Martin GPCE Inception Maple demo

Watch Martin GPCE Inception Maple demo - Guitar on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Hey, this is Sam with Guitar.com and today we'll be taking a look at Martin's new

00:21GP-CE Inception maple model.

00:24Launched ahead of this year's NAMM show, the Inception represents a huge step in innovation,

00:28even for a guitar company that's been on the block since 1833.

00:33With the exception of some luxurious visual appointments, the Inception might look like

00:36your standard acoustic guitar, with its 14 fret grand performance body shape.

00:40But it's far from a regular Martin in almost every other way.

00:43The guitar is built using sustainable tonewoods, including an FSC certified European spruce

00:48top, paired somewhat unconventionally with maple sides and a distinctive three-piece

00:53maple and black walnut back.

00:56It's elevated visually by an eye-catching amber fade sunburst finish, maple inlays and

01:01gold tuners.

01:02But the real innovation with the Inception is found under the hood.

01:06The guitar features a skeletonized X-bracing pattern with small sonic channels which reduce

01:11the weight and improve overall resonance.

01:14Generally, a bracing inside an acoustic guitar is either scalloped for greater responsiveness

01:19or straight to keep costs down.

01:21But Martin has thrown out the rulebook with a skeletonized bracing which retains responsiveness

01:26by cutting back on the mass of the bracing itself, with the added benefit of reducing

01:31the weight of the guitar.

01:33While maple isn't an uncommon tonewood for acoustic guitars, Martin has generally steered

01:37clear of it as a material in recent times.

01:40But the name of the game for the Inception is sustainability, so using locally sourced

01:44maple keeps in line with that goal.

01:46That said, maple acoustics tend to be bigger to compensate for certain tonal characteristics

01:51of the material, but the Martin Inception is a much more contemporary and compact instrument.

01:56And that demanded a forward-thinking approach to design to ensure great tone from a smaller

02:00instrument, which is achieved both by its skeletonized bracing and the black walnut

02:04on the back which softens the peaks of the maple.

02:07In terms of sound, the Inception has a notably balanced profile, which sounds really high

02:12end in both picked and fingerstyle applications.

02:20There are also LR Baggs Anthem Electronics, which do a great job of replicating the guitar's

02:25unplugged tonality.

02:31And capping off the guitar's stellar spec sheet is a high performance neck, with a smaller

02:34profile for excellent playability and a low action straight out of the box.

02:39Thanks for watching, for more information on the GPCE Inception you can visit martinguitar.com

02:50www.martingitart.com