Martin CS-Bluegrass-16

Martin custom-shop tribute to bluegrass guitar legends.

August 29, 2016

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Martin’s dreadnought design, and the company is celebrating the milestone with several limited-edition instruments. One particularly interesting release is the CS-Bluegrass-16, which is inspired by Clarence White’s famous 1935 D-28, owned and played for the last 40 years or so by Tony Rice.

Built in Martin’s custom shop, the CS-Bluegrass-16 features meticulous craftsmanship and first-rate materials. Martin chose Guatemalan rosewood instead of the endangered Brazilian rosewood that would have been used on vintage D-28s. The wood on the guitar Martin sent us to check out looked beautiful, with rich coloring and straight grain, not unlike that of a vintage Brazilian rosewood instrument. The guitar also has an Adirondack spruce top treated with Martin’s Vintage Tone System (VST) thermo-curing process. Hide glue is used throughout, and the instrument is finished with Martin’s ultrathin Vintage Gloss finish.

Like the Clarence White/Tony Rice guitar, the CS-Bluegrass-16 features an enlarged soundhole, white neck binding, and a “dalmation” pickguard. It also has a relatively wide neck that measures 1¾ inches at the nut, matched with string spacing of 2⁵/₃₂ inches at the saddle.

The CS-Bluegrass-16 is a powerful guitar. Incredibly loud, the guitar would have no problem being heard in a bluegrass band or other situation where acoustic volume is important. But the instrument isn’t all about brute force; its excellent dynamic range also allows it to sound sweet when picked softly, and its sound has a lot of complexity no matter how it’s played. The CS-Bluegrass-16 is limited to 100 instruments, so its owners will form an exclusive club. But until they’re all sold, try to find a Martin dealer with one in stock so you can experience the sound and playability of the company’s latest interpretation of a hot-rodded dreadnought.