Martin Custom Shop M Paisley - Ember Burst

This is what it looks like when the President and CEO of Martin Guitar builds something for himself — and then decides to share it. The Custom Shop M Paisley Ember Burst is a Thomas Ripsam design, available for one year only, and from the moment you see it the reason for its existence is self-evident. A custom paisley graphic spreads across the Engelmann spruce top, woven through with iconic Martin design elements that ground the ornamentation in the company's own visual heritage — intricate, handcrafted, and unlike anything else in the current Martin catalog. Ember Burst ties the whole instrument together: a warm amber-to-red finish that flows from the top across the Black Walnut neck and onto the quilted maple headplate, creating a unified instrument rather than a collection of beautiful components. The quilted maple back, sides, and headplate — one of the most visually dramatic wood figures available, with deep three-dimensional texture that shifts as the light moves — carry that burst with equal authority, and European Flamed Maple binding frames every edge of the instrument with one more layer of premium detail. Custom four-point abalone snowflake inlays trace the ebony fingerboard with European Flamed Maple binding on both sides, and Waverly Gold tuners with Butterbean knobs finish the headstock with the hardware it deserves. Inside, a custom label hand-signed by Thomas Ripsam marks this instrument for exactly what it is.

The M/0000 body size delivers Martin's grand auditorium balance — wide enough for full, rich strumming response, shaped for the kind of fingerpicking articulation that Engelmann spruce was made for. Engelmann is the softer, sweeter-voiced of the spruce family: less aggressive in volume than Sitka, more harmonically complex and immediately responsive to lighter playing dynamics, the wood of choice when nuance matters more than projection. Forward-shifted Golden Era scalloped Adirondack bracing amplifies that responsiveness further — hand-shaped bracing in the pre-war tradition, positioned for maximum top movement and tonal openness. The GE Modified Low Oval neck profile in Black Walnut with High-Performance Taper sits comfortably across 20 frets on a 1 3/4" ebony board at 25.4" scale, and LR Baggs electronics (confirm: Anthem or Element — see flag above) handle amplified performance. Bone saddle and nut, GE Modern Belly ebony bridge with drop-in saddle, dovetail neck joint — Martin's finest construction methods, dressed in one of the most distinctive instruments the Custom Shop has produced. One year. Then it's done.

Top: Engelmann Spruce 
Finish Top: Gloss
Top Color: Ember Burst
Top Inlay Material: Bold Herringbone
Top Detail: Custom Paisley Design 
Binding: European Flamed Maple 
Bridge Material: Ebony
Bridge Style: GE Modern Belly - Drop in Saddle
Bridge String Spacing: 2 5/32"
Bridge Pin Material: Bone
Bridge Pin Dots: Faux Tortoise
Pickguard: None 
Pickguard Inlay: None
Rosette: Style 28 Multi-Stripe
Saddle: Bone
Saddle Radius: 16"
Body Size: M-14 (0000-14 Fret)
Construction: Dovetail Neck Joint 
Back Material: Quilted Maple 
Side Material: Quilted Maple  
Body Finish: Gloss
Back Purfling/Strip: Style 28 with Black Stripe
Back Inlay Material: None 
Bracing Pattern: Forward Shifted X-Brace
Brace Shape: GE-Scalloped Hand Shaped 
Brace Material: Adirondack Spruce 
Brace Size: 5/16"
Heel Cap: European Flamed Maple 
Endpiece: None 
Endpiece Inlay: None 
Neck Shape: GE Modified Low Oval
Neck Taper: High-Performace Taper
Neck Material: Black Walnut 
Neck Color: Ember Burst 
Neck Finish: Gloss
Scale Length: 25.4"
Number of Frets: 20
Neck Joins Body: 14th Fret
Fingerboard Material: Ebony
Fingerboard Width at 12th Fret: 2 1/8"
Nut Width: 1 3/4"
Inlay Style: Custom 4pt Snowflake Design 
Fingerboard Inlay Material: Abalone
Fingerboard Binding: European Flamed Maple 
Headstock Shape: Solid with Square and Taper 
Headplate Material: Quilted Maple 
Headplate Logo Style: Block Inlay 
Headplate Binding Material: European Flamed Maple 
Headplate Detail: Ember Burst 
Tuning Machines: Waverly Gold 
Knob: Butterbean
Nut Material: Bone
Electronic: LR Baggs Anthem 
Case: Hardshell