175...
and Counting
BY REBECCA DIRKS
When Christian Frederick Martin
established his stringed-instrument
company in 1833, there were only
24 states in the U.S. Most of the
Louisiana Purchase was still
just a mass of land and nothing west of it even belonged
to the country. For C. F.
Martin & Company, the year
1833 represents their history and is a source of pride;
few American companies can
boast a 175-year history. The
company has survived the abolishment of slavery and the Civil War,
major depressions in 1893 and
1929, and two world wars.
This combination of innovation and conserva-
tism (and making a lot of ukuleles at exactly
the right time) proved to be a successful
model for the company, which has grown to
the point of producing its highest volume
of guitars right now.
Anniversary Festivities
Aside from commemorative guitars,
Martin has other projects in the works.
From books (release dates TBA) and
an October 10th Christie’s auction
with a to-be-determined lineup of
prototypes and other sought-after
models to a CD compilation called My
Favorite Martin. Ed Golden discusses
the CD:
Through alternating family owners (four
of them named C.F.) came alternating
schools of thought on how to run the
company. Some were more conservative,
making few changes for decades, while
others implemented innovations that were
accepted by players and guitar makers
alike as standards for the instrument.
If Martin’s history can be separated into
progressive and conservative periods,
the era of sixth generation Chris Martin
IV, beginning in 1986, would have to
fall under progressive. Guitar produc-
tion from 1990 to 2004 was equal to the
total production from 1833 to 1990 – the
company celebrated 500,000 guitars in
1990 and 1,000,000 in 2004. Ed Golden,
Martin’s Custom Shop Manager, says
that the company is already approaching
serial #1,300,000, thanks in part to the
addition of mid-to-lower priced instru-
ments in the 16, 15, Road and X series.
“Grammy award-winning Solid Air
Records is in the final assembly and
mastering stages of the My Favorite
Martin project. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the great players who have
shown their appreciation by submitting tracks recorded on their favorite
Martin guitars for this project.
In addition to growing numbers and
expanding product lines, the company
recently launched a virtual custom shop,
where players can tweak the day away
building their perfect guitar online, then
have it made for them through the
Martin Custom Shop.
Martin gave us X-bracing in the 1840s,
the Dreadnought in the
1920s, the 14-fret neck
in 1929, and popularized herringbone
purfling, to name just
a few of their contributions to the world
of luthiery. Of course,
Martin wasn’t always
paving the way – their
reputation for tradition is well-earned.
The company
initially resisted
flashy inlays,
put off using
steel strings
until 1922
(decades after
competitors),
advertised
little and spent
a substantial
amount of their
earlier years keeping
artists at bay. Martin’s DX 175th Anniversary Limited Edition
We talked with Ed about
what’s new at Martin,
the 175th anniversary
celebration and how
the company’s history
has shaped its future.
“Laurence Juber’s pristine solo guitar version of Eric Clapton’s “Layla,”
appropriately initiates the CD. An
incredible roster of artists follows with
tracks from Nancy Wilson of Heart,
bluegrass veteran Peter Rowan, as well
as ukulele master Greg Hawkes and
southpaw guitarist Elliot Easton (both
of The Cars). The CD continues with
tracks from the Joker himself – Steve
Miller of the Steve Miller Band, Roger
McGuinn of Byrds fame, acoustic flatpicking wizards Norman and Nancy
Blake, California bluesman Kenny
Sultan, plus a special cut from one of
the all-time bluegrass greats – Tony
Rice – playing one of the most iconic
Martin guitars ever. In addition, Prairie
Home Companion’s Pat Donohue adds
a track and fingerstylist Jim Earp lends
a classic version of Van Morrison’s
“Moondance.”
Through 175 years
of production, how
has Martin stayed
relevant?
C.F. Sr. had a
vision and pas-
sion for guitars
so strong that
he uprooted his
family in Germany
to bring his idea
to America. He
designed and built
instruments that set
the standard for acoustic
tone. Countless acoustic guitar
“No Martin compilation would be
complete without across-the-pond
representation from legendary U.K.
guitarists Martin Carthy and Yes guitarist Steve Howe, plus Belgian guitar virtuoso Jacques Stotzem. Don McLean,
whose collection includes over 40
Martin guitars, contributes the perfect
closing track.”
All of the songs on this CD were
recorded on Martin instruments or signature models owned by the individual
artists, and many of the tracks were
written or recorded specially for the
compilation.
