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Electro Acoustics

Martin DRS1

Martin’s DRS1 represents an instrument with an ecological clean bill of health. Renowned tree-hugger David Mead has the facts …

Martin’s DRS1 marks the latest in the line of their Road Series guitars. That is, models produced for the working environment which Martin tell us don’t sacrifice tone but boast sturdy construction, great sound and quality electronics with that distinctive allure of a top brand. This model has another trick up its sleeve in that it represents an ecological statement of purpose from the world’s most popular acoustic manufacturer. No contentious timber was used in its construction at all; furthermore, Martin have made use of recycled materials to provide a new resource for the fretboard and bridge …

Build Quality

Upon opening the DRS1’s case, I thought I was looking at an all-mahogany dreadnought from Martin, but closer inspection revealed that the body wood used for both back and sides in this instance is sapele. This is a wood that is native to Africa and comes from managed sources and thus satisfies the CITES criteria nicely. In fact, it wasn’t long before I saw a trend developing with this instrument in that it’s definitely one that will give the world’s wood police no cause for concern whatsoever!

Flipping the dashingly dark dread over reveals another surprise, in that the neck has avoided the use of mahogany too and substituted Stratabond. There’s a chance that this is as new a name to you as it was to me, but it turns out that this is a method where strips of birch are bonded together and then fashioned into necks. Martin tell me that this makes the neck incredibly strong and straight and I’ve no reason to doubt them.

The fingerboard and bridge material might throw up a new word to Google too, as it’s made from Richlite, a substance that defines itself as being paper-based fibre composites that can be found elsewhere in anything from skateboards to kitchen work surfaces. Here it’s been dyed black to look like ebony, but I suspect that Richlite is both a fraction of that wood’s cost and, of course, another blow struck for saving the planet from us wretched speciality-tonewood-obsessed guitarists!

Time will tell as to whether Richlite is as durable as ebony or rosewood, but my suspicions are that if you can make something like a skateboard from it, then it has to be able to stand up to some pretty hair-raising levels of stress. It might be that sitting there quietly as a fretboard would seem a fairly peaceful life by comparison.

Frets are all seated well and finished nicely and those very subtle pearloid dots suit the general conservative overtones of this Martin very nicely indeed. Other than that, the DRS1 clocks in as pretty much standard dreadnought fare, and as you would expect from Martin everything is splendidly neat and tidy from top to bottom, inside and out.

Stage-ready electronics are handled by the redoubtable Fishman Sonicore system, which is so discreet you would hardly notice they were there. The battery and preamp are neatly tucked away just inside the soundhole, meaning that no unsightly lumps and bumps compromise the guitar’s good looks and clean lines. The guitar is completely satin finished, which feels nice in the hand, although I suspect that some diehards will yearn for a bit of gloss.

Sound Quality

Hats off to Martin for making such a bold ecological statement; but do traditional bracing methods and materials walk hand in hand with all this green thinking? What I found with the first few chordal strums was a tone that might be said to be darker than a spruce-topped dread, but possibly not quite as dark as actual mahogany. There wasn’t too much evidence of the massive ‘piano bass’ that Martin are famous for either. But hang on – this guitar is from the Road Series, and so surely its real area of expertise is to be found in the live-performance arena. And that means plugging it in …

As it turns out, the DRS1 positively leaps into action when plugged in, with chords ringing sweetly and some admirable levels of sustain. One definite thing in its favour was that I didn’t have to sit and fiddle with the EQ on the Sonicore for ages before I found a tone that I liked. Neither did I have to tweak the tone controls on my amp – everything was flat and good tone was instantaneous.

Conclusion

You’d have no trouble getting the DRS1 through customs in the USA, that’s for sure – not something that can be said for many acoustics made from naughtier woods in much simpler times. I couldn’t really find that profound depth that Martin dreads usually have in spades, but let’s face it, you’re not buying a D-28 here – you’re getting a well-built dread with bags of amplified good sounds, plus a hard case, for well under a grand.