2010 Bernd Martin CD/CSAR

This 2010 Bernd Martin is a cedar and CSA rosewood classical guitar from Granada, Spain, with a top stiff enough to give it the brilliance of his spruce guitars.

A Cedar Top with Spruce-Like Brilliance

For this guitar Bernd chose a cedar top that was very stiff, so that the dynamic range and tonal colors are as brilliant as his spruce guitars, but it also has the textured richness of cedar at the same time. Response is immediate across all registers, and the liveliness of the guitar makes it a breeze to play with both hands.

A Work of Art

Aesthetically the guitar is a work of art: Bernd selected stunning materials for the back and sides and head veneer. Meticulous attention was paid to detailing, including the fine elements in the rosette and the inlays in the tie block. As usual, Bernd touches off details in the purfling with the subtle use of snakewood. 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.