2012 Martin D-45V

2012 Martin D-45V. A gorgeous high-end Martin featuring a spruce top, rosewood back and sides, gold hardware, ornate inlays, and Abalone lines throughout. In excellent condition with hardly any signs of handling/wear and a great player with ideal neck dimensions for play with minimal fatigue. Sounds killer with quintessential Martin tone: Full-bodied low-end, focused mids, and pristine high-end clarity. A great Martin with high-end appointments! Includes original hardshell case.

Check out the feature from our luthier Tyler in the ECG Newsletter:

"With all the fuss made about prewar Martins, (I take some responsibility for this) it’s refreshing to see that the company is still capable of building modern instruments with the same quality and attention to detail. D-45s from the initial run ('33-'42) are quite literally the #1 most expensive vintage guitars ever sold, and thus also rank similarly on the list of guitars most of us will never own. Some compromises need to be made then, and the D-45V is one hell of a consolation prize.

The materials used are absolutely the best Martin has to offer, and when dealing with a company like Martin, one can be assured this means they are some of the best materials available anywhere. The East Indian rosewood back and sides are straight-grained and oily, very much similar to Brazilian from the early days. The ebony is jet-black and glassy. The tinted Sitka spruce top is tight-grained and perfectly quartered. This is as good as it gets for a modern guitar.

Much speculation has been made in modern times as well as in years past regarding the difference in sound between 28 and 45-style Martins. On paper one shouldn't exist. Using identical materials and construction, only the ornamentation draws difference between the workhorse and the king. Over the years though, many keen-eared guitarists have sworn time and time again that the D-45s are discernible and superior when compared to 28s. Most have chalked this argument up to a simple case of post-purchase rationalization, but I disagree.

The 45 benefits tonally from a construction principle used for generations on violins and other arched instruments. When carving the top of an instrument, it is widely accepted that the plate is thickest under the bridge, and thinnest slightly inside the edges of the top. This thin section towards the perimeter is called recurve, and it is what allows the top to vibrate freely while remaining strong enough to hold string tension. Recurve, intentionally or not, is what is simulated on style 45s. Cutting the channel for the pearl significantly thins the top just inside the body edge, liberating the top in a way not possible on a 28. Collings takes advantage of this principle by thinning their tops around the edges via sanding, but the result is similar. A more responsive instrument with a lot more flash. Come down and compare them for yourself, I think you'll notice a difference."