2004 C.F. Martin & Co. Alternative II Resonator
Maker
C.F. Martin & Company
(American, founded 1833)
Date2004
ClassificationsMusic
Description2004 C.F. Martin & Co. Alternative II Resonator, serial number 978841. The single cutaway Grand Auditorium 000-style body, with solid graffiti pattern aluminum top, Jett Black high pressure laminated back and sides, with hand-spun aluminum resonator cone, spider bridge, and Fishman Prefix Pro Resonator system electronics.Martin produced the Alternative II Resonator, the company's first resonator guitar, from around 2003 to 2010. A resonator guitar, also called a "dobro," is an acoustic guitar that produces sound through spun metal cones rather than through the sounding board (in a guitar, this is the top of the body). Resonators were designed to better amplify acoustic guitars before the introduction of electric amplification. They are often associated with bluegrass and blues music.
Martin wrote about the introduction of this model in a 2003 issue of their "Sounding Board" publication: "This unique 000 round neck cutaway is the first resonator guitar ever offered by C. F. Martin & Co. Designed for the person who wants the resophonic sound, both acoustically and plugged in. It is untraditional in the sense that it is constructed with a unique shallow soundwell and incorporates a traditional braced acoustic guitar back. It also utilizes an assortment of alternative materials: thin .032” aluminum for the soundboard, black HPL for the back and sides, a Micarta fingerboard, and Stratabond® for the neck. These Alternative II Resonator guitars incorporate a high quality hand-spun aluminum resonator cone, spider bridge, and a factory installed Fishman® Prefix Pro Resonator System."
