PROJECT 91 energy transmission over time. Voicing decisions determine how the guitar responds under load, how it releases energy, and how it changes as the structure relaxes over decades of string tension.
An“ Acoustic Dossier” travels with the guitar and records the prewar serial it references, the identities of the wood sets, and the selection criteria expressed in physical terms— stiffness-to-weight ratios, grain characteristics, tap response. Structural facts follow: top thickness targets recorded in thousandths, brace profiles and dimensions, mass distribution, bridge plate material and geometry, glue systems and curing notes, finish material with a documented thickness range. The builder signs and dates the voicing notes. The instrument becomes legible in the same way a fine movement remains legible.
Scarcity also emerges from these limits. Ninety-one prewar 45-level instruments exist as references. Suitable wood meeting behavioral standards narrows each year. The group of builders capable of voicing a top to prewar response without structural compromise is small, and each one has a finite annual output. The price follows those conditions in the same way it does in horology. Value accrues around the work that resists automation, time spent by people whose judgment cannot be abstracted, and an object designed to age through use rather than slide toward obsolescence.
We spoke with Chris Martin IV and Martin’ s Tim Teel to examine this extraordinary series through the lenses of time, value, and music.
Collectible Guitar: This special collection brings to life 91 limited-edition Martin guitars, each one a direct descendant of an original pre-war D-45— among the most coveted acoustic guitars ever made. Let’ s start by explaining what Project 91 actually is. Chris Martin IV: I mean no disrespect, but many of those old guitars are, first and foremost, old guitars— and a lot of them have issues. Some of those issues get disclosed as they trade hands over the years, and some don’ t. You can ask the seller,“ What do you know about this guitar?” and they’ ll say,“ Well, I was told it’ s this.” And then you find out four or five years ago it was oversprayed, the bridge was replaced, the neck was reset … So again, I mean no disrespect— that’ s just the reality, and that’ s where I’ m coming from.
I’ m fortunate that, from time to time, I get to reproduce what my family made back in the day— but
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