PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE
We’re proud to present this absolutely gorgeous Martin Custom Shop 00-28 that we collaborated on with our friends at Martin Guitars! A stunning Western Red Cedar top and heavily-figured Claro Walnut back and sides make this parlor acoustic a fingerpicker’s dream, while still having enough push back from the top to handle enthusiastic strumming as well. It’s versatile, comfortable, portable, and compromises absolutely nothing.
For this beautiful creation, as always, we kept in mind how the woods would look together, and more importantly, how they would sound together. This one really did come out great – it’s a wood lover’s absolute dream. Red cedar top, flame maple binding, and figured walnut on the headstock as well as, of course, the back and sides all work together to exude a vintage-esque rustic aesthetic that’s just as fit for hanging in a museum as in your hands on stage. The vintage Martin headstock inlay and classical-style tuning peg configuration and design round out the look.
In terms of both sound and playability, this guitar is every bit as special as it looks. Despite its smaller body, it sings with a full chorus of angels behind it. The walnut and cedar combination provides a warm and mellow tone with some great brightness and clarity up top. The cedar has great natural compression to help organically even out your plucking. The walnut is articulate and smooth at the same time, while the ebony fretboard provides some nice brightness. The sound is refined and nuanced, especially in the mid-range. There’s a great low-mids and treble presence that gives it fullness but still a bit of a natural scoop in the mids, leaving the perfect sonic space to slot in vocals, for example.
For the players here at the shop, the greatest “Custom Shop” instruments combine the tone and playability that a certain model is known for with appointments such as the ones on this one that make it a true one-of-a-kind instrument and heirloom piece. As expected from the Custom Shop of arguably the most renowned and storied acoustic guitar builder in American guitar history, the playability, tonality and build quality are all top-notch.