2008 Bernd Martin "Exposition" SP/CSAR

This 2008 Bernd Martin "Exposition" is a spruce and CSA rosewood classical guitar from Granada, Spain, featured in the book "Guitarras del Imperio" – a copy of the book comes with the guitar.

Featured in "Guitarras del Imperio"

This guitar was made in 2008 but not made available to the public until it came to us. It is featured in the 125-page book "Guitarras del Imperio" (in English and Spanish) on 25 historic instruments, from Pagés to Hauser and Santos to Bernd Martin! A copy of this book is included with the guitar.

Materials and Sound

For this guitar, Bernd chose his best materials, including snakewood for the fingerboard and inlay material. Soundwise, it has the trademark qualities found in Bernd's best instruments – a strong fundamental at the center of each note surrounded by very controlled overtones. This produces a clean and precise clarity of sound, with deep resonance supporting each and every note. Response is immediate across all registers, and the liveliness of the guitar makes it a breeze to play with both the left and right hands. Overall an extremely impressive instrument and a fine example of this luthier's best work.

Bernd Martin (1954–2018): The First Foreign Guitar Maker in Granada

Born in Stuttgart in 1954, Bernd Martin moved to Granada, Spain, in 1976 to master the art of guitar making. He apprenticed in the workshops of Antonio Durán and José López Bellido, and also received the tutelage of Eduardo Ferrer. Bernd was the first (of many) non-Spaniards to establish himself as a guitar maker in the city of the Alhambra, with a workshop in the Albayzín district. In 1999 he won first prize in the "Concurso Nacional de Luthería" (National Luthiery Competition) organized by José Luis Romanillos.

Father and Son in the Sacromonte

From 2006 Bernd worked together with his son, Lucas Martin, in a new shop at the very top of Granada's Sacromonte. Bernd – "Martin" to everyone in Granada – passed away in the late summer of 2018; Lucas carries on in the same workshop. During Bernd's lifetime GSI was the exclusive US dealer for both Bernd and Lucas.