Martin Guitar Honors Pioneering Music Legends Roger McGuinn and Stephen Stills each with Limited Edition Signature Models
(Pioneer | Posted 2005-02-14)
Nazareth, PA – C.F. Martin & Co is proud to introduce Limited Edition Signature Model guitars honoring two music legends: Roger McGuinn and Stephen Stills. Each of these respected veterans and innovators is a dedicated Martin guitar enthusiast and each designed an instrument reflecting his own unique taste, style, and skills.
Roger McGuinn
Putting folk-rock and country-rock on the map as leader of the Byrds, Roger McGuinn has built his 45-year career on the cutting edge. So when McGuinn came to Martin for a custom guitar, they expected something radical. They got it: a unique seven-string instrument.
The new HD7 Roger McGuinn Signature Edition is one of the most unusual instruments in Signature Series history. This guitar features a doubled G-string, with the second string tuned an octave higher. McGuinn has been playing his own 7-string custom Martin on the road for nearly a year and the extra power the double-G lends to the mid-range sound is startling. Playing the 7-string is intuitive, requiring no special fingering.
The HD7 Roger McGuinn Signature Edition features classic Martin quality with solid Sitka spruce top and solid East Indian rosewood back and sides. Both headstock and bridge on this unique Dreadnought are modified to handle the extra string. Seven gold tuners with ebony buttons installed asymmetrically on the solid, squared headstock – three on the bass side and four on the treble side – provide smooth, easy tuning. The African ebony fingerboard showcases abalone position markers, with a subtle number “7” inlaid on the first fret marker in mother of pearl. Roger McGuinn’s signature is inlaid between the 19th and 20th frets.
Each HD7 Roger McGuinn Signature Edition bears an interior numbered label signed by Roger McGuinn and Martin Chairman C.F. Martin IV.
Stephen Stills
After the success of the D-45SS, Stills went back to work making music. In truth, he probably should be considered a force of nature: after nearly 40 years, two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash (both in 1997), dozens of albums and hundreds of concerts, this musical legend is busier than ever. In 2004 alone, he toured with Crosby, Stills & Nash, received the UNICEF Children’s Champion Award, put the finishing touches on a new solo album scheduled for release early in 2005, participated in interviews for a three-DVD Crosby, Stills & Nash video package and helped prepare his long-awaited “Best Of” solo anthology. To top it off, Stephen’s wife Kristin gave birth to Oliver Ragland Stills in October of 2004.
Yet when Martin offered him the opportunity to create a second Signature Edition, he happily took on the challenge. Indeed, he already had a design in mind: the original Martin 000-45 with an elongated body and 12-fret neck. While a rarity - only 142 were built between 1907 and 1931 – it’s a classic instrument Stills knows well: he has owned one for more than 30 years and featured it (along with a stuffed giraffe – more on this later) on the cover of his impressive debut solo album, “Stills.” After a bit of “back and forth” to get the details exactly right, C.F. Martin is pleased to present the 000-45S Stephen Stills Signature Edition.
Capturing the design details of the original 12-fret 000-45, including a premium Adirondack spruce top, the long 25.4-inch scale provides power to complement the design’s rich, balanced tone. Abalone pearl is utilized in the body inlays and the headplate showcases “C.F. Martin” in Golden Era Style 45 block letters. Snowflake position markers grace the fingerboard with Stephen Stills’ signature inlaid in mother of pearl. Back and sides are crafted from select quality East Indian rosewood.
Only 91 000-45S Stephen Stills Signature Edition guitars will be built, a number that matches the total production of D-45SS guitars. Each 000-45 Stephen Stills Signature edition bears an interior label personally signed by Stephen Stills and Martin Chairman C.F. Martin IV and numbered in sequence with the edition total. A second adjacent label shows the original cover from the solo album STEPHEN STILLS, which bears the image of Stephen’s vintage 000-45S as well as the image of a giraffe, Stills’ good luck object for many years.
After an initial ordering period, a list of Martin dealers that have ordered the McGuinn HD7 model and the 000-45S Stephen Stills edition will be posted on the Martin website at www.martinguitar.com.
