Guitar World paid a visit to Chris Thomas at the C. F. Martin & Co booth at last week's 2012 Winter NAMM show to get a first-hand look at the new models for 2012.
Among them is the beautiful, small-bodied 00-45SC John Mayer Edition; Martin is making only 25 of these guitars.
“There's something about a smaller-bodied acoustic guitar that has always appealed to me. In one glance it inspires me to write, travel, perform, and age along with it,” said Mayer in C.F. Martin & Co. press materials. “Not very long ago, I was inspired to return to a completely natural way of writing and recording music, and at the center of that vision were the Martin 00-sized guitars that defined an era of brilliant songwriting in the '60s and '70s. The 00-45SC John Mayer Edition is my vision of the ultimate 00-45 come to life. It's simply perfect.”
The guitar is based on 12-fret 00 specifications and design concepts from Mayer. It is made with back, sides and a head plate of premium quality cocobolo wood, a beautiful member of the genuine rosewood species prized for its reddish-orange and black grain striations. The soundboard is book matched from Martin's highest grade of Adirondack spruce, prized for crystalline clarity and powerful projection. The slotted tapered headstock with hand-squared slots is equipped with premium Waverly Sloane bronze engraved side-mount tuning machines with ivoroid buttons. Style 45 vintage appointments are executed in rare richly-colored blue paua shell, with delicate snowflake fingerboard position markers. The tastefully ornate 1902 alternate torch design graces the headstock, also executed in blue paua.
Martin's standard 00 12-fret body size has long been revered for its sweet airy depth of tone, but this special model has an even deeper sound. Aside from its vintage hide glue Custom Shop construction and hand sculpted Adirondack spruce bracing, the 00-45SC John Mayer Edition bears unique attributes never before seen on a Martin guitar. Style 45 top inlay typically circumscribes the tongue of the fingerboard as it extends toward the rosette.
Each 00-45SC John Mayer Edition will be personally signed by Mayer and numbered in the sequence of the 25 total edition guitars.
Stay tuned for more news about the new Martin models.
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
