C.F. Martin D-28M Merle Travis Commemorative Edition

A Martin D-28 without the signature Martin logo on the headstock? And a headstock that looks more like a Fender than a Martin?

You bet, and folks at C.F. Martin couldn’t be any happier with their release last month of the D-28M Merle Travis Commemorative Edition that includes the “Bigsby” headstock inlay that was on Travis’s own 1941 Martin D-28 he purchased in 1946.

Here’s the story, according to www.martinguitar.com:

“Soon after its purchase, he (Travis) took the Martin to friend and machinist Paul Bigsby – who previously had collaborated with Travis to create both the Bigsby vibrato and one of the earliest solidbodied electric guitars – to have the neck replaced with one similar to that on the electric guitar Bigsby made for him. Bigsby obliged, installing a maple neck with his distinctively shaped headstock, “Bigsby” headstock inlay, “six-on-a-side” tuners and unique fingerboard position markers. In addition, he replaced the pickguard with an oversized black one that approximated the shape of the new headstock.

“Merle Travis liked both the feel and the unique sound of his modified Martin; he played it on virtually every acoustic recording he made from 1946 until his death in 1983, appeared with it in movies, including a memorable scene with Frank Sinatra in ‘From Here to Eternity’ in 1953, and played it in concert. The guitar was left to his son Tom Bresh, a talented picker in his own right, who has played it on both instructional videos and albums.”

Merle Travis and a closeup of the Headstock on the C.F. Martin D-28M Merle Travis Commemorative Edition guitar.

The C.F. Martin Web site also describes the commemorative edition’s highlights. The instrument “is modeled after Travis’ original modified D-28 Martin, right down to the premium solid tonewoods. The back and sides are rare Madagascar rosewood, prized for its similarity in appearance and tone to the original’s now endangered Brazilian rosewood. The red (Adirondack) spruce top, the same topwood used in 1941, is matched to 5/16” forward-shifted scalloped braces for crisp, powerful tone.

“The body appointments are similarly classic: a Style 28 rosette with wood fiber inlays, herringbone top purfling, and a zigzag backstrip accented by grained ivoroid binding and an ivoroid endpiece.”

And, yes, the headstock is a copy of the Bigsby headstock, which is similar to the headstock on Fender guitars. And, just so there’s no guessing, the familiar Martin logo is on the back of the headstock. The guitar has “a polished gloss lacquer body finish with light amber aging toner on the top highlight the unique oversized black polished and beveled ‘Travis’ pickguard.”

An interior label is personally signed by Thom Bresh (Travis’ son), Bigsby Guitars President Fred Gretsch and Martin Chairman C. F. Martin IV, and the instruments are numbered in sequence of their manufacturing date.

Authorized C. F. Martin & Co. dealers will take orders for the D-28M Merle Travis Commemorative Edition until the the entire edition of 100 guitars is sold. Participating dealers are listed on the Martin web site.