Martin Guitars Custom Shop D-42

All Thanks to Tex

The story of the D-42 begins with Geremino Bisceglia, the son of Italian immigrants better known to the world by his stage name, Tex Fletcher. Tex was one of the most famous singing cowboys of the thirties and forties, and like many acoustic guitar-slingers, he sought to emulate the most popular honey-voiced cowpoke of them all, Gene Autry. So, when Gene custom-ordered the first Martin dreadnought with Style 45 appointments, Tex figured he'd better get a similarly flashy guitar to keep up with the Joneses. Ever the practical man, Tex figured his audience would never see the back of his guitar, so he'd save a few bucks and get one with Style 42 appointments (42-style guitars have all the bling on the front). Thus, out of a cowboy's frugality, the D-42 was born!

The next D-42 didn't appear until 1988, and the Wildwood team is glad it returned because they are some of the coolest-sounding, most luxurious Martins ever to grace our shelves. This Custom Shop version is especially compelling because it comes with upgraded tonewoods (Adirondack spruce top with wild grain East Indian rosewood).

The D-42's tone is somehow more compelling than its looks! It features a new twist on a classic tonewood combo--an Adirondack spruce top with wild grain East Indian rosewood back and sides for deep bass and lush, sparkly high-end with plenty of volume and projecting power--that works magic with its forward-shifted scalloped bracing. Forward-shifted bracing enhances responsiveness, bass boom, and overall power. In other words, it makes the D-42 sound like a wooden cannon crossed with a piano! The midrange, of course, still has that classic Martin power, and it really hulks out when you pick hard.

We are proud to present such an inspiring instrument to our exceptional customers, and we know the D-42 will prove itself a steadfast companion on all your acoustic adventures. For more about why this Custom Shop model is so special, read on!

Awesome Adirondack Action

To cop some killer tone, we asked the folks at Martin to equip this Martin with an Adirondack spruce top and Adirondack bracing. It’s no secret that we love Adirondack spruce to an unhealthy degree here at Wildwood, so let’s dive into the reasons for our obsession with this stellar tonewood.

Adirondack spruce produces a plethora of pleasing timbres. From the get-go, it gives the guitar a woody, percussive attack with piano-like roundness and an exceptionally wide dynamic range. You can coax plenty of different sounds out of a guitar with an Adirondack top simply by altering your right-hand technique, so it really facilitates expressive playing!

Part of the reason for this is the otherworldly amount of headroom that Adirondack spruce offers. Every acoustic guitar’s top has a point at which it cannot get any louder. Once you hit that point, the top is “maxed-out” and playing harder yields more compression rather than more volume.

For guitars with Adirondack tops, that point is much, much higher than normal. So, you can really hit hard with your right hand without losing any clarity. Think of it like this: if electric guitar players prize amps that can “go to eleven,” acoustic guitarists prize Adirondack spruce because it can go to quadruple-fortissimo. Nevertheless, it is still quite expressive and open-sounding at lower volumes.

A Mean Tone Machine

The Martin D-42 and Adirondack spruce are a match made in acoustic guitar heaven. Adirondack’s natural clarity brings focus and precision to the enormous, piano-like resonance of the rosewood back and sides, making the guitar sound like a wooden cannon capable of leveling entire cities with its awe-inspiring acoustic power. Speaking of heavenly things, we asked our friends at Martin to equip these guitars with forward-shifted Golden Era scalloped 1/4” bracing to maximize dynamic range and provide a truly inspirational playing experience. Though these guitars are still wooden cannons, this bracing configuration gives them a greater capacity for subtlety and nuance than you might expect from a muscle-bound dreadnought!

A Guitar with a Story to Tell

Wildwoodians, we're proud to present this Custom Shop D-42, a guitar with a story to tell and a spectacular voice to tell it with. We have no doubt it will inspire you to write your own musical tale of fretboard adventures!