Martin M-21 Steve Earle Custom

I have to admit that I am not an acoustic guitar enthusiast. I’ve learned to play the 6-string axe in 1997 on a heavy-metal guitar while I was playing drums in an indie-rock band. It took some time, but I eventually came to folk music (as I was raised mostly in Canada, that music was the soundtrack of my childhood). I’ve been listening to some artists for years now (especially Townes Van Zandt, Gillian Welch and Johnny Cash) and this music is a part of me.

A couple of years ago, I’ve discovered Steve Earle’s music. Though I was familiar with country and honky-tonk singers, - and strange as it may seem – I had not heard of Earle. I am now a huge fan of his music. I’ve seen him live in Paris, I bought some collectors and goodies in the US.

Through Earle, I became a customer at what is possibly the damn’ best guitar shop in Manhattan : Matt Umanov, right on Bleecker Street. When I was younger, I used to go to Chelsea Guitars, on West 30th ST, or Guitar Center (is it on 14th ST ?) or to one of those megastores on West 48th. The last time I was in NYC, I went to Umanov, and I saw beautiful instruments there. I wanted to write a entire post devoted to NYC guitar shops, but I am too lazy. I hope I’ll get the chance to do it in the future.

What is the link between Earle and Umanov ? That’s easy, brother. Earle teamed with Umanov to create a brand new acoustic guitar……. the Martin M-21 Steve Earle Custom. It’s a M body style, which combines jumbo (0000) size with 000 depth. Umanov was actually famous a couple of decades earlier when he customed some guitars for professional musicians. This time, he helped Earle and the Martin team to design a guitar that was powerful and clear, but smaller in size as the big jumbo guitars such as the Gibson J-200.

I’ll be back in NYC soon, and even though I’m not the king of guy to buy a signature guitar, I think I’ll try to bang a few chords on that one.