Martin’s dreadnought design is the world’s most popular steel-string acoustic guitar type. In recent years, some new details about the instrument’s history have emerged, and in this video, Martin’s Archives and Museum Specialist Jason Ahner talks with historian, author, and master craftsman Kilin Reece, who runs Hawaii’s KR Strings and the Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings about origin of the dreadnought, which includes a custom jumbo guitar that Martin built for Hawaiian artist Mekia in 1916.

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