0-18 and 00-18 again.

“We’ve had a lot of success with our 18-series over the years, and many players still look at those as the go to guitar when it comes to an acoustic.”

With thanks to CF Martin & Company, Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars in Bath, U.K., and Graham Firth.

Martin has lifted the veil on several exciting new Dreadnought models ahead of next month’s NAMM show at California’s Anaheim Convention Center.

Extending the popular pre-war vintage-style Authentic Series introduced in 2005 where “everything old is new again” are the D-18 and D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged instruments.

Meanwhile, half a dozen new satin finish Dreadnoughts have been added to the Standard Series. These include the Aging Toner and Amberburst top D-18s and D-28s, plus the new D-18 StreetLegend and D-28 StreetLegend relic finish guitars.

Here’s a quick rundown of Martin’s latest Dreadnoughts…

Standard Series D-18 StreetLegend and D-28 StreetLegend

New to Martin’s Standard Series – home of such classics as the 0-18, 000-28, OM-28, D-35 and D-45 – are the D-18 and D-28 StreetLegend guitars.

Inspired by some of the well-loved vintage acoustics guitars found in the Martin museum, these instruments appear with a factory relic finish.

Featuring satin-finished tops, backs and sides, Martin says the D-18 StreetLegend and D-28 StreetLegend offer “bright trebles and punchy midrange tones,” while aged open-gear tuners and an aged satin pickguard tie the vintage vibe together.

The $2,399 D-18 StreetLegend features a mahogany back and rim, while the $2,799 D-28 StreetLegend is constructed using East Indian rosewood. Both models are fitted with spruce tops and ebony fingerboards and bridges.

Standard Series D-18 and D-28 in Satin and Satin Amberburst

Martin’s Standard Series D-18 and D-28 workhorse guitars are now available in a full satin finish, either with an Aging Toner or Amberburst top.

These new satin finishes appear alongside the regular gloss finish option. All other Standard Series D-18 and D-28 specs remain the same.

As above, the Standard Series D-18 features a mahogany back and rim while the D-28 is built with East Indian rosewood.

Authentic Series D-18 and D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged

Pre-war Martin guitars are among the most collectible acoustics on the planet. An apex of innovation, materials and craftsmanship, 1937 is notable as a year when some of the firm’s Holy Grail flat-tops were made.

Authentic replications of coveted vintage guitars, the D-18 and D-28 Authentic 1937 Aged models both feature a hide glue construction and period-correct forward-shifted X-bracing.

In the case of both guitars, the top and braces are made using pre-war-style Adirondack spruce. Meanwhile, Martin's unique Vintage Tone System (VTS) ages the wood to replicate the sound of a vintage acoustic. 

The D-18 is constructed with “Genuine Mahogany” while the D-28 boasts a Guatemalan rosewood back and rim.

Visit Martin for more information.

It’s impossible to think about acoustic guitars without thinking about Martin. Few brands have a history as storied as Martin, who have been forging a road for guitar development since 1833. As we march into the modern day, Martin is as relevant as ever, now with a huge model lineup to pick from, which means picking the best Martin guitar may not be as simple as you think.

With there being so many Martin guitars available right now, I’ve sorted them by use case to help you narrow your focus on an acoustic guitar that will work particularly well for you. Whether you want to spend on a premium-level instrument, get something low-cost, or just find a great sofa guitar, you’ll find the ideal Martin for you in this guide.

If you want the best overall, I don’t think it gets much better than the Martin D-28. It’s one of the most popular acoustic guitars of all time for good reason, and having tested one myself, I can personally attest to how incredibly one sounds and plays. For those at the other end of the spend spectrum, the Martin D-X2E delivers superb value for money, giving you a Martin acoustic for around the $700 mark.

Regardless of which price point of Martin’s acoustic guitar range you enter, all of their models are built to an excellent standard and will offer you a fantastic playing experience. If you’re buying for the first time, be sure to check out my how to choose section. I’ve also curated a selection of FAQs using over twenty years of guitar playing experience, and a glossary of key terms to help you break down the technical talk used in this article.

Best overall

Overview

Possibly the greatest acoustic guitar ever made, the Martin D-28 is a true icon when it comes to acoustic guitars. Having been first introduced in 1931, its tonewood combination remains a classic recipe that still delivers over 90 years later.

Build quality

The build of the D-28 is legendary – you can consider it the benchmark for all acoustic guitars. The D-28 is expertly crafted from top to bottom, with attention to detail clear in every inch of its design. This is a guitar meant to last a lifetime, and chances are it’ll get better with age. Martin wants it to get there too, which is why they throw in a complimentary hard case.

By today’s standards, it’s actually a fairly simple design and aesthetic, but it’s those subtle touches that imply the quality of the instrument, and they are really nicely applied on the model I tested.

Playability

The modified low oval neck profile offers plenty of versatility, whether you're primarily a strummer or you like to go fingerstyle. It might feel a little different if you’re not used to one, however, as it gives you a soft ‘V’ feel in your hand. It didn’t take me long to get used to it, though, and my test model came nicely set up from the factory.

It is a large guitar, so it might not be suitable for younger players or those with smaller dimensions. Like most acoustics, you will get neck dive when you take your fretting hand off, but overall it felt very balanced in my lap, and equally so when on a strap. There’s not an armrest to speak of, but there is a slight rounding of the body to help with the comfort of your picking hand.

Sounds

The first thing I noticed when testing a D-28 was the incredibly dynamic range. It sounds warm and subtle when fingerpicked softly, but can instantly transform to a brash beast when you strike it hard with a guitar pick. It’s got plenty of low-end response, but always with a beautiful balance, which means it never feels overpowering when playing open chords near the nut.

Due to the quality of the build, there are loads of harmonic overtones when playing, which ring out beautifully on long-held chords. It’ll give your licks a new lease of life, adding a more complex sound that is always articulate and powerful when you need it to be.

Best budget

Overview

Martin’s X series of guitars has been one of their most popular in recent years, and for good reason. Just about every player wants a Martin, but many, or dare I say, most, have been held back by the pricing. With the X series, Martin has produced an acoustic that manages to come in at an affordable price point, without sacrificing significant amounts of quality. Of all the models in the X series, my pick of the range is the DX-2E, which is the everyman’s choice – a sizable dreadnought, that is a jack of all trades.

Build quality

An area where you can expect to see a little drop off from the guitars that sit towards the top of the Martin lineup is in the build of the DX-2E. Firstly, the only solid piece of wood on the guitar is the top, with the back and sides made from high-pressure laminate instead. This isn’t strictly a bad thing, but it does impact the tone somewhat. Otherwise, the D-X2E generally is very well put together and competes with other guitars at a similar price point for build quality.

Playability

Though it sits at the cheaper end of Martin’s range, there are still some classy, premium touches on the D-X2E, such as rounded edges on the body for better comfort during long playing sessions. You’ll want to play for a long time too, as the neck is extremely comfortable and the level of finish is impeccable. To add to that, it is also equipped with Martin’s proprietary E-1 pickup system, making it as perfect for the stage as it is for home use.

