Each year at the NAMM show, we collaborate with the Martin Custom Shop to select tone woods and create exclusive guitar designs for Telluride Music Co. Each TMC Exclusive is a one-of-a-kind custom guitar that can only be found at 8,750 ft elevation. Infused with the spirit of Telluride and crafted by the skilled artisans at the Martin Custom Shop, these guitars transcend the ordinary.
We love 12-fret guitars. Every year, we know we want to order at least one Custom Shop Martin that is a 12-fret. Digging through the stacks of wood sets, we found a set of Guatemalan Rosewood that was perfect for a small-body 12-fret. it showed even grain, consistent color and most importantly an impressive book match.
The 00 body is one of our favorite choices for a 12-fret design. On your lap, it feels small and manageable, and the 12-fret design helps bring about more bass, which makes the guitar sound more balanced overal. Built with a premium High Altitude Swiss Spruce top and 1/4" scalloped Adirondack braces, this 00-41 produces a bigger, bolder sound than you might expect from a small guitar. Nevertheless, it still captures the sweetness and subtlety of the shorter scale/small-body vibe.
We ordered this 00-41 with a 1933 Ambertone top finish, and the mellow amber coloring starkly contrasts the Abalone top border and Style-45 Rosette. On the fingerboard, we tried something new: Style-45 Snowflakes that just the border. It's hard to fully appreciate the degree of precision required to pull this off, but that's what you get from the Martin Custom Shop. This is a high-end guitar.
As soon as you touch the strings, this Custom Shop 00-41 comes alive with sound. It is a versatile, well-voiced guitar with expressive, touch-sensitive response. It would make for a superlative fingerstyle instrument, but you'll like the way it sounds with a pick, too. Inside the soundhole, the exclusive "Telluride Music Co." label lets you know this is a special guitar, only available at 8,750 ft elevation.
Watch us pick out the wood and spec this one-of-kind guitar with the Martin Custom Shop:
Here is the spec sheet as listed in the included Custom Shop Handbook:
- Serial Number: 2875426
- Back/Sides Material: Guatemalan Rosewood
- Binding Material: Antique White
- Bracing: Adirondack Spruce, Scalloped, 1/4"
- Bridge Pins: Liquid Metal - Bone with Paua
- Bridge Material: Black Ebony
- Bridge Style: Modern Straight Line
- Adhesive: Modern Adhesive
- Electronics: None
- Fingerboard Inlay: Style-45 Snowflake Border Only with Select Abalone
- Spacing: 1-3/4" x 2-1/8" x 2-5/32"
- Fingerboard Material: Black Ebony
- Finish Package: Gloss Body w/ Satin Neck and Polished Headplate
- Headstock: Slotted with Square Slots
- Headplate: Inlay: CFM Block Golden Era
- Nut Material: Bone
- Rosette Style: Style-45 Black Maple Fiber Antique White
- Scale Length: 24.9"
- Top Material: Certified European Spruce (High Altitude Swiss) Premium
- Top Color: Ambertone 1933