The M-21 Steve EarleCustom Signature Edition

toll and after release of The HardWay in 1990, he tooka hiatus from music that included time in jail on drugand firearms charges.

Putting his problems behind him, Earle came backstrong in 1994 with the acoustic Train a Comin’,which garnered another Grammy nomination. Thedecision to establish his own record label – E-SquaredRecords – freed him to move beyond contemporarycountry to tackle rock, folk and bluegrass. In the yearssince, he has released seven albums, often using hismusic to address social and political issues. His latest,Washington Square Serenade, which blends acousticfolk with techno sizzle, was released late in 2007 to out-standing reviews and received the 2008 GrammyAward for “Best Contemporary Folk/AmericanaAlbum.”

In all he has won two Grammy Awards (and beennominated 13 times), had songs covered by artists rang-ing from the Pretenders and Joan Baez to Johnny Cashand Emmylou Harris, had his music featured in severalmovies, including Dead Man Walking, TalladegaNights and Bridge to Terabithia, played a recurring rolein the HBO series “The Wire,” and written DoghouseRoses, a book of short stories. He continues to tour fre-quently, often with his wife, Allison Moorer.

With two guitar perfectionists like SteveEarle and Matt Umanov in charge, the M-21 Steve Earle Custom Edition naturallyreceives superb solid tonewoods. Thetop is Italian alpine spruce, reveredfor its clear, rich tone, and the addi-tion of 5/16” forward-shifted scal-loped top bracing enhances balanceand responsiveness. The back andsides are East Indian rosewood forwarmth and power. The 1 11/16” (atthe nut) low profile neck is carvedfrom genuine mahogany. The head-plate, fingerboard and bridge areall East Indian rosewood.

Like Martin Style 21s ofthe past, the M-21 Steve EarleCustom Edition blends Style18 and Style 28 appoint-ments, plus a few unique toStyle 21. The Style 18 rosetteand Style 28 checkerboardbackstrip blend beautifullywith the subtle Style 21 topand back purfling and tortoise-color binding. The polished head-plate frames the old style gold C. F.

Martin logo decal and Waverly nickeltuners with butterbean buttons give the

With Texas roots, Nashville credentials, New Yorksensibilities, and maverick spirit, singer/songwriterSteve Earle leaves any pre-conceived notions regard-ing his music in the dust. That includes the guitars heplays, and helps explain how the new Martin M-21Steve Earle Custom Edition came to be.

In 2005 Earle moved to New York City and soonfound his way to Matt Umanov Guitars. Matt Umanov,who has been matching players with instruments since1965, guided his new customer in the purchase of a fewMartin guitars and along the way introduced him to the Mbody style, which combines jumbo (0000) size with 000depth. Umanov knows the body style well; his conversionof an old Martin archtop for David Bromberg in the 1960sserved as the pattern for the Martin M in the 1970s (for ad-ditional information, see the David Bromberg article in theJuly 2006 “Sounding Board”). The Martin M quicklybecame Earle’s favorite acoustic, so much so that he nowtours with a pair of them.

His enthusiasm for the Martin “M” jump-started de-velopment of a Martin Steve Earle signature guitar. Earleturned to Umanov for help with the details and togetherthey created the Martin M-21 Steve Earle Custom Edition,a “poor man’s” M that showcases this body style’s big, bal-anced sound and playing comfort in an elegant, affordablepackage.

Like the route to his namesake Martinguitar, Steve Earle has never been pre-dictable. Raised in Texas, he found theguitar at age 11 and found his firstmusical mentor in songwriter TownesVan Zandt while still a teenager.

At age 19 he moved to Nashville,where he took odd jobs, played in var-ious bands, wrote songs and connectedwith some of Music City’s new genera-tion, most notably singer/songwriterGuy Clark. Some of his early songswere recorded by Carl Perkins,Vince Gill and Steve Wariner.

His earliest recordings – inthe early 1980s - were in therockabilly vein and receivedscant attention. Everythingchanged with the release ofGuitar Town in 1986; thealbum received glowing re-views, eventually went goldand netted him his first twoGrammy nominations. Exit 0 in1987 and Copperhead Road in1988 continued the hot streak,with hit country singles and excel-lent sales. But drugs began to take their

Steve Earle M-21 Custom Artist EditionA Straightforward Stage & Studio Model With Classic Style 21 Appointments

headstock a decidedly “old school” look.The fingerboard features Style 21“Doppler dot” (progressively smaller) po-sition markers from the 5th to the 17thfrets, and the “black with white dots”bridge pins and end pin are alsoStyle 21.