Sounds

The D-X2E is a spruce-top dreadnought acoustic guitar that delivers a stunning low-end richness, perfect when accompanying a vocalist. The big dreadnought body shape allows for ample resonance and volume, but with enough brightness to still cut through a mix, rather than being overly boomy.

Best beginner

Overview

The LX1 Little Martin is an iconic guitar in Martin’s product catalog. It might not be the most fancy or expensive model they produce, but the LX1 has gained its reputation as one of the most capable beginner acoustic guitars around, with Ed Sheeran as one of its most prominent adopters in the early stages of his career. The LX1 has proven itself to be near-perfect for beginners, thanks to its reasonable price bracket, or for those with small hands, thanks to the diminutive size.

Build quality

As a 3/4 acoustic guitar, the LX1 is small, compact, and comfortable, and its price point makes it a guitar suitable for a whole array of occasions, but that doesn’t mean it’s been made cheaply. Its top is constructed from the same high-quality Sitka spruce as some of Martin’s higher-end models, while the back and sides are mahogany-patterned high-pressure laminate, which is common at this sort of price.

Playability

The LX1 is definitely small – it’s kind of its “thing” – and that’s worth taking into consideration. A 23” scale length isn’t for everyone, but it perfectly suits beginners and smaller players. I’m not a particularly small individual and have relatively large hands, but I found playing up in the fingerboard’s higher register to be comfortable, and the lower string tension can open up real doors when improving your playing, so even larger beginners may find it really suits them.

Sounds

The LX1 has an impressive, punchy clarity, which Martin guitars are known for, while the smaller body size keeps the low-end in check, without feeling too weedy, as other guitars of this size often can, though it does still have a slight boxiness that is physically impossible to avoid with a guitar of this size.

Best travel

Overview

There are a few particularly small guitars in Martin’s range – namely, the aforementioned, LX1 Little Martin – and compactness is a key component for a travel guitar. If you want a full-sized tone too, though, you have to think just a little bigger, which is where the Martin D Jr E comes in. A shrunken dreadnought shape, sitting a little shorter and noticeably thinner than a traditional ‘D’-style acoustic, making it more compact to travel with, but still having a full, fat tone.

Build quality

The D Jr E has a full, solid wood build, with a spruce top and sapele back and sides, providing a bright, smooth tone. It is also equipped with Martin’s excellent E-1 system preamp, which is a joy to use and means any loss of volume for this smaller-bodied guitar can easily be compensated for through front of house. While you shouldn’t expect the overall finesse and craftsmanship of Martin’s premier lineup, it’s a noticeable step up from cheaper instruments.

Playability

Though the smaller body may take a little getting used to if you are used to a standard dreadnought, the neck will be immediately familiar, as it’s the same scale length as Martin’s standard range. It’s quite remarkable how they’ve managed to make a small acoustic feel like a big one.

Sounds

Though compact, this is essentially a full-size guitar, and that has huge ramifications on the tone, cutting out the majority of the notorious and unavoidable boxiness of smaller, travel guitars, though if you’re strumming aggressively, you’ll notice that the midrange pokes through significantly more than the bass. Fingerstyle players will get on with it no problem, with a tone that cuts through, without feeling brash.

Best fingerstyle

Overview

The 000-12E Retro is part of Martin’s Road Series of guitars, which, while still made in Mexico, represents a step up from the cheaper X series. The price point that the 000-12E sits within is a fair jump up from the aforementioned, but I think it’s worth it.

Build quality

The justification for the price increase between the X and Road series comes down to the quality of materials and the level of finish, with this 000-12E Retro featuring a sapele back and sides, a Sitka spruce top, and an ebony topped-neck. This combination delivers a balanced, sweet tone that is highly versatile – and the ebony fretboard is a particular highlight and upgrade on earlier versions of the 000-12E.

Playability

With a 24.9” scale length, this guitar is slightly shorter than most others on this list, but the smaller scale and lighter string tension provide incredibly easy playability, which is comfortable in virtually any musical scenario, though I think particularly well-adapted to fingerstyle.

Sounds

The characterful sound of the 000-12E is balanced, warm, and articulate with strong, clear mids and a punchy, rather than boomy, bass; all of these characteristics are perfectly suited to fingerstyle playing. The Martin E-1 electronics onboard top this one off for me, enabling you to sound truly authentic when plugged in without any of the harsh top-end you’d expect from cheap electronics and pickups.

Best 12-string

Overview

The Martin Grand J-16E 12-String is a big-bodied acoustic, with a jaw-dropping sound and look that befits a high-end, US-made acoustic like this. It’s by no means the most expensive 12-string in Martin’s range – in fact, it is the third cheapest, following two X Series models – but it is still a significant investment, so it is ideal for seasoned acoustic players looking to add a different type of sound to their collection.

Build quality

As a US-made Martin, the J-16E 12-string is as premium as you can imagine, composed of top-class hardwoods, including East Indian rosewood for the back and sides and a Sitka spruce top. This sits somewhere towards the bottom of Martin’s US range, which means it doesn’t have some of the outrageous, and often largely cosmetic design features you would expect from their top-of-the-line models, but everything feels supremely solid and functional, prioritising build and sound over flash.

Playability

This is a large guitar – or at least you’d think it is from looking at it from the front. It’s actually designed with a slightly slimmer body, which means it’s more comfortable than other jumbo-style guitars. Keeping a 12-string in tune is a challenge at the best of times, and while some light variation in precise tuning helps towards the ensemble nature of these types of instruments, I think most players will be grateful for the addition of a built-in tuner.

Sounds

The spruce top and rosewood back/sides are a match made in heaven, offering a balanced sound with plenty of resonance, and a "chimey" sound which has a controlled low end, though not the big bass you may expect from a full depth jumbo guitar, given its thinner profile, but this works well for the complex overtones of a 12-string, where over-the-top low end can engulf everything else. The integrated Martin E1 electronics give you the option to plug in live, if you need that additional volume.

Also consider

How to choose

Martin guitars are one of those illustrious brands, alongside Gibson and Fender, where the idea of making a ‘wrong’ decision when choosing a model seems preposterous, but it may surprise you just how varied their range is, and with that will inevitably mean there are some models that simply don’t suit you. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a bad acoustic among them, but there certainly are things that will make one of their acoustics better or worse for you personally.

1. Shape

Martin has been at the forefront of acoustic guitar body shapes, changing the landscape of acoustic guitars forever with their developments and inventions. The legacy of these designs still lives on in their lineup, with auditorium, concert, and the infamous dreadnought, all having unique characters. Shape will have a huge impact on comfort and playability, with some of their shapes having voluptuous curves that give a unique tonal characteristic, but also a specific feel to hold.

2. Size

Shape is often intrinsically linked to size, though not always, and in some of Martin’s range, some of their traditionally larger shapes have been shrunken down, with models that are in a certain shape and size to produce a specific type of tone or level of volume. For example, the Dreadnought is a shape and size that has specifically been designed to create ample volume, as it was concocted at a time before amplification, and where the acoustic sound was all there was – growth was the only way to achieve this.

With size comes the chance for increased resonance, particularly low-end resonance, which has a profound impact on perceived volume, and the more low-end, the louder it’s going to sound.

