Martin D-45 1936
PROJECT 91 good they sound— and they’ re brand-new guitars. They don’ t have 80-plus years of aging behind them. So, if they sound this good today, you have to wonder how they’ ll open up over the next several decades. The VTS process certainly contributes— the treatment of the top makes a difference— but the lacquer is new. It hasn’ t had time to age. There’ s still more to come.
What will a player feel and hear in one of these guitars that they wouldn’ t necessarily experience in a standard modern D-45? Well, your standard D-45 uses different woods, so you’ re going to hear a different tonal quality right off the bat with the Brazilian and Adirondack combination on the Project 91 guitars. We’ re also using the older-style lacquer, which is a little thinner, and that definitely plays into the tone and responsiveness. And then there’ s all the hand-shaping that goes into these. They’ re very detailed guitars. So yeah, you’ re going to get a different soundscape from it, for sure.
Martin D-45 1936
So, just to be clear, this is a Custom Shop build. The standard D-45, though— that’ s a production-line instrument. That’ s an important nuance, especially in the vintage and collector markets. Oh, absolutely. But the real differentiator here is the wood. We were able to use amazing Brazilian rosewood on this project— something we didn’ t have access to before— and that absolutely influences the tone.
How do you think these will be viewed in terms of value over time? I personally think they’ re going to do very well. If
COLLECTIBLE GUITAR | 93