It’s not every day that a D-45 strolls into the shop like this one. Built in 1983 to commemorate Martin’s 150th anniversary, this D-45 was outfitted with straight-grained Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, with a Sitka Spruce top and MOP hexagonal 45-style fretboard inlays. The V neck has just been reset by our very own repair team, so we’re happy to report the setup on this D-45 is superb; it plays especially easily. The voice has opened up sweetly over the past 35 years, with a warm bass and clean treble response. The Sitka top has scalloped, rear-shifted bracing, and inside you’ll find a label commemorating the occasion of the 150th anniversary signed by Chris Martin IV himself.


Other keywords: dreadnaught, dread, flatpicking, bluegrass, abalone, grover, brazilain

Sometimes it’s hard to stand out in the Martin crowd, but with a Custom Shop like this 2013 D-21 spec’d out by George Gruhn we’d say it’s as easy as breathing. Incidentally, that’s also how we’d like to describe the experience of playing this like-new D-21. The setup is slinky and smooth, and responsive enough for fingerpicking when you want to add a different flavor to your playing. Madagascar Rosewood back and sides, Adirondack Spruce, and a Spanish Cedar neck outfitted with a true-to-vintage T-bar reinforcement. Flamed Koa bindings and Waverly tuners complete the picture, and hide glue construction keeps this Dreadnought as resonant as possible.
For a guitar in such pristine condition, it’s got quite the opened up voice. We found that the clarity of individual notes, and the articulation between strings and registers, was precise enough to give extra definition to big chords and lead work alike. This Custom Shop D-21 cuts right through the mix, but it plays well with others thanks to a smooth, balanced tone and projection.

Other keywords: CF Martin, C.F. Martin, dreadnaught, dread, flatpick, gruhn’s, maddie roseewood, adrondack, adriondack, adirondak, custom guitar

Consecutive Martins with matching Brazilian Rosewood and Adirondack? Yes, please! This 2001 D-28 Custom is #803860, built just before 000-28 #803861with the exact same woods. This Dread has opened up handsomely with powerful response and great string-to-string balance. The neck comes to us with a satin finish and a smooth C profile that’s really easy on the hands, and with a 1 11/16” nut you know it’s a fast and easy player. Gold hardware, 42-style Abalone snowflakes on the bridge and fretboard, and an Abalone C.F. Martin inlaid into the headstock.

Other keywords: dreadnaught, brazilain, flatpicking, bluegrass

This Martin would have made Jim proud. We’ve seen heaps of Martin signature models over the years, but this 2001 D-21JCB seems to have stolen our hearts in a different way. Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, Sitka Spruce on top, and a 1973-minted dime inlaid into the third fret to memorialize Jim’s passing.

It’s a natural choice for picks, but we were surprised by just how much volume and tone we could coax out of the D-21JCB by fingerpicking. It’s not often we see a Dreadnought lend itself so well to both sides of the aisle. There’s extra juice in the trebles, and it’s a breeze to play. It’s in really stupendous condition, especially considering it’s from 2000.

#52 is waiting for the right person to come along to keep the music going. And it comes, appropriately, in a denim-covered TKL case in a final tip of the hat to Jim.

Other keywords: singer songwriter, bad bad leroy brown, time in a bottle

There might be thousands of Martin OMs singing their hearts out across the world, but there are only 60 60th Anniversary HOM-35s, and only one #60/60. This is the last king of the castle, folks: you won’t find another Martin HOM-35 with Sitka Spruce this tight grained, or Brazilian Rosewood so chocolate rich.

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of their Orchestra Model, Martin Guitar Company built 60 of these world-class Herringbone OM-35s with great attention to detail and using only the finest tonewoods. As a result of their hard work and dedication, this guitar has an enormous, enveloping voice with a low-end that is total and absolute. Paired with shimmering trebles and subtle overtones, the tone can only be described as majestic.

Fingerstyle arrangements will feel like they were made for this guitar, and the string response is electric quick. A powerhouse in standard tuning, this HOM-35 becomes an entirely different beast in dropped tunings (we found that in DADF#AD this guitar has an even larger voice!), where the string tension of the 14-fret neck comes in handy to keep the guitar intonating cleanly, so you can hear each note as it fills the room. We recommend coming to play this guitar quickly, before it disappears into some lucky player’s hands, or collector’s vault!