3. Integrated electronics

Many acoustic players now don’t want to be limited to the volume that their guitar creates unaided. Yes, Martin has some exceptionally loud, big-bodied acoustics, but that alone still won’t always be enough, which is where a pickup that can amplify your sound further comes in handy.

You absolutely can add pickups to your acoustic post-purchase, but some can require more work than you might like to install correctly, some of which may feel as though it could be detrimental to your acoustic. If you think you may want electronics such as pickups, why not have them fitted on purchase, where you know they will have been paired and optimized to work with your specific model?

Martin guitars price guide

Starting at $399, the LX1 – Martin's cheapest full-bodied acoustic guitar – is a perfect guitar for a beginner or smaller player. Martin’s Mexican-made guitars populate the sub-$1,000 section of the Martin product list, and they are all fantastic – but on some models, you’ll only find a solid top, with the back and sides made from a high-pressure laminate (HPL). These guitars are still brilliantly resonant, and in some cases more durable than their all-solid counterparts, but they don’t quite have the same vibe and feeling as an all-solid, USA-made Martin. That being said, there are few better acoustics you could buy for under a grand.

USA-made Martins start at around $1,500 with the 15 series, so if the country of manufacture is something you’re precious about, then this is the place to start your search. All guitars from this point onwards are made entirely from solid wood, so you can expect the typical Martin resonance that they’ve become so well known for. Although the 15 and 17 series are killer guitars, Martin’s famous D-18 comes in at not much more – around $2,600 – so if you’re after an investment as well as an amazing guitar, then we’d start here.

From $3,000 to $5,000, every guitar you set eyes on will be a world-beater. In this price bracket, you’ve got some of Martin’s most iconic models – most notably the D-28, OM 28 and J-40 guitars. It’s virtually impossible to go wrong here, so it’s just a matter of how much money you’re willing to part with. The difference in quality between a $3,000 and $5,000 Martin is quite negligible, so go with whichever one you prefer the sound of – that’s the most important thing at the end of the day, right?

Upwards of $5,000, and these guitars are in special territory. Most of these Martins are all about the looks and level of finish, with the D-45 being a prime example – thanks to its flashy rosette and inlays on the body and headstock. Martin’s Authentic series, however, is all about the vintage vibe and sound. If that’s what you want, nothing can compare to the Authentic series of guitars – except a genuine golden-era Martin, of course.

Body size guide

Martins come in all shapes and sizes, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble choosing the right one for you.

0/00/000

Martin indicates the body shapes of their smaller guitars with a certain number of ‘0’s. It might look confusing, but it’s very simple – 0 is the smallest, 00 is a bit bigger, and 000 is bigger than that. The larger the body, the louder and fuller the guitar will sound. Any of the ‘0’ body shapes are ideal for finger-style players, as their tones are generally more balanced and the guitars themselves respond better to playing dynamics.

Martin’s OM guitars, including the OMJM included in this guide, use a 000 body shape.

Dreadnought

Dreadnought Martins such as the D-18 and D-28 have a much larger, rich sound. The dreadnought guitar is considered perfect for singer-songwriters or those who want volume without amplification. The wider body shape allows for your tone to resonate more freely inside the body of the guitar, and the generally larger body allows for much more low-end to be produced. These guitars can sometimes feel uncomfortable for smaller players, but the tone is pretty hard to beat. It is worth noting that due to the extra low-end that is produced, if you want a super defined tone, then this isn’t the body shape for you.

Jumbo

Martin doesn't make many jumbo sized acoustic guitars, but one of its staple plus-sized offerings is the J-40. The jumbo body shape looks a lot like the 000 from a distance, but up close you’ll notice that all of the body measurements have been increased. This larger body size allows for the balanced tone of the 000 to be accentuated and augmented, with more low-end, and more high-end too. It’s the ultimate Swiss Army Knife acoustic body size, but it is pretty big. If you’re a small person, this could be a step too far.

FAQs

Key terms

• Action: The height of the strings above the fretboard—lower action is easier to play, while higher action can allow for louder, cleaner notes.
• Adirondack: A type of spruce often used for guitar tops, prized for its strong headroom and powerful, dynamic tone.
• Binding: The protective strip of material that runs along the edges of a guitar’s body and sometimes the fretboard.
• Bone: A natural material commonly used for nuts and saddles, valued for its durability and tonal clarity.
• Bracing: The internal wooden support structure inside an acoustic guitar that strengthens the top and shapes the instrument’s tone.
• CITES: An international agreement that regulates the trade of certain woods and materials to protect endangered species.
• Dreadnought: A large-bodied acoustic guitar shape known for its big volume, strong bass, and powerful strumming tone.
• Dovetail: A traditional neck joint used by some high-end acoustics where the neck is fitted into the body with a tapered, interlocking joint.
• Fingerboard (fretboard): The flat wooden surface on the neck where the frets are installed and where you press the strings to form notes and chords.
• Finish checking: Fine hairline cracks that can appear in a guitar’s finish over time, often due to temperature or humidity changes.
• Forward-shifted bracing: A bracing pattern where the internal braces are positioned slightly closer to the soundhole, typically giving the guitar more bass and openness.
• Gloss: A shiny, polished finish that highlights the wood grain and provides a classic look.
• HPL: High-pressure laminate, a durable composite material sometimes used for guitar backs and sides.
• Luthier: A craftsperson who builds, repairs, or modifies stringed instruments.
• Modified low oval: A neck shape designed by Martin that feels slim and comfortable for many players.
• Neck reset: A major repair that adjusts the neck angle of an acoustic guitar to restore proper playability and action.
• Nitrocellulose (Nitro): A traditional guitar finish known for being thin and resonant, often aging in a way many players find attractive.
• Pickguard: The protective plate on the guitar’s top that prevents scratches from picks or fingernails.
• Richlite: A synthetic material sometimes used for fretboards and bridges as an alternative to traditional hardwoods.
• Saddle: The small strip – usually bone or synthetic – set into the bridge that supports the strings and helps transfer vibration to the guitar top.
• Scalloped bracing: A bracing style where sections of the braces are carved away to allow the top to vibrate more freely.
• Sitka spruce: The most common spruce used for acoustic guitar tops, known for its balanced tone and versatility.
• Tonewood: Any wood specifically chosen for its tonal qualities when used in a musical instrument.
• Torrefaction (VTS): A heat-treatment process that “ages” wood to mimic the sound and responsiveness of older instruments. Martin calls their torrefaction process ‘Vintage Tone System’ or VTS for short.
• Satin: A smooth but non-glossy finish that feels fast to the touch and has a more understated look.

How we test

At Guitar Player, we understand the timeless appeal and impeccable craftsmanship of Martin guitars. With our dedication to providing valuable insights for guitar enthusiasts, we have meticulously researched and tested a wide range of Martin guitars to identify the best options available for you.

To compile our list of top Martin guitars, we combine our expertise, meticulous research, and insightful discussions with our editorial team. We consider factors such as tonal quality, playability, construction, materials, and historical significance, ensuring that we showcase the finest Martin guitars that resonate with musicians who appreciate the rich heritage and legendary sound of these instruments.

