New model debuts the company’s S body shape, paired with a Sure Align neck system and dramatic cutaway for supreme playability alongside classic Martin tone
The model, which “seeks to rethink what an acoustic-electric guitar can do,” boasts a new asymmetrical body shape and a revolutionary cutaway and neck design, among other fresh features.
Recently, Guitar World’s Tech Editor and resident six-string specialist Paul Riario had the opportunity to take the S-shaped cutaway model (hence the SC designation) for a test drive, and he was similarly impressed.
“There’s so much to talk about, he says at the top of the video, “so let’s dig in and check it out.”
(Image credit: Martin)
The first thing on the guitar players will notice is, of course, its striking body shape. The SC-13E boasts dramatic curves and an impressively sloped cutaway, with a solid spruce top and koa veneer back and sides. Finishes include blue accents on the rosette, fingerboard and binding.
But that’s only the beginning.
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The model also marks the debut of Martin’s patent-pending Sure Align neck system, which removes the heel and allows incredible access all the way up the neck.
The neck “slides in and meets the body” courtesy of Martin’s Linear Dovetail neck joint system, allowing for great versatility in terms of making adjustments for scale length, string height and other considerations.
Furthermore, the neck joins the body at the 13th fret (referenced in the numerical part of the model’s designation), offering, as Paul points out, the playability of a 12-fret acoustic but with the bottom end and fullness of a 14-fret model.
The neck shape, meanwhile, is Martin’s new Low Profile Velocity design with a High Performance Taper, which provides easy playability with reduced wrist strain and hand fatigue.
Other features on the SC-13E include an ebony fretboard, nickel open-gear tuners with butterbean knobs, a sloped modern belly bridge, Fishman MXT electronics and a discreet tuner placed just inside the soundhole.
The result, as Paul says, is a “bold and innovative acoustic with an advanced design meant to push forward an acoustic guitar’s capability both in range and performance, while also casting a wider appeal for a younger generation of players.”
The SC-13E, he continues, “hits the mark on all fronts. Definitely check it out.”
We will, Paul. We will.
For more information on the SC-13E, head to Martin Guitar.
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
