C.F. Martin honors Easton & Muldaur with limited-edition models.(PRODUCT NEWS)(Sound recording review)

CONTINUING ITS TRADITION of honoring seminal guitarists with distinctive limited edition instruments, C.F.Martin is introducing an Elliott Easton and Geoff Muldaur models this summer.

Geoff Muldaur is one of the great musical forces to emerge from the folk, blues and traditional music revival of the 1960s. His one-of-a-kind voice, his encyclopedic knowledge of American music, his immaculate guitar playing, and his impressive songs and arrangements have captivated two generations. Perhaps most exciting of all, his recent musical forays are among the most inventive of his career. For several years, Muldaur's guitar of choice has been a 1930s Martin 00 12-fret, one originally made for Hawaiian playing (with a raised nut and flush frets) and later converted to standard configuration.

The Martin 00-18H Geoff Muldaur takes the elements that make the originals such classics and adds some very tasty touches. It features superb tonewoods and premium appointments through] out. The top of prized Adirondack spruce is strengthened with Martin's traditional scalloped 1/4" X bracing, also of Adirondack spruce, for outstanding tonal clarity and dynamics. The back and sides are crafted from genuine mahogany for unsurpassed string-to-string balance and definition. The genuine mahogany neck is a traditional--for this model--1 13/16" wide at the nut, but an untraditional and very comfortable low-profile shape. While set up for standard playing, this guitar showcases many of the appointments of the original Hawaiian model that inspired it. A spectacular soft sunburst graces the top, encircled by tortoise color binding and black/white/black/white/black purfling: the same tortoise color binding is accented by black/white purfling on the traditional dark stained back. The rosette is Martin's Old Style 18, with single inner and outer rings. Like the original, the 00-18H Geoff Muldaur Custom is a short (24.9") scale instrument, allowing easy fretting and easy "reach" for difficult chords. Delivered in a vintage Geib style hardshell case, each 00-18H Geoff Muldaur Custom Edition guitar bears an interior label personally signed by Geoff Muldaur and Martin Chairman C.F. Martin IV, and numbered in sequence.

Anyone who has heard Elliot Easton's inventive hooks, imaginative arrangements, and melodic solos knows he is a gifted guitarist with impeccable taste and tone. Easton established his reputation as lead guitarist for The Cars, one of the world's most popular bands of the late 1970s and 1980s, but his playing over the years has demonstrated an impressive stylistic range. He also is among the most recognizable left-handed guitarists playing today. Like many electric guitarists, Easton has an acoustic side that doesn't get a lot of exposure. That acoustic side has been expressed almost exclusively on a Martin; his guitar collection includes several, ...