As passionate guitar aficionados ourselves, we recognize the allure of owning a Martin guitar, a symbol of exceptional quality and superb tonal characteristics. Whether you're a seasoned professional, a dedicated enthusiast, or an aspiring player, our goal is to provide reliable and informed recommendations that help you find the best Martin guitar that suits your musical aspirations and personal style.

Read more on how we test gear and service at Guitar Player.

This Martin Signature Edition is an ode to the Man in Black, Johnny Cash. America’s oldest guitar company and the Americana icon have a rich history dating back to Cash’s initial request for an all-black lacquered D-35 dreadnought in the early ’70s that became his stage hallmark.

In 1997, Martin introduced a very limited-edition D-42JC Johnny Cash autographed by the man himself, and 2006 brought the still-available D-35 Johnny Cash Commemorative.

In 2019, Martin joined forces with John Carter Cash and the Cash Foundation management team to create the DX Johnny Cash, offering a nod to Johnny’s D-35 that is accessible to folks without stacks of cash to spare.

Constructed from high-pressure wood laminates and equipped with Fishman MX electronics, the DX Johnny Cash is made in Martin’s Mexican factory located near the Gulf of California in Navojoa, Sonora (cue “Ring of Fire” trumpets).

The obvious aesthetic here is black, black and more black on the top, back, sides and headstock overlay, as well as the neck and fingerboard. Even the nut and the saddle are black.

Of course, nothing highlights black quite like white, and that’s the only other color in this scheme, although noticeably not in the form of any binding whatsoever.

Like the earlier commemorative edition, the DX JC fingerboard is inlaid with white stars, but instead of a signature at the 20th fret, the DX displays the CASH logo in big bold letters at the 18th fret. That sole appointment transforms this instrument from a cool black-and-white acoustic guitar to a Cash signature model.

Subtler signature elements include a copy of Cash’s John Hancock in small black script within the white rosette and inside the guitar on the label.

A guitar’s look doesn’t necessarily represent its tone, but in an overall sense that is the case here. This black guitar has a rather dark, velvety voice, and its tonal demeanor is very straightforward, just like the man who inspired it.

Whether sounding single notes or chords, the DX Cash signature is all about the fundamentals, not fancy rich overtones. Plugged into a Fishman Loudbox amplifier, the onboard Fishman MX system delivered a gig-worthy representative tone with consistency.

The factory action was a tad on the high side, but that was easily adjustable via the truss rod. It certainly handles well enough to pony up a few expensive chords or play an elaborate lick or two, but Cash drove the rhythm section from the bottom up, and this DX is ideal for that application.

Strum some cowboy chords with a strong pick attack, and it delivers them right in stride. Wail away forcefully and the DX won’t back down. Built like a tank and weighing in on the heavy side, it feels ready for a fight.

At Martin headquarters, we had the opportunity to compare the upmarket 1997 Johnny Cash D-42 prototype directly to the DX. Such a posh collector’s item should and did sound more open and alive, and if you’ve got nearly five grand on hand, you can get closer to that with the D-35 Johnny Cash Commemorative.

But we’re willing to bet that, to most ears, the difference between that and this DX isn’t quite as drastic as the difference in dollars. For most players, the DX makes a ton of sense. It captures the Cash spirit admirably, without breaking the bank.

Specifications:

• NUT WIDTH: 1.75", black Corian
• NECK: Black birch laminate
• FRETBOARD: FSC certified Richlite, 25.4" scale
• FRETS: 20
• TUNERS: Chrome enclosed gear
• BODY: High-pressure laminate back, sides, and top
• BRIDGE: FSC-certified Richlite with compensated black Tusq saddle
• ELECTRONICS: Fishman MX with Sonicore undersaddle piezo pickup and soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls
• FACTORY STRINGS: Martin Authentic Acoustic Lifespan 2.0 MA540T Light 92/8 Phosphor Bronze .012–.054
• WEIGHT: 5.2 lbs
• BUILT: Mexico

Visit Martin for more information.

The D-45s first appeared in 1933 as 12-fret models (the first was made for Gene Autry) and then they went to the 14-fret design a little later. They are the pinnacle of Martin, but it was really just a very well-appointed D-28; they were similarly constructed using Brazilian rosewood for the back and sides, Adirondack spruce for the top, and they had an ebony fingerboard and bridge.

When you talk about ‘pre-war’ guitars, people’s definitions can sometimes overlap. A lot of people think of that term as pre-World War II. But that means different things to different countries. And if you’re talking about the USA, we didn’t enter the war until right after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 (whereas the UK declared war on Nazi Germany at the start in 1939). 

So, when I look at this D-45 from 1941, it’s pre-war as far as the US is concerned, although some may stretch to calling it a ‘wartime build’. At least that’s how [Martin author and inlay artist] Mike Longworth explained it to me.

By 1942, there were no more 45-series guitars being made because of the war effort, and they didn’t come out again until 1968. That’s when Martin rebooted the D-45. What’s interesting about those Style 45 guitars from 1968-1970 is the fact they’re still really great guitars, even though that’s no longer the golden era.

A lot of people really like the Sitka spruce top they were using then. They were using Brazilian rosewood until 1970 when Martin had the fire. That’s when they lost a lot of their wood stock. It pretty much marked the end of Brazilian rosewood, aside from some later special Custom Shop builds.

When it comes to the debate between Brazilian and Indian rosewood, and tonewood, I think every guitar has its own merits. And the same could be said for electric guitars. I mean, you can have two ’59 Les Pauls that sound completely different, even when the pickup outputs are close to the same.

I think most of the sound of pre-war Martins has to do with the way they’re constructed: the width of the bridge plate and the bracing, for example, rather than the fact it’s made with Brazilian rosewood. Brazilian rosewood is beautiful to look at – that’s the big difference. There are great Brazilian rosewood guitars I’ve played and not-so-great Brazilian rosewood guitars I’ve played. Same with Indian.

A big part of what makes the pre-war D-45s so desirable is the fact there were so few made of course, but it’s also to do with the seasoning and the ageing of the wood. If a guitar is played on a regular basis for many years, it’ll tend to sound better than otherwise.

Many years ago, I was given a tip: take your acoustic guitar and put it next to your subwoofer stereo and let the vibrations go through the guitar. And I found it really made a difference! When I was selling new D-45s, I found the one we demoed in the store that was played on a regular basis sounded much better than the one that just came out of the box. Guitars need to be opened up through being played. That’s when the harmonics come through and the guitar starts to ring well.

This D-45 had not been played much until about 15 years ago when it went to somebody who actually used it. Before that, it sounded rather shallow for a D-45, but now it has this huge sound like a baby grand piano.

If you play a chord, there’s no saturation; you can hear each note in the chord brilliantly. To me, that’s always the sign of a great top on a guitar. Rosewood has a fuller, bassier tone than mahogany. The [mahogany] D-18, for example, is a naturally brighter guitar, and when you play it fingerstyle, it’s powerful, but a rosewood guitar like a D-28 or D-45 is deeper sounding. And I think the rosewood back and sides has a lot to do with that.

