Martin D-45 Modern Deluxe and Others Debut for 2022

Seven New Martin Guitars in the Modern Deluxe Series




 

Martin Modern Deluxe 2022 New Models OneManz.com

Two 12-fret models, a mahogany 000, and a new Style 42 among the additions

At long last, I may now share with you the first glimpses of the SEVEN new Modern Deluxe Series Martin guitars, released in lieu of the canceled Winter NAMM show. These guitars blend classic Martin guitar specifications with ultramodern technological enhancements to realize twenty-first century musical instruments that are both modern and deluxe.

Martin D-45MD and 0012-28MD Onemanz.comThe new Modern Deluxe Martins include a 12-fret 0-size rosewood model in rosewood Style 28, the 012-28 Modern Deluxe. A 12-fret 00 and 14-fret 00 join it, the 0012-28 Modern Deluxe and 00-28 Modern Deluxe.

Yes, that is a new naming convention for 12-fret Martin guitars, with the 12 on the LEFT side of the dash, replacing the archaic S for a “Standard” body size on the right side of the dash. And about time too, I say! The 12-fret configuration hasn’t actually been the standard design since 1934.

Moving to the next larger size, the mahogany 000-18 Modern Deluxe is also included, and super-fancy rosewood 000-42 Modern Deluxe have arrived. Larger still are the full-size Dreadnoughts, the D-42 Modern Deluxe and, at the top of the Series, the D-45 Modern Deluxe.

The D-45 Modern Deluxe heralds the return of the classic torch inlay that graced the headstock face plates of Martin’s Style 45 guitars up through 1930. It also brings back the snowflake fingerboard pattern to a D-45, like those made pre-1939. But this time, the exquisite diamonds, snowflakes, and cat’s eye fret position markers are not just inlaid with high-color abalone shell; each marker is outlined in even more pearl.

Around the East Indian Rosewood back and sides are the glittering abalone pearl trim that sets Style 45 Martins apart from their other handmade, professional-level acoustic guitars. But unlike other D-45s out there, the D-45 Modern Deluxe has flamed European maple binding on the body and the neck.

All guitars in the Modern Deluxe Series include a unique set of advanced features engineered to increase tonal depth (a Vintage Tone System aged Sitka spruce soundboard supported by VTS Adirondack spruce braces with Golden Era scalloping and set in place with natural protein glue,) increased volume and sustain (Liquid Metal bridge pins and a VTS Adirondack spruce bridge plate protected by thin outer layers of carbon fiber,) extended fret life thanks to the copper-infused EVO Gold frets with matching gold tuners, and a wonderfully comfortable neck shape based on the 1930 OM-45 Deluxe owned by the Martin museum.

The MD neck is asymmetrical with an apex that gradually drifts off center, to effortlessly fit into the palm of the hand at every position along the fingerboard, just like a marvelous pre-war Martin neck, except that it is a lower profile, made without the tubby vintage heel where the neck fits into that all-all important solid mahogany neck block with the traditional, hand-fitted dovetail neck joint.

Martin Modern Deluxe 2022 42 details OneManz.com

The D-42 Modern Deluxe and 000-42 Modern Deluxe also have the pre-war Style 45 torch and same fretboard inlays, plus the addition of two large abalone snowflakes on the bridge extensions. But they do not have the extra pearl inlay around the back and sides, greatly reducing the price compared to the D-45 Modern Deluxe.

The mahogany 000-18 now joins the D-18 Modern Deluxe, combining these advanced tone enhancements with the clear, woody tone of a mahogany Martin. The 14-fret 00-28 Modern Deluxe brings an even smaller body to the MD Series, as do the two 12-fret models, each with a traditional slotted headstock.

I look forward to sharing more details about these exiting new Martin guitars soon, including full reviews of as many of them as I can get into my hands and ears.

Martin 000-18 Modern Deluxe price OneManz.com

0012-28 Modern Deluxe price One Manz.com

Martin D-45MD demo One Manz.com

Martin Modern Deluxe Lineup Onemanz.com

Readers Comments – Nice to know

Comments re: the past, present, and future of One Man’s Guitar

It is gratifying to receive such encouraging words from a reader

I thought I would share this, from its nook under a particular model’s review

“I am commenting on this nearly three year old review to remind you and your audience of the value of your archival reviews. As I mature as a guitarist, my needs and interests are evolving from my dread-only origins. I have only recently discovered the wonders of short scale on smaller bodied guitars which has led me to a beautiful but lonely custom shop 00-18 that has been gathering dust in my dealer’s warehouse for a couple of years. I have a feeling it will find a home soon. This review is certainly helpful.

