Matt Umanov knows a thing or two about guitars.
His New York City West Village shop has been selling new and vintage guitars since 1965 as well as doing excellent repairs and upgrades.
Steve Earle is a neighbor of the shop and eventually found his way in to sample the trade. Matt, who has been matching players with instruments for years, guided his new customer in the purchase of a few Martin guitars and along the way introduced him to the M body style, which combines jumbo (0000) size with 000 depth.
His enthusiasm for the Martin “M†jump-started development of a Martin Steve Earle guitar. Earle turned to Umanov for help with the details and together they created the Martin M-21 Steve Earle Custom Edition, a “poor man’s†M that showcases this body style’s big, balanced sound and playing comfort in an elegant, affordable package.
Delivered in a blue molded hardshell case, each Martin M-21 Steve Earle Custom Edition guitar
features an interior label personally signed by Steve Earle and Matt Umanov, numbered in sequence without a total.