Like I said, the D-45 is really just a gussied-up D-28, but in the pre-war period you’re talking about a herringbone D-28, which is also one of the most desirable flattops in the world. The D-45 is more or less the same: it’s all accoutrement. I don’t think there’s any difference in tone. In fact, I have several pre-war Martins and the only one that stands up against the D-45 is a D-28 with a shaded top. That’s got that baby grand piano thing going on too.

But D-45s are the pinnacle of Martin flat-tops, they’re incredible instruments to play.

Vintage guitar expert David Davidson owns Well Strung Guitars in Farmingdale, New York

Most acoustic players are familiar with a few body sizes but remain foggy about the many options available. Here we aim to provide clarity, not with a big chart you could find using a Google search but with some real-world examples that reveal the positives and negatives inherent to each size category, and a bit of history that explains how we got to where we are today.

Small-Body Perspective

From the time C.F. Martin opened shop in the mid 19th century until well into the 20th century, the acoustic guitar was a relatively small instrument that was played primarily by women in home parlors.

Parlor guitars, such as Gretsch’s Rancher Penguin Parlor, are resurgent these days, and the most modern small-acoustic trend is travel-sized guitars. Interesting under-the-radar instruments include terz classical instruments and tenor guitars with only four steel strings, originally introduced in the ’20s to lure banjo players to the instrument.

Pros and Cons

The biggest benefit of a small acoustic is convenience. Since it’s easier to manage anywhere and everywhere, it gets played more. Some disadvantages include compromises in playability and tone. That’s especially true of cheaper instruments that can be overbraced, making them more durable but also inflexible and boxy sounding. Higher quality instruments, such as the Santa Cruz Firefly, use customized braces and a smaller soundhole to accentuate bass.

Guitars with short scale lengths are generally harder to tune and tend to feel less snappy and more spongy under the fingers, but they have less of a stretch from fret to fret and easier string bending capability. The bottom line is that every player can appreciate keeping a small acoustic on hand and within an arm’s reach, to play whenever and wherever inspiration strikes.

Medium-Body Perspective

Today’s medium-sized guitar was once considered relatively large. Slightly bigger than a typical parlor guitar, the concert size dates back to the mid 1800s and is currently Breedlove’s most popular option and also available in the form of Yamaha’s FS models. Body styles that epitomize a modern medium size include the orchestra model, or OM, and the 000, commonly called a triple 0 or auditorium.

Pros and Cons

Balance is the name of the game. A medium body provides adequate bass and even tonal balance from the lowest to the highest notes. Medium-body guitars tend to be a bit shallower, less wide at the waist and often have slightly narrower neck profiles. That makes it easier to wrap your own body around the guitar’s body, and playability is prime for fingerpickers and linear lickers alike. Medium-sized acoustics either offer the best of both worlds or neither, depending on one’s perspective.

Scale length is either full or close to full size, so if you’re hell-bent on booming bass or portability, a bona fide big or small acoustic may be the better bet. For the tweener, a medium-body acoustic is sheer bliss.

Big-Body Perspective

Martin’s official introduction of the dreadnought body in 1931 (the company actually started making dreads under the Oliver Ditson brand years earlier) was the shot heard ’round the world. Its louder, bolder sound established the acoustic guitar’s dominance over the banjo, fiddle and mandolin, and for generations of players, the dreadnought was the only body that would do.

Taylor’s grand auditorium is another full-bodied archetype, its grand symphony is slightly larger, and the grand orchestra even more so. Other options include jumbos, like Gibson’s J-200, and the baritone guitar. Any bigger and you’re playing a bass!

Pros and Cons

Big-bodied guitars bring the bass and are generally loud. If that’s what you’re after, go big, but note that bigger isn’t always better. In fact, it can be a detriment in some situations. Bob Weir once told GP, “I got a smaller guitar with a tighter low end, a 1939 Martin 00-17, when I started doing a duet with Rob Wasserman because all the famous big-bodied guitars were developed to sound full as an accompaniment instrument without a bass. As soon as you add a bass to a mix, you’re in a pissing match with it.”

This maple hollowbody electric guitar has mesmerized me for years – not just this model but this very guitar. It’s been hanging in the vintage vault at Guitar Showcase, one of my favorite haunts in San Jose, California. 

I was always curious why Martin, one of the oldest and most respected acoustic guitar builders in the world, could not successfully break into the market for electric guitars. I figured there must be something terribly wrong with the company’s approach to designing and building them. 

So, when I borrowed this GT-75 to write about it, I was expecting to give it a lackluster review and brusquely toss it into the proverbial pile of unsuccessful builds from the 1960s guitar boom. Boy howdy, was I wrong! This axe is just plain off-the-hook awesome. 

I’m gobsmacked!

Weirdo Factor

The only unusual thing about this guitar is that it is a Martin electric from the 1960s and has stayed relatively unknown since its introduction in 1966, more than five decades ago. Its shape is rather elegant, with easy, understated flowing lines. The upper cutaways remind me of Lauren Bacall’s shoulders, particularly if she were wearing a tuxedo. 

But except for the immortal Skip Spence from the amazing ’60s San Francisco psychedelic band Moby Grape, no guitarist of any real note is known for playing one of these sweethearts, which is probably why the GT-75 was destined for obscurity. 

Martin stopped production of the guitar in October 1968, less than two years after it made its debut.

Playability & Sound

To start with, it plays wonderfully. The 22-fret mahogany neck with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard is super friendly. The neck is slim, the action is low, and the feel is all quality. This is not a guitar you have to wrestle. The medium-jumbo frets are dressed smoothly, and there are no dead spots. The Bigsby-style tremolo, whose tailpiece is cleverly shaped like an M, is smooth and responsive, but the GT-75’s real surprise is its sound. 

I’ve heard DeArmond model 2000 pickups on a lot of guitars from the ’60s, but there is something special going on with this pair. These particular pickups have a complex and chimey sound. The bridge setting is snarly and biting and a bit microphonic, but in a good way. The neck pickup can easily sound jazzy if you roll back the tone knob, but with the control open, this pickup is also surprisingly bright. As for the middle position, it’s money – loud, full and just a little bit phasey.

Even with a distortion pedal, notes played on the GT-75 are distinct, and wonderfully so, especially compared to my solidbody Gibsons and Fenders. The clarity is reminiscent of a stereo guitar whose signal gets split to two amps, one clean and one overdriven. I just could not put this guitar down!

I strung it with roundwound strings prior to testing, and although I suspect it was expected to be played with flatwounds, I also bet it would lose all of its snappy character if it were. The Klusons are tight and hold their pitch so well that this guitar, after hanging for years behind glass, was actually in tune when handed to me by Guitar Showcase assistant manager Jack Van Breen (a fine guitarist, by the way). What the...?!

Value

There are a few GT-75s online ranging in price from $1,500 to $3,000 – not bad considering it’s an absolutely cool 50-something-year-old American-made electric guitar.

Why It Rules

I have to give the GT-75 two enthusiastic thumbs up! It sounds amazing, it plays super well, and the look is even groovy in a subtle art deco way. Besides, it’s a dang Martin!

