In the mid-'80s, a young Chris Martin wondered why his company didn't build a jumbo, so he asked the crew to design an M-body with the depth of a dreadnought. Right off the line, it sounded like it should, but Chris realized this was a "front" guitar—that is, a guitar that would be out in front of the band with the lead singer. Because of that, it needed to look the part, too. With an abalone rosette, hexagon fingerboard inlays, and the iconic "C.F. Martin" vertical inlay, the J-40 was born!
"That's my guitar," says Chris. "That's the guitar that someday people are going to say, 'What did Chris do for the company? Chris put together the J-40.' It wasn't rocket science, it was just let's mix and match. And it worked."
Classic styling with a tight-waisted jumbo body shape, the Martin J-40 is constructed from East Indian rosewood back and sides, a Sitka spruce top, and a hand-fit dovetail neck joint. This relatively rare body size produces enormous tone that is beautifully balanced with powerful response and projection, enhancing the art of the singer-songwriter or session player. Boasting gold open geared tuners and Martin’s most comfortable high performance neck, the Martin J-40 has Jumbo tone to set you apart!
- Top: Solid Sitka Spruce
- Back & Sides: Solid East Indian Rosewood
- Bracing: Forward-Shifted, Scalloped 5/16″ X-Bracing
- Nut: Bone, 1-3/4″
- Neck Profile: Modified Low Oval Profile w/ High Performance Taper
- Fingerboard & Bridge: Solid Ebony
- Saddle: Compensated Bone, 2-5/32″ string spacing
- Top Rosette: Ablone w/ Multi-Stripe
- Fingerboard Inlay: Abalone Hexagon
- Peghead Logo: Vertical "C.F. Martin" Abalone Inlay
- Tuning Machines: Gold Grover 18:1 Sta-Tite Open Back
This Martin J-40 sounds enormous, but its tone is nicely balanced. Throaty, powerful, and also lush complex overtones.