For nearly a decade, Beck Hansen has been breaking
traditions with his edgy, audacious music. Drawing on
hip-hop, folk, punk, rock, rap, psychedelia, pop and blues,
Beck has written, performed and recorded an eclectic,
post-modern mix of music both uniquely powerful and
impossible to categorize. Challenging the norm has always
been at the heart of his persona, and he has done it again
in the Martin D-16BH Beck Signature Edition guitar, an
instrument unlike any in C. F. Martin & Company's 168-year
history.

While true to Martin's traditional Dreadnought shape, the
D-16BH features a shallow, approximately 000-depth body. The
thinner body combines powerful Martin Dreadnought tone with
distinctive balance and clarity. In addition to being an
exceptional guitar for recording, the D-16BH offers playing
comfort to guitarists for whom a standard Dreadnought is
simply too deep. In suggesting this innovative design, Beck
again shows his talent for thinking differently.

The D-16BH shows Beck's appreciation for a true working
musician's instrument, with the emphasis on tone,
playability and understated decoration. The top is premium
solid bookmatched Sitka spruce, selected for strong, full
tone. Back and sides of solid East Indian Rosewood add depth
and projection. Comfortable for a variety of playing styles,
the modified low oval neck is crafted from Spanish cedar.
Martin's hybrid A-frame scalloped X-bracing and patented
mortise and tenon neck joint provide an ideal blend of
stability and responsiveness.

Top, back and side edges combine black/white purfling "
three layers on the top, and one layer on the back and sides
" with tortoise colored binding for subtle elegance. In
contrast, both the Style 45 abalone pearl inlaid rosette and
Style 45 multi-colored mosaic back strip add a subtle touch
of flash.

Other D-16BH appointments include a polished East Indian
rosewood headstock overlay with the gold foil "C.F. Martin &
Co." logo, chrome enclosed tuners with small ebony buttons,
an ebony fingerboard and belly bridge, black bridge and end
pins inlaid with abalone dots, vintage toner on the top, and
a polished and beveled tortoise colored pickguard. The
fingerboard features vintage style abalone dot position
markers inlaid at the 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th and 15th frets,
and the "Beck" signature inlaid between the 19th and 20th
frets. Every D-16BH Beck Signature Edition guitar comes
equipped with Martin Gold+PlusΠNatural II sound
reinforce-ment electronics.

Whether creating a guitar or creating music, for Beck, the
blend of radical and traditional comes naturally. Growing up
living between Missouri and New York, Beck became drawn to
acoustic blues and hardcore punk. In 1989, after learning
guitar and dropping out of school, he joined the underground
anti-folk scene in New York City, playing clubs, writing
songs and making his first recordings.

Beck moved to Los Angeles in 1991, where he created
multi-track demos that soon caught the attention of the
recording industry. Released as a 12-inch single in 1993,
"Loser" soon became a club and underground radio favorite
and led to Beck's first Grammy nomination in 1994. On the
strength of the single, the album "Mellow Gold" was released
in 1994, becoming a critical and popular success. In the
summer of 1995, Beck took his show on the road, performing
across the United States as part of the Lollapalooza tour.
Released in 1996, Beck's second album, "Odelay," earned two
Grammy Awards and was named Best Album of the Year by
Rolling Stone magazine. Beck himself was named Artist of the
Year both by Rolling Stone and Spin magazines, and received
an MTVŽ Video Award. His acoustic-based "Mutations" album,
released in 1998, netted Beck a third Grammy Award. Released
in 1999, "Midnite Vultures" continued Beck's winning streak,
with a powerful set of genre-bending dance tracks that are a
central element of his 2001 tour.

Delivered in a faux alligator skin case, each Martin D-16BH
Beck Signature Edition guitar bears an interior label signed
by Beck and Martin Chairman and CEO C.F. Martin IV. A
portion of the proceeds from each guitar will be donated to
The World Literacy Campaign, which addresses the problems of
poverty, ignorance, disease and substance abuse in the
world's children through literacy programs.

Orders for the D-16BH Beck Signature Edition will be
accepted by Martin dealers and distributors for 60 days from
the date of announcement, with the size of the edition and
the names of participating Martin dealers to be posted on
the Martin website at www.martinguitar.com.