By: Joerg Kliewe
Photo Credit: Joerg Kliewe
It seems like Peter Bursch taught guitar to almost everybody in Germany, and everyone’s heard of him in some shape or form over the years. Bursch published his first easy to learn guitar book, Peter Bursch’s Guitar Book back in 1975, and since then has added another 10 guitar instruction books to his long list of publications.
Along with his accomplishments as a professional guitar teacher, Bursch also built a solid career as a session player, working with some of the top musicians in Germany along the way. He also toured and recorded with his own groups, including fan-favorite, Bröselmaschine.
After achieving success as both a sideman and leader, as well as inspiring thousands of kids to play the guitar, the Martin Guitar Company chose Bursch among the very first guitarists outside of the U.S. to be recognized with their own Martin Signature guitar, and Bursch is the first guitarist from Germany to be so honored.
Bursch decided on a dreadnaught Martin for his signature model, with an Engelmann spruce top and Rosewood sides and back. Beyond that, Peter preferred that his model be kept relatively simple, and his D-PB model carries his little mascot inlayed into the headstock.
Later, he agreed to work with Martin on a second guitar. The second guitar was based on the vintage ‘50s Martin 000 guitar Peter plays at home, and he and the company designed the model in time for it to be available at the 2009 Winter NAMM trade show in Anaheim, California.
The guitar is basically a 000-21 with minimal alterations, but does feature a gorgeous inlayed picture of Peter on the headstock. Meanwhile, Peter made the PB-000 his main instrument and told us, “I’ve always liked Martin guitars a lot, but the sweet tone of this you just have to love.”
Peter Bursch with his 2nd Martin Signature guitar
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Joerg Kliewe: To most people you’re known as our number one guitar teacher who has taught half of Germany to play guitar. How did Martin end up working with you on your own Signature guitar?
Peter Bursch: Well, at that point I was able to look back on a long friendship with Dick Boak [Director of Artist Relations at Martin]. Practically every year I’d been playing at the NAMM show in California – demonstrating Martin guitars and promoting my tutorials, which are also available in the States.
I happened to be friendly with many of the other artists Martin collaborated with. We used to hang out together a lot after hours and finally I was able to visit Martin & Co. in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
Joerg: When exactly did that happen?
Peter: Since I’ve made quite a few trips back and forth since then, I’m ashamed to say that I really can’t remember what year the idea for my Signature guitar had finally come up.
My very first visit had been in ‘72, but I’d also been on tour in the U.S. a lot after that and made it a habit to swing by at Martin frequently. I must say that I became a big fan of Martin guitars during that time, especially of the old and vintage ones! I got pretty excited about the philosophy of guitar making at Martin too. The sound of the instruments just knocked me out.
Ever since then, there was a deep friendship growing between Martin & Co. and me. It must have been by the end of the ’90s when Dick asked me if I could imagine a Signature guitar under my name. Of course he knew that I was quite popular in Germany and he was thinking out loud about the possible success of an instrument like that outside the States.
Joerg: You weren’t the first European artist to receive an invitation like that?
Peter: You’re right, before me Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler had received their own Martins. Anyway, I got very excited about the idea and I felt that it was a great honor when Dick asked me about it. But, he made it clear from the beginning that a collaboration like that would also involve their German distributor AMI.
Fortunately, those guys found the idea as appealing as we did. But, to me it had been the close collaboration with Dick Boak that made it so special, designing my own guitar model.
Snapshot of Peter Bursch and Dick Boak at Musikmesse Frankfurt, 2005
Joerg: How long did the design process take?
Peter: With the Atlantic between us, it took us quite a while, but a bunch of emails and 12 months later we were able to meet again to discuss the details for the instrument. All together it might’ve been two and a half years before I was able to hold the final instrument in my hands. We got pretty serious about the makeup of that guitar, the choice of wood, bindings, fret board and many more options were adjusted permanently.
Anyway, just like in my books I wanted to include a personal drawing, and I came up with the idea to transform a comic image onto wood onto the guitar. They’d sent the first sample by mail to Germany on a little piece of wood. Basically, this is how the instrument was developed step-by-step.
Joerg: So you have a Signature dreadnaught Martin and now a 000-model. Was there a “parent” Martin guitar or benchmark guitar series that your guitars are based on?
Peter: I’m particularly fond of the 21 series. You’ve already seen my 000-Signature guitar, but I happen to own an older D-21, kind of a cross breed between a D-18 and a D-28.
I love the sound of Mahogany and so we let ourselves be inspired by that old guitar too. With all due respect, I’d also like to point out that during the creation of my guitar I’d probably set off the idea in Chris Martin’s head to include a D-21 back into the regular Martin line.
When creating my instrument with the standards of the 21 series, we tried to think further about what improvements would be useful for it to have. The new instrument had to fit me, but from Martin’s stand point, we also had to come up with a guitar that would be able to sell as well.