(Thanks to Gary Wineroth at Guitar Showcase, for the loan of this beautiful guitar.)

You've probably heard the story. The short version: Eric Clapton and Ed Sheeran become buddies. One day, Ed is round at Eric's when Clapton takes one of his guitars off the wall, signs the back and gives it to Ed. Nice. 

Then, January 2019, a fire breaks out at Ed Sheeran's Suffolk studio. Guess what's in there? Yup, that guitar. 

"It was the only guitar at home in the studio," says Ed, "I was on tour, my friend phoned me up and said, ‘Your music studio is on fire! It’s burning to the ground!’ I was like, ‘Fuck, the guitar is in that studio!’

The guitar is pulled from the ruins, burned to a crisp. Monty’s Guitars in Cheltenham, UK, are given the guitar to see if they can salvage it. Unbelievably, they do. 

How?

“It was a weird one,” begins Matt Gleeson, head honcho of Monty’s Guitars in Cheltenham, UK. “I got a call out of the blue from Joe Rubel, who is a guy that works closely with Ed Sheeran. He said, “Would you be up for a real challenge?” At first, I didn’t think it would be possible to rebuild the guitar. It had been so badly damaged in the fire at Ed's Sheeran's studio. But I told him we'd try anything!”

In the face of such calamitous loss, what was there left to do but try? Most of the time, such poorly damaged guitars are written off forever. But this is no ordinary guitar. It’s irreplaceable. Signed and gifted to Ed Sheeran by Eric Clapton personally, this Martin 000-28EC was one of the acoustic star’s most prized possessions. Surely something could be done?

Why was Joe Rubel so keen on getting the guitar restored?

We soon realized that Ed knew nothing about it when Joe brought it in. When he began working with Ed, it was life changing. So, he wanted to do something that was really special and he knew this guitar meant a lot to Ed. It was given to Ed personally by Eric Clapton when he went over to his house. Eric Clapton is a massive influence for Ed. Clapton is the reason Ed started playing.”

What happened in the fire?

Joe told me the story about Ed's studio burning down. Apparently, so much stuff had melted it was like a [Salvador] Dali painting. Obviously, Ed was shocked about the whole thing. Hence, we didn’t say anything until he mentioned it on social media.

The only thing that survived was this guitar – a 000-28EC Eric Clapton signature Martin. When we opened the case, we just got this waft of bonfire! Everything on the top was burned. You could just about make out the Martin [soundhole] label.

How bad was the damage overall?

Joe’s original idea was to buy another Eric Clapton Martin and transplant the back, which Eric had signed. Weirdly, the back was fairly intact, including Eric's signature. The binding had melted and blistered, and the lacquer was a bit damaged. But the back looked salvageable.

When we scratched a bit of the top away, we realised the wood hadn’t been burnt all the way through; there was still a big old chunk of it left. And hats off to Martin – the fact that the guitar’s construction was able to withstand that kind of heat is amazing. There were a couple of loose struts, but it was structurally sound.

How hopeful were you that it could be fully restored?

When we realized we could salvage it, I said to Joe, “Why don’t we try to get the guitar back to a playable condition? Let’s see how far we can get it. If we can’t, we’ll go to plan B and transplant the back. I think we can solve this."

One of the guys who was working with me – Tim Hughes – spent two or three days stripping the whole thing back, taking all the binding off, and getting it so you could see the wood. We had to take the bridge off and all the plastics that had melted. There was also a guy working with me at the time called Kevin Williams (who has a company called Providence Guitars). He took on the bulk of the fiddly reconstruction jobs and absolutely smashed it!

How did you manage to find spare parts?

Once we stripped it down, I got in touch with Martin via email and later got a call from the UK distributor quizzing me over it. I think they got the wrong end of the stick and thought we were trying to make a copy or something! So, I explained the whole story and, annoyingly, they contacted Ed’s management who didn’t know anything about it (Joe was doing it all secretly because he wanted to surprise Ed with it when it was all done). Management then spoke to Ed to ask what was going on, so it all came to light a little earlier than we’d hoped. But once that was all sorted out, Martin kindly sent us over everything to recreate it, bar the decal.

The herringbone binding is beautiful, but it’s tricky to work with. It’s one thing putting it on a new guitar, but we were working with a very uneven top, so, it was a hell of a lot of work. Also, the top had shrunk a little bit and split, so we spliced a very thin piece of wood in the middle.

Was it tricky putting the finish on?

When we were getting it sprayed, the coat would disappear into the wood. Maybe it was because of the way the wood had changed after being heated up so much. It took coat after coat, but now it looks amazing. In fact, I personally think it looks better than a new one; the scorch marks look pretty cool!

How does it sound?

Well, it’s most probably the world’s only fully roasted guitar! I mean, it sounds amazing. It’s got a really nice crystal-y top end. So, for fingerpicking it’s very articulate and snappy. Those guitars aren’t particularly bass-heavy, but it sounds really full and rich.

Is the guitar stable?

From a tech’s point of view, the neck is super stable. When you roast a neck, they get very strong structurally. You can put virtually any strings on and it doesn’t really move.

Also, we took away probably a third of the thickness of the top, so when you tap it, you get this really nice high tone. It’s one of those tops that’s really good for doing percussion stuff on. It’s really resonant and vibey. When you hit the strings, the whole thing shakes. It’s really cool. Hopefully, Ed will make some good tunes with it!

Everybody at Monty’s Guitars was involved in it and it’s certainly one of the restorations I’m most proud of. And it's nice to be able to share what myself and the other guys are capable of doing.

Visit Monty's Guitars here.

Martin has expanded its lineup of acoustic guitars with two new ziricote models, as well as the Grand J-16E 12-string and DJR-10E StreetMaster.

Read on to learn more about the new models, which boast a wealth of stylish appointments.

Martin D-13E and GPC-13E Ziricote

Both of the two ziricote models – arriving in the form of the dreadnought-shaped D-13E and single-cutaway GPC-13E – feature back and sides constructed out of a fine veneer of ziricote, a glossed Sitka spruce top, and an FSC Certified Richlite fingerboard. 

The two models also boast an X Brace architecture alongside the Fishman MX-T electronics system and high-performance neck taper.

The D-13E and GPC-13E will be sold for $1,249 and $1,299, respectively.

Martin Grand J-16E 12-String

Joining the ziricote models is the 12-string Grand J-16E. Constructed using a Sitka spruce top and East Indian rosewood back and sides, the J-16E also sports a scalloped X-bracing pattern and an ebony fingerboard.

Other appointments include a high-performance taper neck, mother of pearl inlays, and Fishman’s Matrix VT Enhance NT1 system.

The Grand J-16E will be sold for $2,099.

Martin DJR-10E StreetMaster

Last up is Martin’s DJR-10E StreetMaster, which sports a distressed look and features a mahogany top, back, and sides. An FSC Certified Richlite fingerboard also appears on the smaller-bodied dreadnought, as does a high performance neck taper and Fishman’s Sonitone electronics.

The DJR-10E StreetMaster will be sold for $699.

Visit Martin for more information.

