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.
The 14-fret 00 is one of our favorite body sizes. Smaller guitars are more accessible, which means you'll play them more. The 14-fret 00 is manageable around the couch and the living room, and they're also more comfortable in your lap and easier to handle. When built properly, these short-scale beauties take on a full-bodied sound and responsive feel, almost like a little OM. At the NAMM Show, the Custom Shop had an impressive stack of rare Guatemalan Rosewood, so we dug through every set looking for the best book match. We found a gorgeous set with consistent color and nice grain matched across the center seam—the perfect tone wood for a 00!
From there, we specified an Italian Alpine Spruce top and lightweight 1/4" scalloped Spruce braces. To further minimize weight and optimize the sound, we chose a simple Straight Line bridge with no belly. The result is balanced sound—more like an OM than a small body—and fast, smooth response even with a light touch. The Guatemalan Rosewood lends clarity and focus. This 00 is a complex guitar with harmonic richness that isn't overpowering and intense—definitely in the vein of Brazilian Rosewood, from a sound perspective.
Since the Custom Shop lets you style them out, why not have fun? The goal was an elegant high-end guitar without abalone top border. Dig this Style-28 Martin with some extra pizzazz! Iconic Herringbone trim and a bold Herringbone rosette get you started. On the peghead, how about a green abalone Alternate Torch inlay? On the fingerboard, Abalone Style-42 Snowflakes guide you up the neck, and we love the look of high-end inlays on a simple unbound Ebony fingerboard. And in the soundhole? The custom "Telluride Music Co." label lets you know this is a special guitar, designed to be a unique individual that will inspire you just like the San Juan Mountains that surround Telluride.
- Body: 14-Fret 00
- Top Material: Italian Alpine Spruce Standard
- Back & Sides: Guatemalan Rosewood
- Bracing: Spruce, Scalloped, 1/4"
- Binding Material: Antique White
- Bridge Material: Black Ebony
- Bridge Style: Modern Straight Line
- Bridge Pins: Liquid Metal - Bone with Red Dot
- Adhesive: Modern Adhesive
- Fingerboard Material: Black Ebony
- Fingerboard Inlay: Style-42 Snowflake (Short) with Select Abalone
- Spacing: 1-3/4" x 2-1/8" x 2-5/32"
- Headplate Inlay: Alternate Torch
- Neck Profile: GE Modified Low Oval
- Nut Material: Bone
- Rosette Style: 3 Ring Bold Herringbone Boltaron
- Scale Length: 24.9"
- Finish Package: Gloss Body w/ Satin Neck and Polished Headplate
- Top Color: Clear