BY THE
NUMBERS
245
(guitars built in 1873)
14,000
(ukuleles built in 1926)
75,000
(average number of guitars built per
year over the last four years)
16. 28
(average wholesale price of a Martin
instrument in 1907)
50,000
(price of Custom #1133224, part of
this year’s 1833 Custom Models)
100
(price of a D- 28 in 1932)
90,000
(value of that same D- 28, in excellent
condition, today*)
1959
(year of Martin’s first electric)
5
(number of attempts Martin made to
“go electric”)
*according to the Blue Book of
Acoustic Guitars, 10th Edition
For more information on Martin’s history, check out Martin Guitars: An
Illustrated Celebration of America’s
Premier Guitarmaker, by Jim
Washburn and Richard Johnson.
companies have emerged since then to join
in our quest to fill the world with music, but
Martin set a precedent 175 years ago and has
continued to nurture it with the same devotion that our founding father did.
Obviously, there is great pride in being a
family company – does this have something
to do with Martin’s staying power?
Absolutely. There is an undeniable pride in
the hearts of our coworkers. Their CEO and
sixth generation family heir, Chris Martin,
is not just a name on the headstock, but a
close and trusted friend who has continued
the tradition of treating us like an extended
family. This internal feeling of “ownership” by
the employees, along with our commitment
to quality, is the backbone of our continued
success.
Because of the company’s history, Martin
has a unique view of acoustic trends. What
have you seen happening lately?
It seems that at least one acoustic guitar is an
essential part of every musician’s arsenal, even
if their main instrument is something other
than guitar. We also feel that more people are
learning guitar; free online guitar sites and
unlimited resources make it easier than ever.
In terms of the guitars themselves, the
Dreadnought and Auditorium sizes are still
extremely popular, but we have seen an
increased interest in the 00 size – both 12 and
14 fret – in recent years.
Let’s talk about the anniversary guitars.
The 1833 Custom Models have some very
exotic and figured wood. How were these
developed?
A small group of experienced co-workers
got together and selected the most dramatic
wood species we had available, and combined aesthetics to create outstanding guitars.
Is there a special stock of wood for runs
like these?
We have a limited amount of exotic specialty
woods we chose for these models, but there
are still enough sets available for special
orders from authorized dealers or consumers.
