Most people know Trey Anastasio as the electric guitar wizard of Phish, the jam band that garnered a huge and devoted audience during 20 years of music making. But those who have followed his solo career know him as an equally adept acoustic guitarist. Both in concert and on record, Anastasio has used an acoustic to create rich musical landscapes. Now he has joined forces with C.F. Martin to create an acoustic guitar worthy of his name: the Martin DC Trey Anastasio Signature Edition.

The DC Trey Anastasio Signature Edition blends form and function in a style as original as the man himself. A Dreadnought body with a smoothly curved Venetian cutaway for easy access to the upper frets, solid tonewoods selected for exceptionally clear, full sound, including a top of rare Italian alpine spruce, genuine mahogany sides and a three-piece back with "wings" of genuine mahogany and a center wedge of beautiful flame-figured Hawaiian koa, and a 1 11/16" (at the nut), low profile genuine mahogany neck for playing comfort. Distinctive appointments, including a flamed Hawaiian koa headplate and eye-catching headstock and fingerboard inlays. It's a practical guitar that looks and plays as good as it sounds, and it is offered in two configurations: either with Fishman's acclaimed onboard Ellipse System electronics that delivers superb live and recorded sound, or for the more traditional player, without the onboard electronics package.

Trey Anastasio's musical odyssey shows a similar integrity. He played drums as a child growing up in New Jersey and wrote music while still in junior high school. He started playing guitar in high school and soon founded his first band.

He headed off to University of Vermont in 1983, where he joined forces with bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman and fellow guitarist Jeff Holdsworth (later replaced by Page McConnell) to form Phish, which got its start playing campus parties. In 1986 he transferred to nearby Goddard College, where he studied with composer Ernie Stires. Meanwhile Phish continued to play live and build a following for its improvisational music, first in Vermont and later throughout New England.

Phish recorded its first album, "Junta," in 1988 to sell at shows, the same year Anastasio finished college and began devoting himself to music full time. By 1991, Phish had gone national; playing 150 shows a year, establishing an internet presence (when the web was something of a novelty) and inking a major label recording contract.

Fueled by Anastasio's ever-evolving creativity and guitar alchemy, Phish recorded nearly a dozen albums, played innumerable shows and became the most popular jam band on the planet. In 2004, after the release of "Undermind," an album considered by many to be a classic, the group brought down the curtain, but not before playing two farewell shows in Vermont for its fans.

Independent of Phish, Anastasio has been making music since 1996, when his first solo project, the free jazz "Surrender to the Air," was released. Oysterhead, a side project with Primus bassist Les Claypool and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland, showed his experimental side. A self-titled solo album in 2002, followed by "Plasma" in 2003 and "Seis de Mayo" in 2004 allowed him to create more structured, layered music and develop his acoustic voice. He also collaborated with a range of other top musicians, from Herbie Hancock and Alison Krauss to Neil Young and Carlos Santana. He introduced his new quintet in April of 2005 and is playing concerts across the United States this summer as part of the Zooma Tour.

Martin's mortise & tenon construction and 5/16-inch "Hybrid" scalloped bracing give the DC Trey Anastasio Signature Edition solid feel and tone. Fine herringbone encircles the top, an understated complement to the Style 45 rosette with its center ring of colorful paua shell. Multicolored Style 45 mosaic back strips add to the drama of the back tonewoods, while the grained ivoroid binding, end piece and heel cap are accented with black/white line inlays.

Both the headstock and the fingerboard are similarly bound in grained ivoroid and accented with back/white inlays. The koa headplate provides the backdrop for a unique Style 45 "C.F. Martin" block letter inlay in black micarta. The black ebony fingerboard features the distinctive diamonds & squares abalone pearl inlay first seen on a 1922 00-42 Martin made for the Wurlitzer Company: a Maltese cross at the 3rd fret, two diamonds at the 5th fret, a square at the 7th fret, two diamonds at the 9th fret, a square with cat's eyes at the 12th fret and a cat's eye at the 15th fret. Trey Anastasio's signature is inlaid in mother of pearl between the 18th and 20th frets. The belly bridge is also crafted from black ebony, as are the buttons on the Schaller gold mini tuners.