The detail of these reviews is without equal. I was especially edified by your tangent into the effect of various spruces over mahogany. Timeless information! And, I always listen to the videos through headphones at high volume with my eyes closed. The sound you generate is incredible. Thanks for doing what you do.

Indy”

One Man’s Reply:

Well thank you, Indy, for your comments.

The 00-18 is indeed a very successful model, as is the 00-28.

Over the past year or so I was beset with various obstacles when it came to having the time and ability to maintain my writing pace. And I know some of the older reviews could use my own re-reviewing, in case any specs have changed on models still available for sale.

But right now I am trying to carve out the time to review the NEW Martins for 2019. I am already working on them, but I must devote more time to the writing that actually brings me fees.

I am mindful, however, of the generous donations this site brings in from time to time, which helps keep it afloat. And I am happy to honor the obligation I feel to keep the reviews coming.

And more are on the way!

Thanks again for your acknowledgement of the words and videos I put together to provide one man’s take on this worthy musical instruments.

Would that I had the time and proximity to do the same with many other brands and builders. Alas, every time a local NYC dealer has shown interest in allowing me access to their shop and stock to make such videos as appear at onemanz.com, their corporate overloads refuse to support the endeavor. But hope springs eternal!

~

And I shall add here that some of the issues preventing me from working at the pace I once did are medical in nature, relating to decades of self-taught guitar playing and frantic use of the computer mouse and keyboard.

But, I am pleased to report I have invested in Dragon Home dictation software, by Nuance. And I wish I had done so long ago. It really is a marvel. And while it’s taken time to get use to, in terms of the rhythms of writing and for the program to learn the specific jargon required for my purposes, it is remarkably easy to use.

In fact I have composed this entire post using Dragon, with hardly any need to correct the results.

I’ve tried other dictation software, and nothing comes close to Dragon thus far; certainly not the gibberish-blithering idiot inhabiting Microsoft Office 2010!

Ms. Cortana understands one perfectly when in the default search field on the Windows task bar, if only to respond with items for sale on the Internet while ignoring the things one might actually be searching for on their own computer.

But the moment one is in a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, she suffers from egregious and permanent brain damage with her aphasia and ignorance of the English language so complete as to trigger obscenity-spewing Tourette syndrome in the most genteel of users.

But thanks to Dragon, I am able to compose and send emails, “write” for hours on end, and accomplish most web browser-oriented tasks without the use of my hands, sometimes with one arm of the other resting in a sling.

I should like to think my readers will understand that preserving my ability to play guitars, when necessary and sometimes purely for pleasure, outweighs my desire or need to write about guitars. So I’m happy to have found a way to do both whilst continuing to persevere with therapies to combat and overcome my ongoing obstacles.

And to that end, my first guitar review for 2019 will be the Martin D-28 Modern Deluxe, coming to One Man’s Guitar soon!

 

 

Martin’s Standard Series Has Been Standardized For 2018

C. F. Martin & Co. unveils a “reimagined Standard Series” for Winter NAMM 2018

The D-45 gets new binding and Style 28 returns to its roots while embracing Martin’s vision of its future.

More New Old Martins

The entire Standard Series that defines Martin guitars to the world has been uniformly converted to vintage guitar aesthetics achieved by applying Aging Toner to the Sitka spruce tops. While the Standard Style 18 and 21 models retain the faux tortoise binding of their predecessors, those made in Style 28, 35, 36, 40, 41, 42, and 45 all sport the Antique White binding introduced on select models in recent years.

Martin Standard Style 28 (2018) Martin Standard 000-28 (2018) Martin Standard Style 28 tuners

Photos: The 000-28 (2018) replaces the last hold-out of the old Standard Series (click to enlarge)

Gone are the stark white bindings and the last of the black pick guards. Gone too are the tops with the natural French vanilla color slowly yellowing across the years as sunlight tans them toward butterscotch and onto pumpkin orange as the decades roll by. The appearance of the Aging Toner has been formulated to fall somewhere between Martin’s previous offerings of vintage-esque hues, and lands more in the butterscotch spectrum than not. Many of the new Standard Series models can be ordered with a Sunburst top or an Ambertone top.

