New D-28 among host of Martin new launches

Martin is introducing a “re-imagined” D-28, four custom signature edition models, including the newest Ed Sheeran LX1, and a Jason Isbell D-18 at the upcoming Summer NAMM show.

Also featured in the Summer NAMM line-up is a limited edition Art Deco model, the all new FSC Certified Model America 1 dreadnought, and several series expansion models. In addition, it will also now offer the LR Baggs Anthem pickup system in select standard series models.

“The post WWII D-28 had a slightly different look than its predecessor and became the centerpiece of the folk and folk rock movements at their pinnacle in the 1950s and 1960s.”  explained Chris Martin, chairman and CEO of Martin Guitar.

”We have extracted the finest features from the D-28 of both my grandfather’s and my father’s respective eras.”

The all new D-28 blends the history of the guitar with Martin’s newest innovations, including open gear tuners, an aged toner top, antique white accents, and a faux tortoise pickguard with a new neck profile to give D-28 enthusiasts a modern feel and comfortable playing experience. Martin has also added forward-shifted bracing to allow greater vibration of the top. RRP is £2,399.

Model America 1 is a limited edition Made in the USA dreadnought based on Martin’s D-18. This guitar features all US-sourced woods, including sycamore back and sides, a cherry neck, black walnut fingerboard, headplate and bridge, as well as an Adirondack spruce top and bracing. The tuning gears are also made in the USA by Sperzel. It has an RRP of £2,650.

Ed Sheeran and Martin Guitar have joined forces, once again, to deliver the third in a series of Ed Sheeran Signature Edition guitars. The newest installment celebrates Sheeran’s long-awaited, third album ÷ (Divide). Sheeran’s newest signature model stays true to his preference for Martin’s LX1E Little Martin and continues with his mathematical-themed album cover art which adorns the guitar’s headstock and the solid Sitka spruce wood top. The guitar also features a matching blue rosette, around the soundhole, and is constructed with mahogany high pressure laminate (HPL) back and sides. The model comes stage-ready, equipped with Fishman Sonitone electronics, SP Acoustic strings and a padded gig bag, with an RRP of £649

Jason Isbell worked with the Custom Shop at Martin Guitar to design his new Custom Signature Edition D-18 which is closely modeled after Martin’s Golden Era series. The model boasts a pre-aged Vintage Tone System (VTS) Adirondack spruce top; mahogany back and sides; and rear-shifted scalloped bracing which produces more natural volume and a clear powerful tone.

It is constructed using hide glue which, unlike newer synthetic reproductions, dissolves into the grain of the wood and creates more resonance throughout the instrument. Isbell chose a thin finish and left off the pickguard to make it louder.  He also added a personal touch by including a custom inlay of one of his tattoos at the twelfth fret. RRP is £4,999.

The firm is also launching a Custom Signature Edition dreadnought featuring imprinted original “Inside Out” artwork by illustrator, luthier, musician and Martin archivist Dick Boak. In creating the artwork, Boak wanted to reveal and embellish the quintessential scalloped X-bracing of the Martin Dreadnought.

Personally signed and numbered in sequence, the D-Boak Dreadnought is crafted with a Sitka spruce soundboard, genuine mahogany back and sides, a modified low oval neck, simple dovetail neck joint, bone nut and saddle, and an ebony fingerboard and bridge, with an RRP of £2,499.

The Custom Signature Edition D-18, featuring imprinted original artwork by Robert F. Goetzl, is a tribute to the Lakota Sioux Native American Tribe. The guitar features a single arrowhead inlay on the headplate, along with four arrowheads on the fingerboard, each facing outward, to represent the four directions which were sacred to the Lakota Tribe. Martin will be donating a guitar to the Native American Heritage Association (www.naha-inc.org), a charitable organisation whose mission is to provide food and other essentials to the people of Crow Creek and Pine Ridge Reservations in South Dakota. The donated guitar will be auctioned off to raise much needed funds for the organisation and has an RRP of £3,999.

Limited editions also include the SS-00LArt Deco-2017  – a unique 14 Fret Slope shoulder 00L guitar, limited to a run of thirty, and only available at Summer NAMM. It has a custom paper label signed by C.F. Martin IV and is the same size and shape as the popular CEO-7 model.

Martin has expanded its popular solid mahogany 15 Series line with a respectful nod to the working musician. The StreetMasterTM models are built to the same specifications as the 000-15M and D-15M models but Martin has added a distressed satin finish. 15 Series StreetMasterTM models come with a gig bag, at an RRP of £1,499.

The 16 series has also been added to with the GPC-16E. Each model in the 16 series is designed with the tone wood that best compliments the body size and shape of that particular model. With the new GPC-16E, which is a Grand Performance size with the depth of a 000, Martin selected solid koa back and sides. RRP is £2,549.

Lastly, based on the look of Martin’s 15 Series solid mahogany guitars, the small bodied X Series version features mahogany high-pressure laminate (HPL) top, back and sides, a herringbone applied rosette, a high performance neck and a Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified Richlite fingerboard and bridge. RRP is £609.