Martin Custom Shop 000 28 Style Acoustic Guitar, Adirondack Spruce/Sinker Mahogany

When it comes to the Martin Custom Shop, there's always another stone to turn. Case in point: This Martin Custom Shop Expert 000 Sinker Mahogany acoustic guitar. At Russo Music, we're proud to share that we hold the distinction of being one of a handful of nationwide "Custom Expert" dealers. This allows us opportunities to see guitars in our stores like this custom-built auditorium-style piece. Assembling with some of Martin's top-shelf woods and their standby eye and ear for artistry, this Custom Shop model is an exceptional way to get in on Martin's legacy.

Martin Custom Shop guitars are among the most celebrated acoustic guitars around today. This 14 Fret 000 model comes together with an assortment of incredible Martin tonewoods and a special eye turned toward construction and aesthetics. Starting off with a classic yet elevated tonewood combination, this Martin Custom Shop begins with an Adirondack spruce top paired with two-piece premium sinker mahogany back and sides through Martin's Modern adhesive. Adirondack spruce, a familiar and established tonewood among the Martin catalog, contributes to a crisp tonal profile. Sinker mahogany, on the other hand, has a different story.

This somewhat rare type of mahogany has a lengthy history behind it – perhaps the longest of any tonewood you can come across in a new guitar. Sinker mahogany refers to a specific process by which South American mahogany is sourced. South American mahogany logs originally downed around the early twentieth century are "unearthed" from rivers where they were naturally preserved over the course of generations. There's a lot of great stories about sinker mahogany out there, but just for now, just know that this Martin Custom Shop features a back and sides combination that is around one hundred years old. Altogether, these woods produce a rich, radiant, and resonant voice that fall in line with a generational Martin tone.

Here, this model's Adirondack spruce top is lined with a robust set of braces. Normally found in Martin Modern Deluxe series models, this Custom model features Golden Era scalloped Adirondack spruce braces in an X-Bracing pattern. This feature builds up the model's sonic balance and projection for an even more vivid voice.

Moving on, this model uses Martin's dovetail neck joint construction to bring on a satin-finished Golden Era Modified Low Oval neck with a High Performance taper and mahogany stain. The neck's satin finish feels smooth in the palm while it matches with an oiled black ebony fingerboard. Twenty Standard frets line up across this ebony board with abalone Diamond and Squares Long inlays. Producing an effortless fretting feel at every position, this fingerboard plays like a dream.

This Martin Custom Shop 000 is a complete showcase of hardware and aesthetics. Across the model, we find a number of sturdy hardware specifications. At the base of the scale, a black ebony Golden Era Modern Belly bridge lands with a drop-in compensated bone saddle. The scale's opposite end features a bone nut and Grover nickel V97-18NA tuning machines at the square-tapered, East Indian rosewood-plated headstock. Visually, this Custom Shop piece is elevated by a long list of appointments. This model's sinker mahogany back features Martin zigzag purfling and Boltaron inlay. The Adirondack spruce top is inlaid with Bold Herringbone and features an Antique Toner top color that inches its look softly into one with an older complexion. This Martin Custom model travels with an included Martin five-ply hardshell case.

Following in so many other great examples of Martin Custom Shop guitars, this sinker mahogany model is a great encapsulation of Martin acoustic guitar expertise.