Woody Guthrie Commemorative Martin Guitar

MARTIN HONORS AMERICAN FOLK LEGEND WOODY GUTHRIE WITH 000-18WG WOODY GUTHRIE COMMEMORATIVE GUITAR
Nashville, TN, July 23, 1999

Woodrow "Woody" Wilson Guthrie is considered one of the most influential folk musicians of all time. Immortalized as an American legend, and inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, Guthrie wrote such classics as "This Land is Your Land," "I Ain't Got No Home," and "Pretty Boy Floyd."   Born in Oklahoma in 1912, Guthrie's music and controversial politics were influenced by his own experiences as a migrant farm worker.  His songs reflect his concern about class conflict, union issues and the American West. Guthrie impacted some of this country's greatest songwriters including Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and others.  Guthrie died of Huntington's Disease in 1967.

In honor of Guthrie's legacy, his individuality, spirit and lasting impact on the American music scene, Martin is honored to unveil the 000-18WG Woody Guthrie commemorative guitar.  Woody is not the first Guthrie to be honored with a Martin edition.  In 1997, Martin honored Arlo Guthrie with a limited edition guitar series which commemorated the 30th anniversary of his famous song, Alice's Restaurant.  Of the 60 instruments that were offered (30 six-string and 30 twelve-string models), all sold out within days of their introduction.  Toward the end of that project, Arlo visited the Martin factory with an old Martin guitar that Woody had given him as a child.  The instrument was in rough condition but in the process of getting the guitar back into shape, discussions about the potential for a Woody Guthrie commemorative model began.

Woody had owned literally hundreds of guitars throughout his career, many of them Martins.   He gravitated toward lesser expensive smaller bodied 0, 00, and 000 mahogany guitars, and he would often give his instruments away to aspiring musicians along the way.   Irreverently, he often wrote or drew on his instruments.  Perhaps one of his more famous statements is, "This Machine Kills Fascists!", which Woody painted on most of the guitars he owned.

The commemorative 000-18WG Woody Guthrie is a 14-fret 000 "auditorium" model inspired by the smaller bodied guitars of the pre-World War II era.  Vintage 000-18's are especially prized for their lightness, brilliance, and purity of tone.  The braces that support the solid spruce top are carefully scalloped to achieve optimum tone.  The back and sides are bookmatched for select solid straight-grained genuine mahogany.  The rosette is inlaid in the vintage style with plain black inner and outer rings. The solid genuine mahogany neck is slightly V-shaped with a squared and tapered headstock bearing the old style Martin decal logo.  Tuning gears are the vintage open gear variety with chrome butterbean knobs.

The fingerboard is genuine ebony, inlaid with abalone dots in the vintage style. The bridge, also of genuine ebony, is fitted with a long "through" saddle.   Woody Guthrie's stylized signature is inlaid in pearl between the 19th and 20th frets.

Each interior edition label has been personally co-signed by Arlo Guthrie, Nora Guthrie, Harold Leventhal and C.F. Martin, IV. Each instrument has been numbered in sequence without total. A secondary label bears a self-portrait sketch of Woody and his guitar with the artist's memorable words...

"This world is your world.  Take it easy, but take it!"

Inconspicuously hidden on the underside of the soundboard is a third label with Woody's words,

"This machine kills fascists!"

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each 000-18WG Woody Guthrie guitar will be split between The Guthrie Center (run by Arlo Guthrie in Great Barrington, MA) and the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archive (run by Nora Guthrie in Mount Kisco, NY), both not-for-profit organizations dedicated toward the preservation of Woody Guthrie's legacy.

Martin dealers will begin to take orders for the 000-18WG Woody Guthrie Commemorative Guitar immediately though the actual edition will not begin to appear in stores until the early months of 2000.

C. F. Martin & Co., the oldest surviving guitar-maker in the world and the largest maker of acoustic guitars in the United States, dates back to the 1830s when Christian Frederick Martin, Sr. emigrated to the United States from Germany. The guitar shop he set up over 166 years ago has been continuously family owned and operated. Current Chairman and CEO Chris Martin, IV is the sixth generation Martin to head this venerable company.

THE MARTIN GUITAR COMPANY SPECIFICATION SHEET
000-18WG WOODY GUTHRIE COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

MODEL #: 000-18WG Woody Guthrie Commemorative Edition
BODY SIZE: 000 14-Fret
TOP: Solid Spruce
ROSETTE: Old Style 18 With Plain Black Inner & Outer Rings
TOP BRACES: 5/16" Scalloped
BACK: 2 Piece Solid Genuine Mahogany, Select For Straight Grain
BACK PURFLING: Style 18 Plain Black Fiber Back Inlay Strip
STAMPING: "C. F. Martin & Co." Stamp Between 1st & 2nd Braces
BLOCK TO READ:         (Decal Laser Logo)
                         (Woody Guthrie Lasered Signature)
                      Woody Guthrie Commemorative Edition
                                          000-18WG
                                       Serial Number
SIDES: Solid Genuine Mahogany, Select For Straight Grain
END PIECE: Tortoise Color
BINDING: Tortoise Color, With Style 18 Top Inlay (BWBWB)
NECK: Solid Genuine Mahogany With Adjustable Rod, Modified V-Shape
HEADSTOCK: Solid Square Tapered, Unbound
HEADPLATE: East Indian Rosewood, Old Style Decal Logo
HEELCAP: Genuine Ebony
NUT: Corian®
FINGERBOARD: Genuine Ebony Inlaid With 4mm Abalone Dots
    5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (Double), 15th
    Woody Guthrie Stylized Signature Inlaid Between 19th & 20th Frets
SCALE LENGTH: 24.9" Short Scale
# OF FRETS CLEAR: 14
# OF FRETS TOTAL: 20
FINGERBOARD WIDTH AT NUT: 1 3/4"
FINGERBOARD WIDTH AT 12th FRET: 2 1/4"
FINISH BODY: Polished Gloss Lacquer Finish On Body, Aging Toner on Top
    Dark Mahogany Stain with Dark Filler On Back & Sides
FINISH NECK: Satin Finish On Neck With Dark Mahogany Stain & Dark Filler
BRIDGE: Genuine Ebony, 2 1/4" Spacing
BRIDGE STYLE: Belly Bridge With "Long" or "Through" Saddle
SADDLE: Micarta®
TUNING MACHINES: Chrome Gotoh Open Gear with Butterbean Knobs
STRINGS: M-4100 Martin SP Light Gauge Phosphor Bronze Wound
BRIDGE & END PINS: Black with White Dots (Style 18)
PICKGUARD: Tortoise Color, Beveled & Polished
CASE: #533 Vintage Series Geib Style® 5-Ply Hardshell Case
INTERIOR LABEL: Personally co-signed by Arlo Guthrie, Nora Guthrie,
    Harold Leventhal, and C. F. Martin IV.
    Numbered in sequence without total, i.e. #1, #2, #3, etc.
    Placed to Right Side of Back Center Strip Between 1st & 2nd Brace
SECONDARY LABEL: Self Sketch of Woody Guthrie by Woody Guthrie
    Quotation: "This world is your world. Take it easy, but take it!" Woody Guthrie
    Placed to Left Side of Back Center Strip Between 1st & 2nd Brace
UNDERSIDE OF TOP LABEL (Hidden/Backwards): "This machine kills fascists!"

All Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice
(Last Revision Date: 9/2/99).