Design Your Dream Guitar with Martin Custom Shop

For generations, musicians have turned to Martin Guitars for their unrivaled playability, full-bodied tone, and expert craftsmanship. But what if you want something truly unique to match your personal style and creative vision? That’s where the Martin Custom Shop comes in. Located at Martin’s headquarters in Nazareth, PA, the Custom Shop enables you to tailor nearly every element of your ideal acoustic guitar through a collaborative process guided by master luthiers.

Body Style and Materials

It starts with selecting your dream guitar’s body style and tonewoods. Opt for a rich, booming square-shouldered Dreadnought, or the balanced tone of a Grand Auditorium. Request a custom shape sized to your preferences. When it comes to back, sides and top wood choices, the sky’s the limit. Martin has access to traditional tonewoods like rosewood and spruce, along with more exotic species. For fingerstyle players seeking extra warmth, Brazilian rosewood is a luxurious option.

Neck Customization

You can also customize your guitar’s neck to optimize playability. Choose your preferred neck shape and width along with details like scale length, nut width and fingerboard radius. Select premium materials like ebony or rosewood for the fingerboard and bridge. The experts at the Custom Shop will craft a neck profile tailored to your hands, playing style and tonal preferences.

Personalized Details

Truly make your Martin one-of-a-kind by integrating meaningful visual details. Martin’s inlay experts can incorporate personalized fretboard inlay designs using pearl, rare woods, and other materials meaningful to you. Commemorate a special date with your mother’s birthstone inlays. Celebrate your Southern roots with an intricately etched state map. Even the pickguard offers customization opportunities to make the guitar uniquely you.

Building Your Dream Guitar

Once you finalize the specifications with your authorized Martin Custom Shop Expert dealer, your dream acoustic will come to life in Nazareth. Skilled luthiers will hand-select the perfect tonewoods then painstakingly shape and assemble your instrument. The guitar will spend several months in careful hands, fine-tuned until it meets Martin’s exacting standards.

Visiting the Custom Shop

A visit to the Martin Custom Shop provides the opportunity to learn even more about the custom guitar-building process. You can tour the workshop to see where these instruments take shape and consult with the luthiers themselves to perfect every detail. Nearby Nazareth also offers the Martin Museum and factory tours for a comprehensive behind-the-scenes experience.

Owning a Martin Custom Shop guitar represents the pinnacle of acoustic craftsmanship. Though personalized Martin customs do not come cheap, most find their exceptional tone and playability well worth the investment. If you seek the ultimate bespoke acoustic, the Custom Shop delivers a special experience centered around you. Bring your dream guitar to life in historic Nazareth!