Martin's traditional attention to detail shows in the bone nut, compensated Tusq® drop-in saddle, vintage hue top, polished gloss body and headplate finish, polished and beveled tortoise color pickguard, and white bridge pins and end pin topped with abalone dots.

Packed in a vintage-inspired Geib style hardshell case, each DC Trey Anastasio Signature Edition guitar bears an interior label personally signed by Trey Anastasio and Martin Chairman C.F. Martin IV, and numbered in sequence with the edition total. Authorized C.F. Martin dealers will take orders for the DC Trey Anastasio Signature Edition until September 23, 2005: the edition total and the names of participating dealers then will be posted on the Martin website, www.martinguitar.com.

Sting has stayed very busy in the six years since C.F. Martin introduced the Sting SWC Signature Edition classical guitar and SWB Signature Edition acoustic bass. Since 1999, he's released three albums, three DVDs, earned his seventh solo Grammy Award & published his memoir, "Broken Music," which reached #6 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. He's also toured extensively during this time and recently completed the Broken Music Tour, a stripped down & raw rock show.

He also discovered a small acoustic treasure: the MiniMartin Size 5 "terz" guitar.

Just when he first encountered one of these little wonders is unknown, but he was among the first to order a Mini-Martin, similar to 5-28, when it was introduced as a Special Edition in 1999. He clearly loves the instrument's 12-fret (to the body) design and bright, chime-like "terz" tuning and tone, which is a minor third above standard pitch. In 2003 he purchased a second Size 5 that he used to record the beautiful song "Dead Man's Rope" on "Sacred Love." He also acquired a rare Baby Ditson built by Martin in 1916, and played it on stage and at television appearances during the "Sacred Love" tour. He enthusiastically suggested a Size 5 when approached regarding a new namesake Martin and played an integral role in creating the Size 5 that now bears his name: Sting: Mini Signature Edition.

An ardent conservationist and co-founder of The Rainforest Foundation, which works to preserve the world's threatened rainforests and to protect the rights of the indigenous peoples, Sting asked that the guitar be built with tonewoods managed and harvested with forest preservation in mind. In keeping with Sting's commitment to ecology and rainforest protection, 77% of the wood utilized in the construction of the Sting: Mini Signature Edition guitar originated in forests managed in a sustainable and ecologically responsible manner. In addition, the guitar utilizes spruce braces from reclaimed sources constituting 8.4% of the utilized wood. While some of the tonewoods are non-traditional, they blend together to form a beautiful looking and sounding instrument with tremendous professional integrity.

The Sting Mini features a top of western red cedar, highly regarded among guitar builders for warm tone and superb responsiveness. Scalloped ¼" top bracing assures impressive volume. The back and sides are Salomon padauk, a beautiful red-orange tonewood similar in sound to mahogany. The neck of genuine mahogany is harvested from sustainable sources and the fingerboard and straight line (non-belly) bridge are crafted from katalox, a beautiful wood with a density and color similar to rosewood.

A generous 1¾" at the nut, the neck features a very comfortable semi-V profile, diamond volute and solid squared, tapered headstock. The headplate is morado, a wood similar in appearance to East Indian rosewood, which provides a handsome backdrop to the Old Style "C.F. Martin" gold logo and Gotoh nickel vintage-style tuners. Long Pattern abalone pearl diamonds & squares position markers on the fingerboard lead to Sting's signature in pearl between the 17th and 18th frets.

The body of the guitar features a distinctive mix of appointments that show off the tonewoods to advantage. Fine herringbone purfling around the top and a Style 45 rosette with a center ring of "Ablam" abalone pearl accentuate the handsome color of the red cedar. A Style HD zig-zag back strip divides the Solomon padauk back. Tortoise-colored binding on the top and back are matched by a tortoise-colored end piece and tortoise-colored dot inlays on the white bridge pins and end pin. In the tradition of parlor guitars, the Sting Mini does not come with a pickguard.

Finishing touches include a lustrous polished gloss finish on the guitar body and headplate, satin finish on the neck, and bone nut and compensated bone saddle. Per Sting's request, each instrument is set-up with ultra-low action and equipped with custom gauge "terz" strings with high-octave basses to facilitate "Nashville-style" tuning that is often used in recording studios to add high treble brilliance to the mix.

