Even if you've never heard one of his songs, you've undoubtedly heard music that employed Merle Travis's eponymous finder-picking technique. Every acoustic guitar player of the past 30 years has probably written a song based around a Travis-picked chordal figure; throw on some "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac or "Dust In The Wind" by Kansas if you need a refresher.

To those who have heard his music, however, Merle Travis was and is a songwriter first and foremost. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1970, having written some of the most influential folk-protest songs in history -- many of them about the exploitation of Coal Miners. Truly, if artist is due for a commemorative Martin, it's Merle Travis.

The D-28M Merle Travis is based on his 1941 D-28, post modifications made by Paul Bigsby (whom Travis helped to design his famous vibrato -- I had no idea). The neck profile is closer to that of an electric, and features a Bigsby-style headstock in place of the Martin design. An oversized pickguard mimicking the headstock silhouette.

The premium tonewoods on the D-28M consist of Madagascar Rosewood back and side, and an Adirondack spruce top. The neck is carved from curly maple, and the headstock plate is walnut, with the Bigsby logo inlaid in pearl.

Martin will be making only 100 D-28M Merle Travis guitars. They will ship with a hardshell case.