Martin Custom Shop 0-12 Fret • Premium Bastogne Walnut Acoustic Guitar
Martin Custom Shop Expert
Regular price $6,399.00
Unit price per
Martin Custom Shop 0-12 Fret Premium Bastogne Walnut • Tobias Music
A Truly Exceptional Custom Shop Martin
Every now and then, a guitar comes through the Tobias Music Custom Shop that stops us in our tracks. This is one of those guitars.
This stunning Martin Custom Shop 0-12 Fret was built around an exceptionally rare, hand-selected set of Premium Bastogne Walnut, chosen specifically for this guitar. From the remarkably detailed grain to its beautifully balanced voice, this is an extraordinary instrument in every respect.
The 0 body is Martin’s smallest traditional full-size guitar, with a wonderfully comfortable 12-fret design reminiscent of the classic parlor guitars of the past. Don’t let its compact size fool you, though. This little Martin produces an impressively big voice, with a warm, rich midrange, excellent balance and outstanding projection.
We’ve had hundreds of Martin Custom Shop guitars through Tobias Music over the past 47 years. It would be difficult to rank them all, but this guitar would unquestionably be in our top five. It’s that good.
💵 0% Financing Available
We offer 0% financing on most guitars, making it easier to bring an exceptional Custom Shop Martin like this one home. Financing eligibility is subject to approval and program terms.
✅ Why We Chose This Guitar
This guitar was built specifically for our recent CF “Chris” Martin / Craig Thatcher Tour Event, hosted here at Tobias Music.
We wanted something truly special for the event—an instrument that showcased what Martin’s Custom Shop can accomplish when exceptional materials, traditional design and expert voicing come together.
The combination of the 0-12 Fret body, Golden Era-style scalloped bracing and rare Bastogne Walnut makes this guitar particularly compelling. It has the visual presence of a museum-quality instrument, but more importantly, it has the voice of a serious musician’s guitar.
✅ About Bastogne Walnut
Bastogne Walnut is a rare and highly prized walnut hybrid that originated in California in the late 19th century. It is a natural cross between English Walnut (Juglans regia) and California Black Walnut (Juglans hindsii). Known for its dramatic grain, rich coloration and exceptional density, Bastogne Walnut has long been valued by fine woodworkers and instrument makers. Its rarity, striking appearance and distinctive tonal character make it an especially compelling choice for a one-of-a-kind Custom Shop guitar.
✅ Why You’ll Love This Guitar
Small body. Big voice. Extraordinary wood.
The 0-12 Fret format is one of the most comfortable and inviting guitar designs Martin has ever produced. The compact body sits naturally against the player, while the 12-fret neck position gives the guitar a beautifully balanced feel.
The Bastogne Walnut takes the concept to another level. This particular set has spectacular figure and character, and the tonal personality is equally impressive—warm, woody and articulate through the midrange, with surprising power and projection for such a small body.
It is a guitar that feels intimate when played softly but opens up beautifully when you lean into it.
✅ Our Expert Opinion
We’ve been working with Martin for nearly five decades, and we’ve had the opportunity to see and play an enormous number of Custom Shop instruments.
This one is special.
The first thing you’ll notice is the wood. The Bastogne Walnut is exceptionally beautiful, with intricate grain that gives the guitar a distinctive visual identity. But what really sets this guitar apart is the combination of comfort and tone.
The 0 body is wonderfully cozy and responsive, while the Golden Era-inspired scalloped X bracing allows the top to respond with remarkable immediacy. There is warmth and richness in the midrange, but the guitar also has considerably more projection and headroom than you might expect from a body this size.
In our opinion, this is one of the finest Martin Custom Shop 0-size guitars we’ve encountered—and one of the finest Custom Shop Martins we’ve had through Tobias Music.
✅ Tone Profile
Warm • Woody • Rich • Articulate • Surprisingly Powerful
The Bastogne Walnut produces a distinctive voice with a strong, warm midrange and excellent note separation. The response is immediate and expressive, with plenty of harmonic complexity without becoming overly bright.
The 0-12 Fret body contributes a wonderfully intimate quality, while the Golden Era-style scalloped bracing gives the guitar significantly more projection than its compact dimensions might suggest.
Fingerstyle: ★★★★★
Folk & Americana: ★★★★★
Blues: ★★★★★
Singer-Songwriter: ★★★★★
Light Flatpicking: ★★★★☆
✅ We Got Wood
For this Custom Shop build, the Premium Bastogne Walnut was hand-selected specifically for this guitar.
Bastogne Walnut is an exceptionally distinctive tonewood, prized for its beautiful figure, rarity and unique tonal character. The set used here is particularly impressive, with extraordinary grain throughout the top, back and sides.
This isn’t simply a guitar built with Bastogne Walnut—it is a guitar built around this particular set of wood.
That level of material selection is one of the things that makes a Martin Custom Shop instrument so special.
✅ Construction & Specifications
● Model: Martin Custom Shop 0-12 Fret
● Body Size: 0 Concert
● Body Design: 12-Fret
● Top: Premium Bastogne Walnut — hand selected specifically for this guitar
● Back & Sides: Premium Bastogne Walnut — hand selected specifically for this guitar
● Top Trim: Classic Herringbone
● Rosette: Style 28
● Bracing: Scalloped X Bracing, Golden Era style with hand shaping
● Neck: GE Modified Low Oval
● Neck Taper: Wide High Performance Taper
● Scale Length: 24.9”
● Nut Width: 1-13/16”
● String Spacing: 2-5/16”
● Fingerboard: Ebony
● Fingerboard Inlay: Diamonds & Squares Long Pattern
● Bridge: Ebony
● Nut & Saddle: Bone
● Bridge Pins: Bone with Faux Tortoise Dots
● Tuners: Gold Grover
● Headstock: Slotted
● Headstock Overlay: Custom Bastogne Walnut
● Binding: Antique White
● Finish: Gloss Body / Satin Neck
● Strings: Martin Light Gauge
● Case: Deluxe Arched Top Hardshell Case
✅ Tobias Music Insight
There is a tendency to think that a smaller guitar automatically means a smaller sound. This Martin is a wonderful reminder that body size and musical impact are two very different things.
The 0-12 Fret design gives this guitar an exceptionally comfortable, almost old-world feel, while the carefully voiced Golden Era-style bracing allows the Bastogne Walnut to really come alive.
What impressed us most was the combination of warmth and projection. It has the intimate character you hope for from a small-bodied guitar, but when you dig in, it responds with authority.
And then there’s the wood.
The Bastogne Walnut is simply spectacular.
We’ve seen a lot of beautiful Custom Shop Martins over the years. This one isn’t just beautiful—it has the sound and personality to back it up.
If we were ranking the hundreds of Martin Custom Shop guitars that have passed through Tobias Music over the past 47 years, this one would be in our top five. That is a very high compliment.
✅ Why Buy From Tobias Music
47 Years as a Martin Dealer
Tobias Music has been a Martin dealer for 47 years. Over that time, we’ve developed an unusually deep understanding of Martin guitars—from vintage instruments to Standard Series guitars and some of the most extraordinary Custom Shop instruments Martin has produced.
We don’t simply sell Martin guitars. We live with them, work on them, evaluate them and play them.
Our experience allows us to recognize the subtle differences that make one exceptional guitar stand apart from another.
Martin Custom Shop Expertise
As a Martin Custom Shop Expert Dealer, we have access to Martin’s Custom Shop and Wood Vault, allowing us to work directly with Martin on extraordinary one-of-a-kind instruments like this.
This guitar is a perfect example of what that relationship can produce.