Only 100 of the Martin Sting: Mini Signature Edition guitars will be produced. Each bears two interior labels: a Signature Edition label personally signed by Sting and Martin Chairman C.F. Martin IV, and numbered in sequence with the edition total, plus a Sustainable Wood Series label that explains the wood content percentage. A fitted Geib-style hardshell case protects each guitar: factory-installed electronics may be specified when ordering at additional cost. Martin will accept orders for the Sting: Mini Signature Edition until it is fully subscribed, with the names of participating dealers to be posted on the Martin website at www.martinguitar.com. For further information on Sting, visit www.Sting.com.

As the most important producer in music history, Sir George Martin knows how to achieve excellence in the recording studio. In an illustrious career that has spanned five decades, he is probably best known as the man who signed the Beatles and produced most of their recordings, but his work has ranged from the comedy records of Peter Sellers to the power vocals of Celine Dion. Moreover, his innovations transformed how records are made. So when George Martin detailed his preferences for a namesake Martin Signature Edition guitar to fellow musician and record producer John Kurgan, his specific goal was to create an instrument uniquely suited to the studio. The M3M George Martin Studio Edition is that guitar: an acoustic with sensational recorded sound.

Tailoring this guitar for the studio shows in its distinctive body style and unique combination of premium solid tonewoods. The M body produces full, balanced and unusually pure tone. The top is crafted from rare Italian alpine spruce, revered for quick response and full resonance. The sides and back of genuine mahogany, preferred by many recording engineers for its clear bright trebles, show George Martin's inimitable creativity. The four-piece back features a center wedge of rare quilted mahogany, separated from the wings by back strips. Two additional back strips highlight a small wedge of mahogany below the neck heel. Together, the strips form a graceful M (for Martin) emblem.

The M3M George Martin Studio Edition sports a low profile neck of genuine mahogany. The headplate uses mahogany and fine line inlays to create the same "M" emblem as on the guitar's back. The black ebony fingerboard features a small "5" inlay at the fifth fret to commemorate George Martin's role as the fifth Beatle and George Martin's signature is inlaid between the 19th and 20th frets.

At Sir George's request, the M3M George Martin Studio Edition comes with Martin SP+ coated light gauge strings to, as he put it, reduce "collywobbles" (aka string squeak), the bane of recording engineers everywhere. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each M3M guitar with be donated in support of the Sir George Martin Music Foundation, established to aid the island of Montserrat that was badly devastated by the Soufriere Hills Volcano eruption in 1997.

Each M3M Martin Studio Edition guitar bears an interior label personally signed by George Martin and Martin Chairman C.F. Martin IV, and numbered in sequence with the edition total. Left-handed instruments are available at no additional charge and Martin sound reinforcement electronics are an extra cost option. Orders for the M3M George Martin Studio Edition will be accepted until September 23, 2005, after which the total number of guitars and the names of participating Martin dealers will appear on the Martin website: www.martinguitar.com.

During his career, George Martin made his mark in unique and unexpected ways. A native of London, he began playing piano while still a child. After serving in World War II, he studied at Guildhall School of Music. Following a brief stint cataloging music for the BBC, he went to work at Parlophone Records, a label owned by EMI. He became head of the label in 1955.

With Parlophone's limited budget, Martin focused on jazz performers and comedy acts. In 1962 he met with Manager Brian Epstein regarding a young Liverpool band. Although other labels had passed on the band, he brought them in for an audition and signed the Beatles in the summer of 1962. Unusual for the era, Martin worked closely with them in the studio. His role grew as the Beatles' music became more sophisticated: he began scoring passages for orchestration and used studio edits to blend takes into a completed song.

He also expanded the envelope of studio capabilities by linking two four-track tape machines to achieve eight-track recording for the landmark Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album and reversing tape to achieve sounds the group wanted for certain songs. For the important role he played in their music, he frequently was acknowledged to be the fifth Beatle.

While producing all of the Beatles studio albums, Martin left Parlophone Records in 1965 to found Associated Independent Recording (AIR) and went on to work with artists ranging from America to Jeff Beck. After the Beatles broke up in 1970, both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr brought him in to produce solo projects. He also played an integral role mastering Beatles material to compact disc, and later in preparing the Beatles Live at the BBC and Anthology releases.

