Martin Guitars D-40 Custom

Eine Decke aus feinster Sitka-Fichte

To produce a light and powerful response, the manufacturer relies on the wood of the Californian Sitka spruce, which has a powerful vibration behaviour due to its fine structure, additionally favoured by a forward-shifted X-bracing and a wafer-thin high-gloss finish. The high-quality spruce top produces a very clear and voluminous sound, which is particularly pronounced in the mid and treble frequencies. Framed by an elaborate multi-ply binding, the even grain of the wood is particularly accentuated and thus receives a high-quality touch, which is further enriched by an abalone-with-multi-stripe soundhole rosette and a wafer-thin tortoise pickguard. The white bridge pins with tortoise dots set into a dark ebony bridge create a fine interplay between binding, soundhole and the fingerboard resting on the top.

Back and sides in East Indian rosewood

Easily recognisable by its straight grain, the body made of the finest rosewood gives the instrument a unique touch that lives up to the custom shop designation in every respect. The hinged back is divided with an elaborate backstripe, which emphasises the symmetry of the wood in a very tasteful way. Sonically, the high-quality tropical wood provides a rich tone that colours the bass frequencies in a strong and defined way and gives the large dreadnought construction a fundamental saturation. The white rather plain binding draws a clear boundary between the individual components of the body and thus creates an aesthetic contrast that clearly emphasises the value of the woods used. Thanks to the polished lacquer finish, the multi-faceted grain with its coarse patterns and lines also stands out in light or dark brown, depending on the angle of view.

Ideal neck construction for a comfortable playing feel

To ensure clean access to all 20 frets, the manufacturer relies on a flat mahogany neck with a Modified Low Oval profile and an ebony fingerboard decorated with elaborate hexagonal inlays made of abalone, which skilfully merges with the light-coloured top at the 14th fret, framed by a cream-coloured binding. A compensated saddle made of bone, which is optimally adapted to a 44.45 mm wide bone nut, ensures clean intonation over the entire scale length of 645 mm. Golden open-gear tuners allow precise tuning of the strings and, in combination with a tasteful headplate made of evenly grained rosewood, a white binding and "C.F. Martin" lettering made of abalone, round off the overall appearance in a very tasteful way.

The Martin D-40 Custom at a glance:

• Custom-Shop acoustic guitar
  
• All solid dreadnought construction
• Sitka spruce top
• Body made of East Indian rosewood
• Mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard
• 645 mm scale length
• 44,45 mm wide bone nut
• Golden open-gear tuners
• Case and certificate included