Martin D-35E 50th Anniversary Limited Edition

C. F. Martin & Co. introduces the D-35E 50th Anniversary Ltd Ed, featuring the company’s Vintage Tone System (VTS).

As the name implies, this special edition dreadnought is released in time for the 50th anniversary of the D-35 model, with “E” standing for East Indian rosewood that is used for the back and sides.

The Martin D-35 model have a special place in Martin Guitar’s line up, it’s most distinct feature being the three-piece back with angled center strips that follow the line where the three wood joins. This different back design along with 1/4″ straight braces give the guitar a more bass heavy tone when compared to regular 2-piece back dreadnoughts like the popular D-28 model.

50 years after it was first released, the D-35 is still quite sought after especially by fingerstyle, bluegrass and folk guitar players. So it is only proper for the company to celebrate this impressive milestone with a limited edition release that features their latest guitar building latest techniques.

The Martin D-35E 50th Anniversary Limited Edition guitar comes with a 3-piece solid East Indian rosewood back and solid East Indian rosewood sides. The 3-piece back features an east Indian rosewood organic wedge on the center and two wings, and features style 35 back purfling.

Using technology to recreate vintage guitar vibe, Martin equipped this guitar with “VTS Certified” solid European spruce top. The new Martin Vintage Tone System or VTS features a special torrefaction system that allows the company to age the top/braces to the different eras from the past. This results in guitar tops that mimic both the visual aesthetics and classic tones of vintage instruments.

The neck is also crafted from solid wood, this time genuine mahogany, and carved into a modified low oval shape with “performing artist” taper. It is topped by a solid black ebony fingerboard and it meets the body at the 14th fret via a Dovetail neck joint. The guitar’s scale Length follows traditional Martin specs at 25.4”, divided into a total of 20 frets. The bone nut is 1.75″ wide while the width at the 12th fret is 2.125″. Both the fingerboard and the body are bound using European flamed maple.

The guitar’s headstock follows the familiar Solid/Square Taper format, with solid East Indian rosewood headplate that features an organic wedge inlay that matches the one found on the back.

For plugging in, Martin equipped this limited edition guitar with Fishman Aura VT electronics. Other features include Flamed maple heelcap, Style 28 rosette, solid black ebony bridge, chrome enclosed tuners and a turquoise color pickguard.

The new Martin D-35E 50th Anniversary Limited Edition guitar is set to be unveiled at the upcoming Musikmesse 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany (April 15-18). It has an MSRP of $4,999. For the complete specifications and other details, head over to Martin Guitar.

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