Anyone observing the venerable old Martin Guitar Co. over the last few years knows that they’ve been trying to target a younger audience. Peruse martinguitar.com and you’re as likely to read about Weezer or the Avett Brothers playing their Martins as you will acoustic veterans such as Norman Blake or Joan Baez. To this end, Martin’s latest signature model guitar is for singer-songwriter Jeff Tweedy, the frontman for Wilco.

Having interviewed Tweedy for the Fretboard Journal #15 (now sold out, but some pictures from Wilco headquarters are here), I can attest to the fact that he’s a bona fide guitar geek. The Wilco loft is literally brimming with guitars, so much so that they expanded to a second floor since the time I visited it. He lives and breathes vintage instruments of all stripes – from Jazzmasters and funky Hopfs to classic acoustics from Martin and Gibson. A few years back, Breedlove even unveiled a very limited run of signature model Tweedy 000s.

The all-mahogany Martin 00-DB Jeff Tweedy edition that Martin is now offering boasts some interesting specs. For starters, it’s a long-scale 00 and it’s completely FSC-certified. Despite appearances, the guitar isn’t completely retro: it has a Richlite fingerboard and a mortise and tenon neck joint. With a list price of $2999, it’s definitely not for everyone but it’s hard to deny the cool, vintage look of a sunburst on a mahogany-topped guitar. It’s also nice just to see manufacturers making more uber-versataile 00 models; they really can be special. Tweedy himself obviously took this signature model seriously, in the below video he even gives some credit to Martin guitar historian John Woodland – the genius behind the Mastery Bridge for Jazzmasters and an occasional FJ contributor – for some of the instrument’s specs. I personally can’t wait to try one out.

Additional details from Martin directly are here.