Commemorative "Sing Out!" Guitar from Martin
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(Click for a close-up) |
May 14, 2000
"This magazine is about music," wrote the editors of "Sing Out!" in its first issue published in May of 1950. "Yes, we realize that there are already music magazines in existence. What's special about this one? Well, there's music ... and there's music." To make their point, that first issue included contributions from Paul Robeson, Howard Fast and Pete Seeger; articles about Ben Franklin, labor songs and a then-newly-proposed national anthem for Puerto Rico. On the cover, just below the striking, bold masthead (complete with their trademark exclamation point) appeared the music and lyrics to a then little known song by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays of the Weavers. A little more than a decade later, Peter, Paul & Mary's recording of "The Hammer Song" (renamed "If I Had A Hammer") became a defining anthem for the exploding "folk boom" of the early 1960s.
On into their second, third and fourth decade, "Sing Out!" tirelessly championed traditional and contemporary folk and acoustic music in the pages of what has become the longest continuously published folk music magazine in the world -- often swimming hard against the currents of the fast changing whims of pop culture. Through those years, C.F. Martin & Co. forged a symbiotic relationship with the little magazine that championed the music people often played on Martin guitars.
"Sing Out!" moved its offices to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the early 1980s (just down the road from Martin's Nazareth headquarters), and is now beginning its fifth decade as a massive 200--plus page quarterly. In 1990, Martin recognized "Sing Out!'s" 40th Anniversary with a special edition of forty 000-18SO! guitars. In 1995, 45 of the HD-28SO! 12-fret models were offered.
This 50th Anniversary edition will be limited to no more than 50 special instruments. The 00-17SO! draws its inspiration from both the song that graced the cover of that first little issue of "Sing Out!," as well as the vocal group that helped birth it. A genuine ebony fingerboard is adorned with special "Sing Out!" inlays that utilize the symbols within the three verses of "The Hammer Song." A laborer's arm bearing the "hammer of justice" is inlaid at the 5th fret. The liberty "bell of freedom" is inlaid at the 7h fret. Musical notes depicting the "song about love between my brothers and my sisters" are inlaid at the 9th fret. The "Sing Out" logo marks the octave fret, and the dates 1950-2000 are inlaid between the 19th and 20th frets. These inlays have been beautifully executed in various shades of abalone, white pearl, gold pearl and agoya shell.
The satin neck is shaped to a comfortably low profile. The headstock is solid, quare, and tapered with Martin's old style decal logo. Tuning machines are vintage style open geared Martin/Goteh with gold plated butterbean knobs. In keeping with previous "Sing Out!" limited editions, a special genuine ebony neck heelcap is inlaid with the "Sing Out!" in mother of pearl.
In the style of vintage Martin 00-17 models made between 1930 and 1960, the top, back, sides and neck of the 00-17SO! guitar are crafted from solid genuine mahogany. The body is bound with tortoise colored trim, toned with traditional dark mahogany stain, finished with multiple coats of nitrocellulose lacquer, and polished to a high gloss. The pickguard is polished and beveled from material that closely matches the vintage tortoise pickguard coloration of the pre-war era. Included with each 00-17SO! guitar is a vintage Geib Style™ #5-ply hardshell case.
Each 00-17SO! limited edition guitar will bear an interior label, individually numbered and personally signed by Martin Chairman and CEO C.F. Martin, IV and the surviving members of the Weavers, Pete Seeger, Fred Hellerman and Ronnie Gilbert with a memorial to Lee Hays, who passed away in 1981. A second interior label replicates the May, 1950 cover artwork of issue number one of "Sing Out!" A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each 00-17SO! guitar will support "Sing Out!" a not-for-profit organization formed to preserve the cultural diversity and heritage of all traditional folk musics; to support creators of new folk music from all countries and cultures; and to encourage the practice of folk music as a living phenomenon.
Martin Guitar dealers will begin to take orders for the " Sing Out!" limited edition Martin guitars immediately, though the edition will not begin to appear in stores until the summer of 2000.
For more information visit their web site www.mguitar.com.
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