Joerg: You mean the guitar shouldn’t come out too exotic?
Peter: Right, I had another idea for angling the downside of the bridge saddle, just because the guitar would’ve sounded much better in my opinion with that modification. But, something like that would’ve collided with Martin’s traditional building style. So, Martin refused to do it.
Joerg: If it turned out, how would it was looked?
Peter: If the bridge saddle is set in straight, and the strings come out of the bridge behind it, the strings will push the saddle toward the end of the fret board. As a consequence, the saddle loses contact and there’s a lack of sustain. It may also lead to intonation problems which most often can only be cured with a file.
In my case, you have to know that I play all of my guitars on stage with bridge-saddle transducers. Those may also lose contact and not sit properly inside the bridge anymore and start sounding crappy!
If you re-shape the angle of the inlayed bridge-saddle, the tension from the strings will push the saddle firmly into the bridge, and the sustain spreads perfectly over the whole top. I demonstrated the effect to Martin and said “Look, this is sounding a decent percentage fuller,” but still they said “no.”
Peter’s home studio in Germany with two vintage gems from his huge collection of guitars
Joerg: Sounds like you had really gotten into this.
Peter: Oh yes! I’d also been collaborating with Shadow [German manufacturer for pickups and transducers] for a while now, starting with my own idea of amplifying acoustic guitar sounds.
I have to admit that I disliked most common systems that were on the market. I’d say that I’d checked out every brand of piezo pickups available on all of my guitars. By now I can say that I really know what I’m talking about with this stuff.
Anyway, most systems sound too “nasally,” and you have to shape the sound with an equalizer. That ain’t fun! For a long time I had the idea to pick up and amplify every single string individually.
Joerg: Like with six single pickups? Expensive….
Peter: No, this pick up wouldn’t have to become six times more expensive. Of course not! Shadow was prepared to work together with me on the idea and we’ve found a trick to solve this challenge.
Unfortunately, Martin refused to integrate the foreign system into my second Signature guitar, although it’s been in the guitar media a lot that they’re having reoccurring problems with their favored pickup brand. I’ve read that quite a few instruments had been returned to the factory with broken transducer systems.
Joerg: Sounds like another story all together.
Peter: Yeah, you’re right. Anyway, it was fun designing that first Signature guitar and I went straight on tour with it. I played many concerts and workshops with the guitar. I just love it! I was surprised how many musicians from the German Rock scene ended up buying one from that limited run.
So, it had been a commercial success too and pretty soon, after they sold that model out, AMI approached me on making a second Signature guitar. Since we took our time for the first one, that sequel came a bit too fast for me. I suggested we wait a little longer and then join forces again with Dick Boak to design something really nice again. But, yes, finally we gave birth to my second Signature guitar.
Joerg: What makes her different from the first one?
Peter: It’s a 000-21 that had been modified by my personal request, and this one also comes with Rosewood back and sides.
Joerg: And I can see even a little Peter inlayed into the head stock.
Peter: I had drawn that little comic character of myself and mailed it to Martin. One of their inlay experts transformed it onto the wood. Dick showed me the result at the NAMM show and I freaked out completely. In my opinion it was even nicer than the inlayed graphics on my first guitar. Everyone got excited about it! Finally, they’d built the whole fine guitar.
Joerg: As far as I know, there are none of your Signature guitars available anymore.
Peter: Yeah right, sold out – both of them.
Joerg: You gave the profits to a charity project, right?
Peter: All proceeds from that collaboration went to a children’s hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Joerg: Would you do it again?
Peter: It might get boring at a certain extent! [Both laughing] No, seriously, it was a nice experience and an honor to have the chance of designing a guitar under the name of a reputable brand like Martin.
Also to get behind the scenes of guitar making and to meet personally with the some of the finest builders in the industry was great. Again, it was an honor to receive a Martin guitar with my name on it.
Joerg: …and your image!
Peter: Right!
Joerg: I can tell by your face that it must feel good to be rewarded with two Signature models.
Peter: A journalist wrote that I had been among four artists outside of the U.S. who had been approached by Martin & Co. for a project like that. That it happened twice is a great recognition of my work as an artist and I’m proud of it.
I was once invited to a dinner with other Martin guitarists. Among others that night, there were David Crosby, Roger McGuinn and Graham Nash. Graham played all night on a cute guitar I had ordered at Martin for my wife’s birthday, a 0-model, all Mahogany, parlor style.
Everybody who sees that guitar falls in love with it. So did Graham, and he urged me to let him have her, but I refused to, of course. That instrument, however, became the blueprint for Graham’s own Martin Signature guitar.
To hang out with all these great, legendary artists – as one of them – playing music and talking about our lives as musicians was very moving. Roger McGuinn even owned one of my guitar tutorials. What an experience!