• These are the best Martin guitars

Though Martin is known largely for its tradition of stoic, immaculately-built traditional acoustics, the company does have a taste for the unusual.

Some of its one-off custom acoustics, in particular, (remember the Brexit D-16? or the Rock the Vote David Crosby D-16E?) have turned heads with their decidedly loud, almost mural-esque finishes. Now, Martin guitars has unveiled its latest custom instrument in that vein, the 00L Earth model.

Designed by artist and frequent Martin collaborator Robert Goetzl, the guitar was inspired by climate activist Greta Thunberg, and her School Strike for Climate movement.

“When I first heard this eloquent young woman, Greta Thunberg, speak so passionately about climate change, I was immediately inspired and thought, why not design a guitar with a visual element as a tool to promote the message ‘Save the Earth,’” Goetzl said in a statement. 

“Perhaps this is a way to help raise awareness of resource sustainability and our society’s failure to take action against the global crisis that this troubled planet is facing.”

100 percent FSC-certified and plastic-free – a first for a Martin – the 00L Earth model features an illustration of the Earth, sun, and stars.

“I respect working for a company that takes environmental issues seriously," said Martin Lead Instrument Designer Tim Teel.

“This project illustrates the importance of our planet and is depicted in this amazing graphic by Robert Goetzl. By using responsibly harvested materials, we will ensure the next generation of musicians and luthiers will have great tonewoods to choose from when designing, building, and playing stringed instruments of the future.” 

The Martin 00L Earth guitar is available now for $2,249.

For more info on the guitar, stop by martinguitar.com.

Martin has teamed up with David Gilmour to create a new signature custom D-35 acoustic guitar.

Available in 6- and 12-string versions, the guitar is based partially on the Pink Floyd legend's 1969 Martin D-35, which sold at auction for $1,095,000 in 2019. Heard most famously on "Wish You Were Here," it was Gilmour's number one stage and studio acoustic for over four decades.

Though Martin initially thought Gilmour would want an exact replica of the guitar, he instead wanted to create something "unique and special to this moment in time," according to Fred Greene, Martin's VP of Product Development.

The result is a custom D-35 model whose back, sides, neck, and neck block are all made of solid sinker mahogany, a first for a three-piece back D-35. 

The top of the 6-string model is Adirondack spruce – chosen by Gilmour due to the Adirondack spruce top found on an early ’40s vintage D-18 that he also owns. The 12-string's top, meanwhile, is Carpathian spruce, grown in the mountains of Romania and often prized – according to Martin – for its "best of both worlds" properties.

The 6-string's top is torrefied using Martin's Vintage Tone System, a process that "ages" the wood, giving it a vintage look, sound, and feel.

The 6-string also boasts a unique neck shape, designed specifically for Gilmour. Though it began as a modified low oval, it's now more rounded and slightly fuller below the 5th fret, for more comfortable and easy playing. It also packs a a carbon fiber bridge plate, for greater volume and clarity.

The Gilmour D-35 features a unique inlay pattern as well, with a scaled-down dot size and inlaid abalone. 

Both the 6- and 12-string D-35s boast custom head stamps, a first for a Martin signature guitar.

The Martin David Gilmour D-35 Custom Signature acoustic guitar will be produced in a run of 250 – split between the 6- and 12-string models – and sold for $5,499. They will come in a late-60s era slate blue case, and feature a custom internal paper label signed by Gilmour. Proceeds from the sale of the instruments will benefit the David Gilmour Charitable Foundation.

For more info on the acoustic, stop by martinguitar.com.

The legendary 1959 Martin D-18E used by Kurt Cobain for Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged performance has sold at auction for over $6 million.

The ultra-rare acoustic was purchased, with a bid of $6,010,000, by Australian businessman and RØDE Microphones owner Peter Freedman during the Julien's Auctions Music Icons auction held in Beverly Hills, CA last week.

The astonishing sum of money makes it by a wide margin the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction, smashing the previous world record of $3,975,000, set by David Gilmour’s 1969 Black Strat last June.

The seventh of only 302 D-18E Martin guitars to be built, the guitar features a Bartolini pickup added by Cobain, and was sold with its original hardshell case - complete with a half-used pack of Martin guitar strings, three picks and Cobain's suede bag, which is decorated with a miniature silver spoon, fork and knife.

For his part, Freedman says that - rather than locking the guitar away - he will exhibit the guitar in galleries and art spaces around the world, putting all of the proceeds towards the performing arts. 

“It’s a big deal. I didn’t even buy it for me,” he told the PA news agency.

“I paid for it but I’m going to use it to highlight the plight of artists worldwide by touring it around, and then I’m going to sell it and use the dough for that as well, later.

“Musicians and artists have supported my family since the ’60s. We’ve been in that game forever so I’ve been very lucky with RØDE and I’ve been able to give away lots of money, quite a few mill.”

The Martin, rumored to be the last guitar Cobain ever played, had been gifted by Cobain's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, to her ex-husband, Isaiah Silva, during their marriage.

News of Martin's revolutionary acoustic-electric spread like wildfire at the Winter NAMM Show, where the company debuted its new SC-13E to an unsuspecting music community.

The storied guitar maker had guarded the clandestine activity happening in its Nazareth, Pennsylvania headquarters as if it were Area 51. 

When Guitar Player’s editors visited the facility last spring, the acoustic community was beginning to embrace historic modifications that Martin had made to its iconic Standard Series and a major move toward modernity with the Modern Deluxe Series.

At the time, the company offered no indication that instrument design manager Tim Teel and vice president of product management Fred Greene were already hunkered down, conjuring up something way outside the box. The SC-13E features an asymmetrical body shape with a crazy deep cutaway and a pioneering heelless Sure Align neck system with myriad subtleties. 

It’s especially intriguing coming from America’s oldest guitar maker, whose inventive history had become overshadowed by long-standing tradition. As it turns out, the spirit of innovation is not only alive and well at Martin, it’s also thriving amid a team-oriented atmosphere.

Sixth-generation family chairman and CEO Chris Martin IV welcomes brave ideas from Greene’s current gang of guitar zealots, and the man who turns everyone’s ideas into nuts-and-bolts guitar building is Tim Teel. 

The dedicated designer was so happy that he was finally at liberty to discuss the secretive S model that he did so while taking a “vacation,” where he was leading a guitar-building camp.

What’s the origin story behind the S?

Fred had an idea about doing a new body shape. He came to me wanting to design something that was a little asymmetrical and aesthetically forward thinking. 

He said that it should look fast, like it’s in motion, and he drew a sketch of two intersecting ovals that allude to an S shape in the way they come together. Once I got a sense of it, I created three different versions. One was a little more slanted, one a little less and a third version in the middle. 

That’s the one you see today, because it was the most aesthetically pleasing. I started with our Grand Performer body shape, and massaged it both ways. Once I started tweaking the cutaway, it evolved into its own shape and style.

What are the advantages?

It feels comfortable and has a good vibe. Even though it’s a fairly big body that measures 15½ inches wide at the lower bout, it’s got the shallower depth of a 000 that feels great when you’re moving around onstage, and the asymmetrical shape literally comes into play, in a cool way. 