The polished and beveled nitrate tor-toise color pickguard and aging toner onthe top complete the instrument’s vin-tage-inspired style. The body showcasesMartin’s flawless polished gloss lacquerfinish; the neck receives a satin finish forplayer comfort.

Delivered in a blue molded hardshellcase, each Martin M-21 Steve Earle Cus-tom Edition guitar features an interiorlabel personally signed by Steve Earleand Matt Umanov, and numbered in se-quence without a total. Left-handed in-struments may be ordered at noadditional charge. Factory-installed elec-tronics and a sunburst finish are extra-cost options. Authorized C. F. Martindealers will begin accepting orders forthe M-21 Steve Earle Custom Edition im-mediately. �

PhotoCourtesy

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Prodded by the sonic superiority of his various M-sized Martin models, Steve Earle chose to preserve everthing important to tonewhile discarding decoration. The result is a plain but powerful stage and studio guitar suitable to the professional player.

STEVE EARLE CUSTOM SIGNATURE EDITION – SPECIFICATIONS

MODEL: M-21 Steve Earle Custom Signature EditionCONSTRUCTION: Standard Series, Gloss LacquerBODY SIZE: M (0000), 14-fretTOP: Italian Alpine SpruceROSETTE: Style 18TOP BRACES: 5/16” Width, Forward Shifted, ScallopedBACK: East Indian Rosewood, 2 PieceBACK PURFLING: Style 28 Checkered BackstripCAUTION STAMP: None, “C. F. Martin & Co., Nazareth, PA” Stamping

Between 1st & 2nd Back BracesBLOCK TO READ: (Laser Etched Martin Logo)

M-21Steve EarleSerial Number

SIDES: East Indian RosewoodRIBBON: Spanish CedarEND PIECE: Tortoise ColorEND PIECE INLAY: NoneBINDING: Tortoise ColorTOP INLAY: Style 21BACK INLAY: .0325" Black White Style 21NECK: Genuine Mahogany, With Headstock WingsNECK SHAPE: Low Profile, Without Diamond VoluteTRUSS ROD: Adjustable (Two-Way)HEADSTOCK: Solid Square Tapered With Old Style Decal LogoHEADPLATE: East Indian RosewoodHEELCAP: East Indian RosewoodNUT: Genuine BoneFINGERBOARD: East Indian RosewoodSCALE LENGTH: 25.4” Long Scale# OF FRETS CLEAR: 14# OF FRETS TOTAL: 20FINGERBOARD WIDTH AT NUT: 1 11/16”FINGERBOARD WIDTH AT 12th FRET: 2 1/8”FINGERBOARD POSITION INLAYS: Style 21 Mother Of Pearl Dots

9/32" at 5th Fret1/4" (2) at 7th and (1) at 9th3/16" (2) at 12th, (1) at 15th, (1) at 17th

SIDE POSITION DOTS: White, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, double at 12th, 15th, 17th.FINISH BODY: Polished Gloss LacquerFINISH TOP: Polished Gloss Lacquer, Aging TonerFINISH NECK: Satin, Gloss HeadplateBRIDGE: East Indian RosewoodBRIDGE: Belly, 2 1/8” SpacingSADDLE: Genuine Bone, Not Compensated - Not Long SaddleACTION: Low, 2 & 3TUNING MACHINES: Waverly Nickel With Butterbean ButtonsSTRINGS: SP 4100 Light Gauge Phosphor BronzeBRIDGE & END PINS: Style 21 Black With White DotPICKGUARD: Delmar Nitrate, Polished & BeveledCASE: Blue Molded ABS Hardshell CaseINTERIOR LABEL(S): Personally Signed By Steve Earle, Matt Umanov, Numbered In Sequence Without TotalELECTRONICS: OptionalNO CHARGE OPTIONS: Lefthanded At No Additional ChargeCHARGED OPTIONS: Choice of Electronics Installation or Sunburst Finish

SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE$4299.00

This model may be orderedthrough your local

Authorized Martin Dealership

“What I wanted was an M-size guitarthat went with my clothes.You, knowdressed down a bit. I've always had athing for Style 21 Martins and I ownseveral so we started there.”

Steve Earle