Martin Unveils Tim O'brien With Limited Edition 00-18 Guitar At 2008 Summer NAMM

C.F. Martin & Co. is celebrating their 175th Anniversary at the NAMM Summer Session back in Nashville! Recently, the company launched a new online application enabling consumers to create their own one-of-a-kind acoustic guitar, through the acclaimed Martin Custom Shop at http://www.martinguitar.com/ .This latest innovation puts the custom shop program directly into the hands of every guitar player that has ever dreamed of creating their own signature edition model guitar. Located on the Martin Guitar website, the new user-friendly program is a fun and easy way to try almost limitless ideas for creating a unique custom Martin guitar!

Martin Guitar Pays Tribute To Tim O'Brien With Limited Edition 00-18

The Martin Guitar Company is proud to pay tribute to a great talent in the world of acoustic music, Grammy Award winning Tim O'Brien. When approached about the prospect of Martin creating a Tim O'Brien model his humility shone through. "It is an honor to be associated with Martin Guitar. It's solid stock. I just want to say that Martin is not like most companies of today. There is no planned obsolescence with Martin Guitars. They certainly make guitars as well as they've ever made them. They've kept that integrity. They define the whole thing. There's none finer than a Martin."

The Limited Edition 00-18 Tim O'Brien model is based in tradition, but incorporates some features not previously found in the Martin line. Tim had some specific ideas about what he wanted in a signature model. He chose the "00" body and the "18" styling which on his model includes solid mahogany for the sides and back and Adirondack spruce for the top. The top is supported with scalloped 1/4" Adirondack braces & tone bars and a maple bridge plate. The thin bracing and the stiffness of the Adirondack spruce produces a clear bell-like tone with volume suitable for both fingerpicking and flatpicking. The soundhole is adorned with a simple vintage style 18 rosette, however the center ring of black has been replaced by an elegantly thin strip of select abalone pearl. A beveled polished tortoise style pickguard protects the top below the strings. The top and back are bound in black Boltaron and the center back strip of Madagascar rosewood matches the headplate overlay which displays the historic Golden Era style Martin decal. In a show of support for the use of alternative woods, Tim chose solid Spanish Cedar for the full thickness "V" neck, attached to the body with the traditional "dove-tailed" neck joint. The ebony fingerboard features Martin's pocketed fret slots, G300 fret wire and is dressed out with Diamonds & Squares inlay pattern of select abalone pearl. Its width at the nut is 1-3/4". Nut and saddle are bone. A unique feature of the 00-18 Tim O'Brien is its 25-1/2" scale length, which is typically reserved for Dreadnoughts and Orchestra Models. This feature will add to the power and volume of this specially designed instrument. The guitar is detailed with a highly polished nitro-cellulose finish and comes in a Geib-style deluxe case.

Each interior label of 00-18 Tim O'Brien Limited Edition will be personally signed by O'Brien. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each Tim O'Brien Signature Model donated in support of Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services.

Orders for the Limited Edition 00-18 Tim O'Brien are being accepted by Martin from Dealers, after which a list of participating Martin Dealers will be posted on the website.