Backpacker
"Marti" a.k.a. "The Paddle"
Make: Martin
Model: Backpacker
Name seemed obvious...
Year manufactured: 1998 or 1999
Acquired new: April 8, 1999
Neck & Sides cut and shaped from single piece of mahogany
Back: mahogany
Top: solid spruce
Fretboard: rosewood
Bridge: rosewood
Lower Bout: 7 & 7/8"
Upper "Bout": 2 & 1/8"
Depth: 2"
Scale Length: 24"
Nut Width: 1 & 11/16"
Finish: flat
OK, first, this photo is a recreation of actual events: Marti was at Jelkijaminox '11, but she was only played on the road traveling to and from Glady. I forgot to pull her out of the case for the photos, so I had to resort to technology...
This guitar was in fact a gift from my mother. She saw it in a catalog and just went and ordered it; I had never even thought of owning one. But it actually serves it's role very well (Relieving the Silvertone of road duty), and although it still sounds rather banjo-like, it's sound has mellowed with time. With no truss rod, there is little to adjust, but Tucker Barrett was able to get the action a tad better than it had been.
In 2002 they changed the design to make them both easier to hold and better sounding (or so they say), but they lost the elegant lines of the one piece neck/sides. Mexican made, but mine shows a real level of craftsmanship that should not have disappointed Martin. I've grown quite fond of her. New ones look like boxes to me...