We immediately noticed that it’s a bit easier to get your strumming arm across, because there is less distance from the edge to the bridge on the bass side of the lower bout. The unique shape also led to a unique neck and neck joint.

How so?

I had to come up with a different thought process on how to attach the neck, which made me think that if we could keep the neck itself completely under the fingerboard instead of having the typical tongue expansion that gets glued onto the top, it would make for a very nice, straight, easy-playing neck, without the hump that traditionally occurs around the 15th fret. 

Then we realized it would be advantageous to come up with a modular neck joint because once a player has the guitar, adjustments become the biggest thing. Every player has a particular setup preference, and a modular system seemed like the best fit for designing something that was very easy to adjust.

Thinking a bit further down the road, there’s the consideration of different necks. Maybe a player buys this guitar and loves it but wants to try a different barrel shape. With a modular system, there could be a possibility of ordering a custom neck for your guitar, which would be really cool. 

So we tried different attachment joints that are commercially available, but we ultimately decided that we’re a dovetail company, and we were committed to having a dovetail system on this guitar, even though this would require bespoke parts for the neck joint.

What does a “linear dovetail neck joint” mean exactly?

A traditional dovetail joint runs perpendicular to the top, whereas this system is parallel to the top. We had to have all the parts created custom. The male dovetail part is aluminum, which is lightweight. 

Along the way we realized that the female dovetail in the neck had to be lined with metal as well so as not to compress the wood when you clamp everything in place, so the female part is lined with stainless steel. Two bolts clamp the system down. If you turn them to release a little pressure, you can actually keep the strings on as you slide the neck in or out to adjust intonation.

Can you delve into that a bit further?

Let me start by saying that for warranty purposes, we recommend that adjustments be made at an authorized Martin dealer or repair center. Repair centers will be set up, and technicians can do it right then and there, because it’s that simple. 

We included a special setscrew system that makes intonation adjustments incredibly easy, which is very different to have on an acoustic guitar. For action adjustments there is a plate accessible through the soundhole that your dealer or repair center can pull out and replace after the clamping bolts are loosened. 

There’s a numbering system for the plates, and a higher plate number would mean lower action. So if the action is a little too high, have the dealer’s technician put in the next higher plate size, and then see how it feels.

Is there a truss rod as well?

Yes. This guitar comes set up with a custom set of very light-gauge strings, from .011 to .052, and the action is set very low, which delivers a wonderful playing experience for most people sitting on the sofa or plugged in onstage. 

But if you want to use it to play, say, bluegrass in front of a microphone, the guitar can easily be set up to accommodate heaver strings and higher action by adjusting the neck relief with the truss rod and then zeroing in on the action and intonation.

What’s the logic of having the neck join the body at the 13th fret?

That’s new for us, and a lot of what’s happening there relates back to the linear dovetail attachment. Normally, the neck widens once it meets the body, but with this design we kept the neck the same width from the 13th fret on toward the soundhole. 

It also positions the bridge lower on the body, so it’s at a wider part of the lower bout to help with bass tone. 

A 13th-fret position neck joint with a full scale length delivers long-scale tone with short-scale playability, because having the neck join the body at the 13th fret instead of the 14th fret subtracts from the overall length by about half an inch, and that’s essentially the difference between the two main scale lengths: 25.4 inches, such as on an OM, and 24.9 inches, such as on a triple-0 model.

Can you explain the ergonomics behind the neck?

The shape of the barrel shifts to accommodate the way we tend to play in different positions. For example, in the first position, there’s more meat to the barrel shape on the treble side than the bass side. That makes it easier to wrap your thumb around when playing cowboy chords. 

The bias moves from the treble side toward the middle in a helical manner as you move up the neck, making it ideal for barre chords, and then, further toward the body, great for lead work. And because the neck is heelless and there’s a cutaway on the back of the body, you can easily play all the way up to the 20th fret. 

So it starts off feeling like a fantastic acoustic neck and ultimately winds up feeling more like an electric neck. We’re hoping guitar players will invent new music around what they can do with it.

Like all Martin Road Series guitars, the SC-13E features Fishman MX-T electronics and is clearly aimed at the stage player. Martin claims that the unique body shape is a natural feedback buster, but did it also present challenges to maintain the guitar’s acoustic quality?

We’ve started using fine veneer woods for the Road Series, and that does make them roadworthy, because you don’t have to worry about the wood cracking and moving around as much. 

We’re also able to offer better aesthetics - such as more figuring and flame in the grain with fine veneer woods, such as the koa in this instance - at a much lower price point than we could with solid back and sides.

The top is solid Sitka spruce, which is a staple of the Martin formula. We used a single X back brace with the ladder braces underneath. When the guitar is hanging on a hook, you can see the X brace in there as a reminder that we are the company that invented the X brace. This one brace stiffens up the back in the area of the sound port, which helps a bit with sound projection.

We had to customize the top X brace to work with the unique S shape. That shorter distance to the soundhole on the lower bass bout mentioned earlier as an ergonomic advantage was also a disadvantage tonally because there was less top wood there to vibrate.

We came up with an asymmetrical bracing system that is scalloped on the treble side but scooped on the bass side to allow more flexibility in the top, ultimately delivering the nice balance of bass and treble we were after.

What sort of player is this aimed at?

We’re hoping that a player who is not a traditional Martin customer will pick up the SC-13E because it looks cool and then realize how good it plays and sounds, both acoustically and plugged in. Perhaps the electric player who finds acoustic guitars hard to play will gravitate this way. 

I know lots of guitarists who switched over to Martin later on in life because they could appreciate the tone after becoming better players. Hopefully the S will help them discover Martin a little sooner. 

And for established players, this is an awesome stage guitar. It’s a whole new platform that will move up and down the line. We’ve already had some inquires for custom product. It’s going to be quite interesting to see where this leads.

The legendary 1959 Martin D-18E used by Kurt Cobain for Nirvana's 1993 MTV Unplugged performance is going up for auction.

Left by Cobain's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, to her ex-husband, Isaiah Silva, as part of the couple's divorce settlement, the ultra-rare guitar is being valued at over a million dollars.

The seventh of only 302 D-18Es built by Martin, the guitar is being auctioned off by Julien’s as part of its Music Icons auction, which is set to take place in Beverly Hills, CA on June 19 and June 20. 

Featuring a Bartolini pickup added by Cobain, the D-18E will be sold with its original hardshell case, complete with a half-used pack of Martin guitar strings, three picks and Cobain's suede bag, which is decorated with a miniature silver spoon, fork and knife.

The Martin guitar, rumored to be the last guitar Cobain ever played, can be viewed at the Hard Rock Cafe in London’s Piccadilly Circus from May 15 - May 31 and then at Julien’s Auctions Gallery in Beverly Hills from June 15 - June 19.

If the guitar indeed sells for a million, it would be the third most expensive acoustic guitar ever sold, behind only John Lennon's $2.4 million Gibson J-160E and David Gilmour's 1969 Wish You Were Here Martin D-35. 

For more info on the auction, and this guitar, stop by juliensauctions.com.