C . F . MARTIN & CO .
“ WE WANT TO HAVE SOMEONE PICK UP A MARTIN GUITAR AND BE SURPRISED BY THIS UNEXPECTED DYNAMIC RANGE WITHIN THAT BODY , TO GIVE IT A LICK AND GO , ‘ WOW ! I WASN ’ T EXPECTING THAT !’ THAT ’ S THE MARTIN SOUND . ”
What ’ s more , sound , especially in the form of music , triggers direct cognitive responses to our memories , as Tim Teel attests through his experience with his grandfather ’ s D-35 . “ My grandfather always told me that when you hear a Martin guitar , you will know it .” But what , exactly , is that Martin sound — a sound so distinctive that even when blindfolded , you know it ? “ To my ears ,” Teel explains , “ the Martin sound is full-bodied . It ’ s responsive from the bass to the treble and every note and string in between . It ’ s true that , thanks to Mother Nature and the individual craftspeople who make them , all guitars have a slightly different voice .” ( It ’ s also true that two tops milled from the same billet can sound different !) “ But ,” Teel continues , “ when you categorize guitars built by a particular maker , that company ’ s unique sound qualities come through . Martin has its sound . Other brands have their sound .”
Teel has tested the limits of this sonic hypothesis . When he was developing Martin ’ s X series — a budget line offering — his goal was to retain as much of that quality as possible , to make it too sound like a Martin . “ Does a DX-1 sound the same as a D-28 ?” he asks rhetorically . “ Well , no , of course not . But if you were to play this guitar in a small group and then swap it out
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| FALL 2023