Diamonds in the Black

Similar to the makeover given to Standard Style 18 a few years back, which combined Martin’s modern High Performance Neck with the scalloped forward-shifted bracing, tonewoods, and open-back tuners of the old Vintage Series 18s, the domino dots and black and white line inlay of last year’s 28s have been retired in favor of the bold herringbone trim around the top, and the diamond position markers gleaming from the black ebony fretboards of the (soon to be) extinct Vintage Series 28s. And the entire Standard Series will likewise be getting the High Performance Neck. Their marketing data suggests it is the best way to guarantee Martin’s cash flow remains very much in the black.

The High Performance Neck combines a Modified Low Oval shaping to the neck itself with a fretboard that has the High Performance Taper, measuring 1-3/4” wide at the nut, and 2-1/8” at the 12th fret – specs that have become the industry standard among popular guitarmakers. It does appear that Martin has made its last 1-11/16” Low Profile neck, other than on possible future special or limited editions.

That the HD-28 was being remade with the HP Neck in the image of the HD-28V has been known to me for some time now. But whether they would be uniformly remaking all the 28s was an open question until quite recently.

As the man with his name on the headstock, CEO Chris Martin remains intimately involved with many of the decisions that lead to just which Martin guitars end up for sale and when they will appear before the public. For example, it was his fourth quarter decision to withhold certain models from last year’s Winter NAMM until the Summer show. And even then, the revamped Standard D-28 (2017) didn’t get the go light until the last minute.

I was among those holding my breath as to just what exactly would be the final specs of the new Standard Series Martins when they were displayed at the Winter NAMM trade show on January 25, 2018.

One interesting tidbit, the 00-28 and 000-28 are keeping the Style 28 back strip, while the others are moving to the vintagesque zig-zag back strip used on 28s in the pre-WWII years. I had to wait until today’s executive luncheon ended to confirm this is indeed the way things will be at NAMM.

According one of those well-fed execs, “If an H appears in the model name (i.e. HD-28,) then it will have a zig-zag back strip…if no H, it will get a checkerboard pattern,” which appeared on contemporary Style 28 models since the late 1940s.

 

Martin Standard 28 back strips (2018)

Photos: A tale of two 28 back strips (click to enlarge)

The H designation once signified herringbone trim and scalloped bracing. In the new Style 28, some guitars with both of those features do not get the H. And yes this does mean the OM-28 (2018) has surrendered its 1930s zig-zag for the 1950s checkerboard. But it and most of the Standard Series instruments with (2018) in the name get an upgrade in tuners, to Schaller GrandTune™ machines. Style 35 guitars retain the chrome enclosed Grover Rotomatics associated with Style 35 throughout its lifetime.

It Is What It Is

Change often comes slowly at Martin Guitars, while some of their biggest fans have a hard time accepting any change at all.

The loss of grained ivoroid bindings from the OM-42 or the additions of Antique White binding and Aging Toner to the top-of-the-line D-45 may seem like sacrilege to some (who had no intention of ever buying a D-45 anyway,) but it is the change to forward-shifted bracing on the HD-28, D-35, D-41, and D-45 that may prove much more controversial in practical terms, just as it has been for the D-28 2017 model that appeared at Summer NAMM.

The term forward-shifted bracing refers to where Martin placed the X brace in relation to the bridge plate on Dreadnought models made in the 1930s. It is often said to be one inch from the sound hole, but it is all about the flexibility of the spruce soundboard around bridge plate, father down the top from the X, which matters. That is where the majority of the sound-producing energy is transferred from the guitar strings to the musical instrument.

The bracing was moved nearer the bridge plate sometime in 1938, to a position now called “rear-shifted bracing.” And then it was brought forward a little bit at a time until the late ’50s, when it reached the position that was considered the “standard position.” That is, until now.

Moving the center of the main X brace that little bit farther away from the bridge plate on a Dreadnought-size guitar increases bass response noticeably, while adding more echoy resonance to the voice in general.