He designed the original AIR Studios in London in 1969, AIR Montserrat in 1979, and the current AIR Studios in North London, converting an old church into a state-of-the-art recording facility. Queen Elizabeth II appointed him a Commander of the British Empire in 1988 and knighted him for service to his country in 1996. The following year he produced Candle in the Wind 97, Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, the best-selling single in history. He capped his producing career in 1998 with In My Life, an all-star album of songs he selected. In 2001, EMI released Produced by George Martin, a six-CD package spanning his entire studio output. He has received five Grammy awards over the years and is a non-performing member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Claire Frances Martin may be the seventh generation in a guitar-building dynasty, but as a cute-as-a-button baby, she isn¹t thinking about the future yet. Still, birthright is birthright, and C.F. Martin & Co. has decided to get its prospective leader off to a good start by building her a first guitar. Little and exquisite like its inspiration, Claire's Guitar celebrates her arrival in spectacular style.

Like the Mini Martin the Company currently offers, Claire's Guitar is a diminutive Size 5 guitar, with gracefully rounded upper bouts, 12 frets to the body and a 21.4" scale ideal for its traditional tuning: a minor 3rd (three steps) above standard. However, Claire's Guitar is the fanciest Size 5 C.F. Martin has produced in more than 80 years, one destined to capture a young girl's or a guitar connoisseur¹s heart.

Choice solid tonewoods give Claire's Guitar impressive tone and volume for a small instrument. Back and sides of rare CITES-certified Brazilian rosewood are paired with a top of premium Sitka spruce for warm, full resonance, while unscalloped ¼" top braces contribute clarity and focus. The low oval neck with diamond volute is carved from genuine mahogany, while both fingerboard and bridge are crafted from black ebony.

These choice tonewoods are matched by equally choice appointments. Both the Style 45 rosette and Style 41 top purfling feature beautiful inlays of Korean Awabi pearl, a fine-textured abalone with shimmering turquoise, pink and silver highlights, flanked by mitered black/white/black line accents. Both the top and back are bound in grained ivoroid, while a colorful Style 45 backstrip bisects the bookmatched back.

The traditional "C.F. Martin & Co." logo is inlaid in Korean Awabi pearl on the Brazilian rosewood headplate, but underneath, the "Est. 1833" has been replaced by Claire¹s 9/13/04 birth date inlaid in matching pearl. Adding to its beauty, the solid headstock is fitted with gold Waverly tuners with ivoroid butterbean knobs.

Created especially for this guitar, the fingerboard inlay of diamonds, squares and snowflakes culminates in a tiny footprint (think birth certificate) between the 17th and 18th frets. In keeping with the guitar's pearl accents, its genuine bone bridge pins and endpin are topped with Korean Awabi pearl dots. Both the nut and long saddle are crafted from genuine bone.

Aging toner on the top adds to Claire's Guitar's timeless beauty, while polished gloss finish on the body accentuates the beautiful tonewoods and pearl inlays. The neck, featuring Martin¹s new two-way adjustable rod, receives a satin finish for playing comfort. In another bow to tradition, this special guitar is available only as a pure acoustic (without a factory-installed pickup system).

Only 100 of Claire's Guitar will be produced. Delivered in a fitted Geib style case, each will bear an interior label personally signed by Claire's dad (and Martin Chairman) C.F. Martin IV and Claire¹s mom Diane S. Repyneck, and numbered in sequence. Beginning immediately, authorized C.F. Martin dealers will take orders for Claire's Guitar. After the edition has been fully committed, the names of participating dealers will be available on the Martin website, www.martinguitar.com.

C.F. Martin & Co. is proud to introduce three exceptional guitars in honor of three outstanding musicians, David Gray and musical partners Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer.

CATHY FINK and MARCY MARXER

These two musicians started making music together more than 20 years ago after a chance meeting at the Toronto Folk Festival. They have released albums for both children and parents including "Nobody Else Like Me," "A Voice in the Wind" and "Changing Channels." Their "Postcards" received a Grammy nomination in 2003 for "Best Traditional Folk Album." They won their first Grammy in 2004 for the children's album "Bon Appetit" and nabbed their second this year as producers and artists for "cELLAbration: A Tribute to Ella Jenkins."

Fink and Marxer have produced records for artists ranging from Tom Paxton to Patsy Montana, penned more than 200 songs and played thousands of concerts, including the White House Easter Egg Roll. They have appeared on National Public Radio, won songwriting awards and been acknowledged for their work with children in the Congressional Record.

