C.F. MARTIN

C. F. Martin immigrated to New York City from Germany in the 1830’s. He was a luthier, made violins, lutes and ultimately guitars. His wife didn’t like New York so after a few years they relocated to Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Martin guitars are still made in Nazareth by another C.F. Martin, six generations removed. Visiting Allentown for the first time I didn’t realize how near we were to the Martin factory. My son suggested that I might be interested in touring Martin Guitars. He didn’t have to twist my arm.

Lots of history in Pennsylvania; everywhere you turn (you turn often) there are museums and namesake landmarks for famous people and events. The roads twist and turn, rise and fall along the same paths as game trails of past centuries, foot paths of indigenous people and two-tracks cut in the ground by wagon wheels. You never know what you will find around the next bend. Along a narrow street in a well kept, old neighborhood we turned right and there was the old, brick front factory with C.F. Martin painted in big white letters above the entrance. Inside, we signed up for the factory tour. In the hour that we had to wait, there was the guitar showroom where you can play guitars, a gift shop and of course a museum. 

Every company that makes good guitars has a museum. Business is business and they give complimentary guitars to the biggest stars; then use photographs of those stars, with their guitars, in advertising. But C.F. Martin is not just another guitar maker. It is the yardstick by which all other good guitars are measured. “Oh, you have this, or that; how does it stack up with a Martin D 28”? Anyway, the museum is loaded with memorabilia and guitars. Under a spotlight, behind glass, there is a life size photo of Johnny Cash with his Martin guitar. I don’t know why Johnny Cash rather than Elvis; maybe his musical legacy and celebrity are more current. In one case, the donors names read like an all star lineup. From left to right they were, Paul Simon, Neil Young, David Crosby, Steven Stills, Judy Collins and more. If Elvis is the king, then the royalty in his kingdom are equally wonderful and they all played Martin guitars. 

Guitars get expensive fast. Once you learn a few chords and start picking out melodies, you realize you need a better guitar. It’s no secret, the better the instrument, the easier to play, the better you sound. Martin quality and workmanship are as good as it gets. Inside the factory, the tour guide showed us the Custom Shop, where custom guitars are made. (Guitars that cost over $5,000 are considered “Custom”) He said that Eric Clapton had just ordered two guitars, exactly alike. That way if a string breaks in a concert, they can switch in the moment and continue without a hitch. For the cost of those two guitars you could buy a new Mercedes Benz and have money left over. They have a factory in Mexico now that makes guitars for the lower end, cheaper models. I have one of those; it’s a really small, backpacker model. It’s nice for sitting in front of the computer and feeling your way through music off the internet. My best guitar is a Taylor 412 CE Limited Edition. Taylor Guitars have their factory in California but their legacy doesn’t begin to go back like Martin does. But they make world class instruments and they have a museum too, with many of the same stars, with Taylor guitars. When other pickers hear my 412 they say, “Sweet; how does it stack up with a Martin?” If they play much they already know but I tell them, “It’s about the same as a D 28.”  I bought a tee-shirt in the gift shop. The tour guide gave everyone a token of the tour, the cut out disc from the sound hole that had the Martin logo burned into the spruce. We were the last in line and he gave me the leftovers, enough to make a set of coasters.