With a design dating back to 1917, the Martin D-18 Dreadnought has been one of the bases of the Martin line since its official launch in 1931. The Martin D-18 Dreadnought shares a number of core design elements with all other Martin Dreadnoughts, a large body with Mahogany neck. What changes from model to model is the wood selection and appointments.
Mahogany
Built by one of Spain’s larger makers, the Alhambra Crossover CS3-S-E8 is aimed at players generally from the steel string world who need a cutaway, crowned fingerboard and a pickup system. The ‘Crossover’ concept is a relatively new development for the nylon-string world and appeals to many players, particularly those in Latin Jazz genres who need to amplify their instruments.
Built from 1999 to 2007, the PRS Santana II updated the Santana I model introduced in 1995, and was succeeded by the Santana III. All followed the same basic formula of a carved Maple cap on a Mahogany body, with a set Mahogany neck and 11.5 inch radius Rosewood fingerboard. The PRS Santana II has been the most expensive of the three models, with Artist-grade matched flamed Maple tops, high grade and Brazilian Rosewood for the fingerboard and head plate.
The Gibson Memphis ES-339 was built from 2007 until the Gibson Memphis plant closed in 2019, and the 339 is now built in Nashville with some small changes. In 1996, Gibson launched the short-lived ES-336, a scaled-down version of the classic ES-335. This model retained the key playability elements of the 335 in terms of scale length, fingerboard width and hardware selection.
Here we have a Russell Lackey LT1 T-Style guitar, built near Toronto by a former craftsperson at The Twelfth Fret Repair shop. The Russell Lackey LT1 shown here is Russ’s interpretation of a great classic. The LT1 strongly resembles the guitar that inspired it, but with a few changes, feeling that the market didn’t need another vintage reissue.