Wildwoodians, have you ever wondered how our friends at the Gibson Custom Shop achieve juuuust the right hue for the Viking Red finish on our Wildwood Spec ES-335 reissues? Well, the answer is simple: they mix in real blood from Viking warriors for maximum authenticity! Now, you may find yourself pondering questions like and “Didn’t the Viking Age end in 1066 after Harald III was defeated by the Saxons at the Battle of Stamford Bridge?” and “Doesn’t that seem like an awful lot of trouble to go through for a guitar?” and “How do they get the blood?” Well, Gibson’s Custom Shop wizards have their ways (and by “ways” we mean a glowing cave beneath the Custom Shop that takes a twisting path through space and time), but it isn’t easy. Vikings generally are unwilling blood donors, so Gibson’s builders often have to use non-traditional tools of lutherie like flails, maces, and battle axes to get the job done. It just goes to show you that the Gibson Custom Shop is always willing to go the extra mile for authenticity. If you’d like to hear more about the authentic features of this gorgeous ES-335 (Serial 150568), give us a buzz or drop us a line and we’d be happy to tell you all about it. Happy #WednESday everyone.

@gibsoncustom @gibsonguitar #gibsones335 #vikingred ...

Wildwoodians, please read this caption in David Attenborough’s voice. As we all know, scientists have verified that Martin acoustic guitars reproduce through binary fission, much like an amoeba. A piece of wood splits off from the parent guitar and begins its journey, starting the life cycle all over again. It happened in store last week, and our intrepid nature photographer Greg was able to capture the miracle of new life on film. Here we see the parent guitar, a gorgeous all-solid-wood D-15M cradling its beautiful new wooden son, an FSC-Certified Concert Ukulele also made of solid mahogany. Though the newborn uke may be tiny, it sounds just as good as the bigger dreadnought, and it’s been awe-inspiring to see them sing together as the little one learns the ways of the world.

If you have any questions about our huge inventory of killer Martins, or about the dubious science referenced above, please don’t hesitate to give us a call or drop us a line!

@martinguitar #martinguitar #naturephotography #greg #acoustic #martinukulele #martind15 #uke #ukelele #gotd #martinmonday #guitarsofinstagram #wildwoodguitars ...