SUMMER NAMM 2015: Martin announces six new acoustic guitars
New models include LE-Cowboy-2015 and Summer NAMM Special
Martin LE-Cowboy-2015
SUMMER NAMM 2015: Never one to shy away from stunningly decorated acoustic guitars, Martin has unveiled a sextet of eye-catching new models for Summer NAMM 2015.
Perhaps most notable of these new guitars is the Martin LE-Cowboy-2015, a 000-12 fret that features an exclusive design from watercolour artist William Matthews.
Elsewhere, the guitar features a Sitka spruce top finished with Martin's Vintage Tone System (VTS) torrefaction process, plus goncalo alves back and sides.
The Martin LE-Cowboy-2015 is only available in 2015 - scroll through the gallery for more Martins…
Martin SS-0041-15
The latest in a long line of Summer NAMM Show Specials, the SS-0041-15 packs an Adirondack spruce top with VTS treatment and a Cinnamon Teardrop Burst finish, plus Guatemalan rosewood back and sides.
Justifying the guitar's $10,999 price tag are its lustrous select abalone pearl inlays - an alternate torch on the headstock and tree of life on the fingerboard - and a top-notch Fishman Aura VT preamp system.
Martin 00-15E Retro
The first 00-14 fret guitar in Martin's popular Retro Series, the 00-15E Retro features a solid mahogany top with 15-style burst finish, plus solid mahogany back and sides.
This mahogany beauty is electro-equipped, too, with a Fishman F1 Aura+ delivering the plugged-in tones.
Martin CS-D41-15
Adopting the familiar 14-fret dreadnought outline, the SC-D41-15 packs a Sitka spruce top with VTS treatment, paired with East Indian rosewood back and sides that feature a cocobolo and flamed mahogany ribbon inlay.
Mother-of-pearl features heavily on the guitar's ebony fingerboard and headplate courtesy of several intricate inlays, set off by flamed mahogany binding around the guitar's body.
The CS-D41-15 is limited to 115 models worldwide.
Martin D12-35 50th Anniversary
Commemorating 50 years of the legendary D-35, the D12-35 is a 12-string reinterpretation of the classic dreadnought, and limited to 183 pieces - that's the same quantity of the first 1965 production run, fact fans.
Wood-wise, the D12-35 is packing a European spruce top with VTS, plus a three-piece East Indian rosewood back and sides.
Martin HD-35 CFM IV 60th
This 14-fret dreadnought celebrates Martin Chairman and CEO Chris Martin IV's 60th birthday - and accordingly, only 60 will be made.
A European spruce top with VTS and herringbone pearl inlay meets a three-piece back of Siris wings and East Indian rosewood wedge, while the fingerboard and bridge are inlaid with classy infinity hexagon outlines.
Each HD-35 CFM IV 60th model features a label hand-signed by Chris Martin - for more info, head over to Martin.
Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.
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“Maintain a consistently optimal neck setup, playability, and string action, regardless of changing environmental conditions”: Has Furch just made acoustic guitar setups a thing of the past with its new CNR System Active neck?
“For most of the songs, you need old, dead strings for sure, or else it does not sound right”: Nick Baxter reveals the setup secrets and custom Gibson acoustics behind Timothée Chalamet’s tone in Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown