A String Change on Martin Guitars

About time too!

As of the introduction of the new Summer NAMM models, C. F. Martin & Co. is no longer shipping guitars to dealers with Martin Lifespan strings, treated to increase longevity.

They will now arrive at Martin dealers with their SP – Studio Performance strings. All the guitars at the NAMM show and appearing in my reviews (of the guitars debuting in July 2017 and thereafter) have SPs.

The Lifespan strings are actually the exact same strings as SP strings, but the windings have been treated with a substance that resists corrosion.

Martin does not consider Lifespans to be “coated strings,” like those made by Elixir and similar brands, since the treatment happens to the alloy windings before they are wrapped on the wire. But they do change the tone of the strings and therefore the guitars they go on.

The goal of shipping Martins with Lifespans was to keep the tone of new guitars from getting dull in guitar shops from all the many people playing them, and because shops rarely keep up on wiping strings down, or changing them on a regular basis.

But Martin has decided to heed the call from players who feel treated strings never have the same level of vibrancy as untreated strings.

I wonder if it mean a difference in guitar sales in this questionable economy. Here’s to hoping so.