NAMM 2020 saw Martin unveil what we dubbed 'its most progressive guitar ever' in the form of its radical new offset SC design.
The shape's main feature is the bold cutaway that clears the way for unusual upper fret access in an acoustic, and the SC line saw the company striking out in a bold new direction.
Now, Martin is launching the No Limits Challenge, an all-new contest where eight up-and-coming guitarists will play off head-to-head, covering tunes you wouldn't normally associate with an acoustic using a Martin SC model.
In the quarterfinal round, the competitors have been split into genres – funk/R&B, '80s rock, '90s rock and classic rock. The winners in all four categories will advance to a semifinal, where they'll be divided into two further genre-based face-offs. The winners of those, of course, will advance to the finals.
Best of all, you decide the winner in a vote. Check out the two performances below, and cast your ballot in the poll at the bottom of the article.
Up first this week are Ruben Wan and Helen Ibe.
Above, Wan takes on the Destiny's Child classic, Say My Name, while below, Ibe puts her spin on David Bowie's immortal chart-topper, Fame. Both guitarists are armed with Martin SC models, and put them to very good use, we might add.
So, which cover do you think should win? Vote now to have your say. Stay tuned for the next quarterfinal, next week.
“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
