NAMM 2025: Martin has lifted the lid on some truly dazzling new builds, including a double-neck acoustic-electric – a design that, until now, was so rare it had attained near-mythical status – plus a celebration of its three millionth serialized build, with the astonishing D-3 Millionth. (GuitarWorld repport)
“Designed for musicians and collectors alike, they promise something truly extraordinary,” runs the press release – but we have to say ‘extraordinary’ is a fair description of the eye-catching builds in the special edition line-up.
Martin D-3 Millionth- The D-3 Millionth celebrates Martin’s latest multi-millionaire milestone with one of the most lavish acoustic guitar builds we’ve ever seen – and one literally laden with symbolism.
The guitar’s top is representative of a sycamore tree trunk cross-section, with solid gold ‘tree rings’ inlaid in the core to represent the 192-year-old firm’s growth – and diamonds marking significant moments from Martin’s storied past.
The back and sides are made from Brazilian rosewood, with a sycamore tree image (representing the firm’s employees), inlaid with gold and pearl. There’s even a diamond encrusted headstock and solid palladium pickguard, which features a ruby-inlaid map of the Nazareth, PA area that marks the firm’s historic factory locations.
That model is limited to a run of three – but Martin is only parting with the third build on the open market, serial number 3,000,002.
The Martin double-neck is a bit of a unicorn as far as collectors are concerned, with examples in the wild proving vanishingly rare – and Martin is billing this double-neck debut as the “first time in a century”. The Grand J-28E DN is therefore a certified big deal for the brand, not least because it’s entering straight into the newly-revamped Standard Series.
The Grand Jumbo build blends a solid spruce top and East Indian rosewood back and sides into a 12- and six-string necked model with two compound dovetail neck joints, “unique X-bracing” and custom Fishman electronics. It's priced at $7,999.