Martin going all-in on forward-shifted bracing (not including 12-string models) will bring further uniformity to the Standard Series, while also severing ties with the Martins made in the final 40 years of the twentieth century, at least when it comes to the brace position. There is no doubt it changes the voice of a guitar. But it will be left to the individual guitarist as to whether that is a good thing or not.

Likewise, the Company is all in on the take-it-or-leave-it stance concerning the High Performance Neck.

While the playability and feel of the HP Neck allows their ship-of-the-line Martins to enter into direct competition with makers like Collings, Huss & Dalton, and Taylor Guitars, not all guitarists are happy with the new Martin neck. They will have to look to Martins outside of the Standard Series when seeking a vintage style V neck, or they must look to the Custom Shop if they want a new Martin with the Low Profile neck from the old Standard Series.

Martin D-45 (2018) detail Martin D-45 (2018) Martin D-45 (2018) head

Photos: The new D-45 (2018) has vintage looks and modern construction (click to enlarge)

C. F. Martin IV’s Legacy





It can be argued that this reimagined Standard Series may be the most important event in the continued success of the Chris Martin’s family business, since his great-grandfather, Frank Henry Martin, brought the Company into the twentieth-century and piloted it through the Great Depression. It took many years of trial and error to bring all these specs into one unified collection of reasonably-priced, professional-level guitars.

Now in his 60s, today’s Mr. Martin is gearing up to follow his long-time friend Dick Boak into retirement. He will be remembered for leading his Company out of one economic slump and through several others, by embracing and respecting Martin tradition while also introducing and championing modern technologies, and alternate and environmentally responsible materials, often combining the traditional with the futuristic to break new ground that will prove to be sound bedrock for his business to build upon for many years to come.

For guitarists who long for Martin guitars made more like the old timers, he has provided the excellent Authentic Series of meticulous vintage Martin recreations. And for those who want Martin to boldly step outside of their tried and true designs, there are the many special editions and Chris’ own CEO Series.

And now, his transformation of the Standard Series that began with the D-18 makeover in 2012 has come to fruition. By infusing many aesthetic features of old Frank Henry’s pre-war Martins with the modern technology like the High Performance neck, made possible in part by Martin’s exclusive two-way adjustable steel truss rod, the effort to return Martin’s Standard Series to its rightful place as the industry standard for top flight acoustic guitars is fully realized. It may very well be among the wisest moves Chris Martin could make as he prepares for the on-coming century of Martin guitars.

Check back soon, as we will be writing about other new Martins as soon as I am given the permission to start blabbing!

In the mean time…

Check out the new Standard Series Martins and their public spec sheets below

Martin Modes in Review OM-21 Ambertone (2018

All guitars listed have new specs, or are wholly new to the Martin catalog for 2018.

D-45 (2018)

D-42 (2018)

D-41 (2018)

D-35 (2018)

D-35E (2018)

HD-35 (2018)

HD-28 (2018)

HD-28E (2018)

HDC-28E (2018)

HD12-28 (2018)

GP-28E (2018)

GPC-28E (2018)

GPC-35E (2018)

J-40 (2018)

M-36 (2018)

OM-42 (2018)

OM-35E (2018)

OM-28 (2018)

OM-28E (2018)

OMC-28E (2018)

OM-21 (2018)

000-42 (2018)

000–28 (2018)

00-28 (2018)

 

 

 

 

Martin 00-28 Review

The seldom made Martin 00-28 in a triumphant return

Marvelous rosewood tone from the grand concert powerhouse 00-28 is first rate

Specs include: Solid tonewoods with Indian rosewood back and sides, Sitka spruce top, ebony fingerboard and bridge, scalloped 1/4″ Sitka spruce bracing; high gloss nitrocellulose finish; short-scale, satin finished mahogany High Performance neck, with 1-3/4″ width at nut, 2-1/8″ at the 12th fret, 2-5/32″ string spacing; bone nut and saddle; open back nickle tuners with “clove” knobs; mother of pearl dot fret markers, black pickguard, white biding.

“Singing with silvery purity up high, commanding mids, and full-bodied lows, all riding atop the lush and lovely depths saturated with what I call that “smoky rosewood presence,” the new 00-28 provides classic, nay even legendary Martin guitar tone.”

Full Review with Video Here