To celebrate this remarkable partnership, C.F. Martin has created a pair of equally remarkable guitars: the M3H Cathy Fink Custom Edition and MC3H Marcy Marxer Custom Edition. These impressive instruments showcase Martin's highly regarded M body size (jumbo width and 000 depth) together with a unique mix of tonewoods and appointments.

Befitting musicians so closely connected together, the M3H Cathy Fink Custom Edition and MC3H Marcy Marxer Custom Edition are identical, with one exception: Cathy's guitar is a non-cutaway, while Marcy's has a rounded cutaway. The size, mortise & tenon construction and "Hybrid" scalloped bracing give these guitars impressive volume, outstanding string-to-string balance and -- important for musicians like Cathy and Marcy who play in a variety of styles -- uncommon versatility.

The premium solid tonewoods result in the best of all worlds: tight bass, crisp trebles and full midrange. The African black ebony fingerboard features a unique "two hands" inlay at the 12th fret to celebrate Cathy and Marcy's partnership. These guitars are delivered in blue denim-covered Geib-style hard shell cases. Both the M3H Cathy Fink Custom Edition and MC3H Marcy Marxer Custom Edition bear interior labels personally signed by Fink, Marxer and Martin Chairman C.F. Martin IV, and are numbered in sequence for that specific Custom Edition.

Authorized C.F. Martin dealers are now accepting orders for the M3H Cathy Fink and MC3H Marcy Marxer Custom Editions: customers may specify left-handed instruments at no additional cost or factory-installed electronics as an extra-cost option. The names of participating Martin dealers are posted on the Martin website, www.martinguitar.com.

DAVID GRAY

David Gray showed grit as well as talent on his way to the top. Nearly a decade of hard work and hard knocks preceded his breakthrough album "White Ladder," which has sold more than seven million copies since it was released in 1999 and produced "Babylon," one of the most popular singles of the last decade. Gray's melodic, acoustic-based songs

Born in England and raised in Wales, Gray started his musical career with a series of punk bands. He eventually found his own voice and songwriting style, one of passion, anger, love and loneliness. He signed his first recording contract in the early 1990s and released his debut "A Century Ends," followed by "Flesh." He also took his act on the road, opening for Shawn Colvin, Maria McKee and Dave Matthews. Gray began generating a quiet buzz. His third album, the limited-release "Sell, Sell, Sell," came out in 1996.

In 1998 Gray founded his own label, IHT Records, and recorded his fourth album in his London apartment. "White Ladder" took Great Britain and then the rest of the world by storm. In 2001 he contributed music for the movie "Serendipity" and released "Lost Songs 95-98," recorded when his career prospects looked bleakest. His CD "New Day at Midnight" went Gold in the U.S. and multi platinum in the UK. He also toured steadily as a headliner in both Europe and the United States. Expectations for new music run high with a new album due for release in the fall.

Like his guitar, David Gray embodies both the traditional and the cutting-edge. In recent years, Martin has been Gray's guitar of choice for live performances. So when C.F. Martin approached him regarding the possibility of a namesake guitar, Gray embraced the opportunity. The 000C David Gray Custom Edition is much like the man's music: understated, sophisticated and impressively realized.

The Martin 000C David Gray Custom Edition guitar is a true 14-fret 000, with traditional body and scale that make this both comfortable to hold and easy to play. Also conceived with comfort in mind is the rounded Venetian cutaway, which simplifies "up the neck" chords and notes. A unique combination of superb tonewoods gives the 000C David Gray a truly signature sound.

Black, white and silver accents abound. The black ebony fingerboard is adorned with vintage abalone dots and matched with a black ebony bridge. A black polished and beveled pickguard protects the top and a chrome strap button on the neck heel shows this guitar is ready for the stage.

The 000C David Gray Custom Edition comes factory-equipped with Martin's Gold+Plus Natural I active pickup. Delivered in a Geib style hardshell case, each guitar bears an interior label personally signed by David Gray and Martin Chairman C.F. Martin IV, and numbered in sequence. Martin dealers will accept orders for the 000C David Gray Custom Edition for a limited time. After the order period closes, the size of the edition and the names of participating dealers will be posted on the Martin website, www.martinguitar.com.