Martin Announces M3M George Martin Studio Edition
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July 26, 2005
Sir George Martin knows how to achieve excellence
in the recording studio. In an illustrious career that has
spanned five decades, he is probably best known as
the man who signed the Beatles and produced most of
their recordings, but his work has ranged from the
comedy records of Peter Sellers to the power vocals of
Celine Dion. So when George
Martin detailed his preferences for a namesake Martin
Signature Edition guitar to fellow musician and record
producer John Kurgan, his specific goal was to create an
instrument uniquely suited to the studio. The M3M George
Martin Studio Edition is that guitar: an acoustic with
sensational recorded sound.
The tailoring of this guitar for the studio shows in its
distinctive body style and unique combination of premium
solid tonewoods. The M body, with 0000 shape (16" at the
lower bout) and 000 depth (4-1/16" at the end pin)
produces full, balanced and unusually pure tone. The top is
crafted from rare Italian alpine spruce, revered for its quick
response and full resonance: forward-shifted scalloped top
braces broaden the tonal palette.
The sides and back of genuine mahogany, preferred by
many recording engineers for its clear bright trebles, show
George Martin's inimitable creativity. The four-piece back
features a center wedge of rare quilted mahogany,
separated from the wings by Style 35
white/black/white back strips. Two
additional Style 35 back strips highlight
a small wedge of unfigured mahogany
below the neck heel. Together, the
four back strips form a graceful M (for
Martin) emblem.
The M3M George Martin Studio Edition sports a
generous 1-3/4" (at the nut) low profile neck of
genuine mahogany. The headplate uses quilted and
unfigured mahogany and fine line inlays to create
the same "M" emblem as on the guitar's back. The
headstock comes equipped with gold Waverly
tuners with butterbean knobs and bears the C.F.
Martin & Co. pressure stamp on the back.
The black ebony fingerboard features a small
"5" inlay at the fifth fret to commemorate George
Martin's role as the fifth Beatle, with Style 42
snowflake inlays marking the other positions. George
Martin's signature is inlaid between the 19th and
20th frets. Both the headstock and fingerboard are
bound in grained ivoroid, with black/white inlay on
the headstock and mitered black/white inlay on the
fingerboard.
The body is bound in grained ivoroid, with fine
herringbone purfling encircling the top and fine
black/white/black lines bordering the sides, back
and grained ivoroid endpiece. The Style 45 rosette
highlights select abalone pearl, matched by the
abalone pearl dots atop the ebony bridge pins and
endpin. The nut and saddle are crafted from genuine
bone. A polished and beveled tortoise-color
pickguard adds to the vintage vibe of the aging-
toned top. Polished gloss finish on body and
headplate allows the beautiful natural color of the
mahogany to shine, while a satin finish neck
contributes to player comfort.
At Sir George's request, the M3M George
Martin Studio Edition comes with Martin SP+ coated
light-gauge strings to, as he put it, reduce
"collywobbles" (his word for string squeak), the bane
of recording engineers everywhere. A portion of the
proceeds from the sale of each M3M guitar with be
donated in support of the Sir George Martin Music
Foundation, which George Martin established to aid
the island of Montserrat that was badly devastated
by the Soufriere Hills Volcano eruption in 1997.
The M3M George Martin Studio Edition is
delivered in a distinctive molded hardshell case with
black hardware. Each guitar bears an interior label
personally signed by George Martin and Martin
Chairman C.F. Martin IV, and is numbered in
sequence with the edition total. Left-hand
instruments are available at no additional charge:
Martin sound reinforcement electronics are an extra
cost option. Orders for the M3M George Martin
Studio Edition will be accepted until September 23,
2005, after which the total number of guitars and
the names of participating Martin dealers will appear
on the Martin website.
MSRP: $5,699.00. For more information, visit their web site at www.martinguitar.com. | 
