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.
Cocobolo is often the first wood to sell out from the Martin Custom Shop at the NAMM Show. It produces great sound, it shows beautiful coloring and grain patterns, but the supply is always in limited. What's more, it's rare to find Cocobolo sets that are big enough—and with consistent grain—to be suitable for a larger guitar body. Because of that, most Cocobolo guitars are OMs and 000s at the biggest. But after digging through what was available this year, we found one particular set that was big enough for a dreadnought body! On top of that, it had a nice book match that would position some very cool grain on the upper bout, and the color showed nice consistency from end to end. Starting with the right back set, we put together the spec sheet of a truly special D-41 Cocobolo.
Featuring a VTS Sitka Spruce top and 5/16" scalloped Sitka Spruce braces, this D-41 Cocobolo may be one of the best sounding brand new dreadnoughts we've seen in a long time. It has the clarity and crispness we love from a new guitar, but it feels rich, nuanced, and broken in. It responds boldly to a light touch, producing sweet, pretty complex tones across the register, but when you dig in, this D-41 explodes with sound. Honestly, your right hand picking attack feels like having your foot on the accelerator of a finely-tuned sports car.
Since the Custom Shop lets you style them out, why not have fun? We love the way the Abalone top border and Abalone rosette flash against a 1933 Ambertone sunburst finish. Style-41 was an easy decision! On the fingerboard, we opted for Style-45 Snowflakes that are just the outline only, which means you're gripping Black Ebony instead of big pieces of Abalone. 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. And in the soundhole? The exclusive "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.
- Top Material: Sitka Spruce - VTS Premium
- Back & Side Material: Cocobolo
- Bracing: Sitka Spruce, Scalloped, 5/16"
- Top Color: Ambertone 1933
- Binding Material: Antique White
- Bridge Pins: Liquid Metal - Bone with Paua
- Bridge Material: Black Ebony
- Bridge Style: GE Modern Belly
- Adhesive: Modern Adhesive
- 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
- Headplate: Inlay: CFM Black Golden Era
- Neck Profile: GE Modified Low Oval
- Nut Material: Bone
- Rosette: Style-45 Boltaron