Martinez - Standard MC-48S RN

Whether on stage or in rehearsal, the Martinez Standard MC-48S RN is at home wherever classical playing demands clarity. Where cedar whispers, the solid European spruce of its top projects – a denser wood, livelier on attack, which responds crisply to every pluck of the string. The bass retains its bite, whilst the treble emerges bright, almost crystalline.

The body tells a different story, one of contrast. The mahogany back adds warmth where the spruce provided brilliance – a combination of woods that balances the tonal spectrum from bass to treble. The whole instrument is built using the Spanish neck-in-body construction, a technique where the body and neck are formed in a single luthier’s gesture rather than simply being glued together, ensuring long-lasting durability.

On the neck, the mahogany extends to a rosewood fingerboard marked with twenty frets, twelve of which are above the soundbox, allowing you to reach the higher registers without compromising playing comfort. A truss rod adjustable in both directions keeps the neck straight throughout the changing seasons, whilst mother-of-pearl inlays at the 5th, 7th and 9th frets guide the eye without ever distracting it. With a scale length of 650 mm, every note lands exactly where the ear expects it to.

The 52 mm bone nut gives the six strings plenty of room to vibrate without interfering with one another. The high-gloss polyurethane finish, in a natural colour, showcases the wood without obscuring it, and the gold-plated 48/58 Martinez tuning machines adorn the headstock with the same lustre as the Indian rosewood bridge. The original Martinez strings and the included case complete an instrument that is ready to play straight out of the box.