Timeless Tone

A brand-new model from Martin's long-running Road Series that won't bust the budget but might just break the tone barrier

- Neville Marten

If you know your Martin guitar models, you might initially say, “Oh, it’s a D-18 but with an unusually grained fingerboard and bridge.” Well, no, it’s not a D-18, but it’s certainly a dreadnought and follows that legendary model's features pretty closely. As for the fingerboard and bridge, like the D-18 they're ebony, although here it's ‘striped’. Striped ebony is just as hard and just as toneful as the pitch-black variety, and those markings are merely due to the fact that Martin is happy to use different cuts of timber from the same Gabon ebony tree. Company chairman, Chris Martin, elaborates: “Striped ebony is a sustainable option because harvesting it involves the utilisation of all parts of the tree. The streaks appear due to the species’ light-coloured heartwood; by using the lighter colour, we can employ more of the harvested wood. Using all colour variations allows for more lumber from the tree to be transformed into guitar parts, keeping the harvesters and mills from scrapping more material and putting more money into their supply chain. Less wood scrapped means fewer trees are cut down.” There's really nothing not to like about that, is there? We will mention, though, that not all Retro Plus guitars' 'boards and bridges have as much going on as this one, so if the multi-coloured look is not your thing, just shop around until you find one that's more to your liking.

Another important fact about Road Series models is that they're made in Martin's factory in Sonora, Mexico, where the company has had an operation since 1989. The use of this Mexican production base reduces the price of these guitars massively, from around £3,000 for a Nazareth-built D-18 Standard (with no pickup), to £1,899 for a stage-ready Retro Plus (that you shouldn't be scared to take out on the road).