COMING SOON: Reviews of Lowden Guitars from Northern Ireland! The new Martin CS21-11!!
LATEST NEWS:
LEO KOTTKE, NYC - 03/01/2011
"...I inquired about them
after the show. Leo said he doesn’t follow a set list. But when I mentioned details
of the technique employed, he had no trouble recalling the titles; Four
Cents and Flattop. "Four and Flat are new tunes.", he added. "Four is a take on something Toots Thielemans said to Dave Evans..."
On Thursday, January
13, I made my way to the Martin Guitar
factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania for a sneak preview of the 2011 models just as they were making
their debut on the floor of the NAMM trade show in Anaheim, California.
I happily traded sun for snow and the opportunity to review these guitars in a
setting where I could actually hear them, far from the deafening roar of the
trade show floor. My report follows:
"...Martin’s 2011
collectionof new guitars was
developed with one eye on a promising future, while catering to the
budget-minded consumer in today’s ascetic economic climate. Their revolutionary Performing Artist Series has gained
some lower-priced models, while their most affordable, solid-wood
guitars were upgraded. Even Martin’s ship of the line has been trimmed and refitted; the venerable Dreadnought has a new neck. ..."
While I was speaking with friends in the lobby of the Martin Guitar factory who should appear but Bluegrass bad boy Boo Reiners, pulling into Nazareth to have some work done on his spectacular Brazilian/Adirondack
banjo killer that was converted from a 1960s D-21. It is the guitar heard all over The Demolition String Band's new album, produced by three-time Grammy® winner Steve Rosenthal.
After meeting with the Manager of the Repairs Department, Lon Werner, Boo took some time to hang out, chat a bit about his guitar and check out some of the new
Martins.
"...Dick Boak took a look at Boo’s guitar and felt it was
a great candidate for such a conversion. He was right; this thing is one
sweetheart of a Brazilian-Adi dreadnought that has a muscled underbelly, angelic
highs and is just plain loud..."
- 627 5th Ave. btwn 17th &18th St. in Brooklyn, NY
"... after seven months of anxious anticipation the lucky, invited crowd
reveled under Bowery copies of Tiffany-style lamps hanging from the relief in the barroom’s tin
ceiling. Booths were full and the luxuriously long bar was lined with swarming
faces waiting for a drink or just to shake the hand of an old friend pulling
the taps or ringing up a register..."
