The Nation's Pulse
Martin and Me
The author’s 25-year obsession with Martin guitars.
I have always envied those who grew up in musical households, where instrumental ability was second nature, like slowing down when you spot a cop on the highway. If fine literature was in short supply in my boyhood home, musical instruments were even scarcer. I may have been the first in our family to have owned a stringed instrument, let alone learn to strum a few chords. I suspect this was because our family tree sprouted in hard German soil, and while the greatest classical composers may have been Krauts, you do not find many folks with Teutonic names on the country-western charts, and even fewer in my CD collection. (Paul Westerberg is probably the exception.)
My non-musical upbringing notwithstanding, I was, like many boys, attracted to the guitar, and in my youth I ran through a series of hundred dollar Silvertones and Washburns, none much better than rubber bands strapped across a shoebox. But all the while I knew exactly which ax I would grind if I ever saved up some real dough.
That day came about twenty years ago, when I purchased my first Martin. A Martin 15-Series Auditorium mahogany flat top acoustic, to be exact. I will never forget entering the little guitar shop on Main, wearing a look of haughty disdain as I strode past the Gibsons, Taylors and Guilds. “Just show me the Martins, my good man,” I told the clerk, who proceeded to ignore me for twenty minutes.
My obsession with Martins doubtless had something to do with a long ago visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. The Hall is like a musical candy store where one goes to gape at and drool over world’s most famous “starvation boxes,” which is what the old pickers in Nashville call guitars. What impressed me most was the fact that nearly all of the enshrined six-strings came from the same Lehigh Valley factory. There was Johnny Cash’s D-35S, Hank Williams’ D-28, and Jimmie Rodger’s 00-18. Sure, there was the occasional Buck Owens’ red, white, and blue custom-made Mosrite or Elvis Presley’s Gibson J-200N (the King rose to stardom playing Martin D-28s, and would return to them in his latter years), but the Gibsons et al. were most notable by their conspicuous absence.
Not all legendary guitars end up in museums. Jimmie Rodgers’ second wife, Carrie, lent the Blue Yodeler’s 000-45 to Ernest Tubb, who played it another 40 years before retiring it to the Jimmie Rodgers Museum in Meridian, Mississippi. And Neil Young, in the early 1970s, purchased one of Hank Williams’ D-28s from music shop owner Tut Taylor, which he plays to this day. Carrie Rodgers had the right idea, though. Unlike children, such guitars should be both heard and seen — preferably live and on stage.
Or, perhaps, my obsession has to do with the history of C.F. Martin & Co. How one of America’s oldest manufacturers (and the oldest surviving guitar maker in the world) has managed to remain in the same location and in the same family for six generations. Not to sound like a clunky cliché, but it is the story of America itself.
CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH MARTIN, SR. was born in 1793, in Markneukirchen, a city on the German-Austrian border. Called the musical instrument making capital of Germany, the city is known for its stringed instruments, and its violins in particular. The Martins were a family of cabinetmakers, who had begun dabbling in the burgeoning guitar-making trade, when 15-year-old Christian Friedrich was shipped off to Vienna to apprentice with renowned luthier Johann Stauffer. Back in Markneukirchen, Martin set up his first shop, where he coined the family motto: “Non Multa Sed Multum. Not many but great.” Soon, however, he became embroiled in a dispute with the violinmakers’ guild, which did not like the idea of cabinetmakers muscling in on their territory. At length, Martin got fed up with the bureaucracy and the stifling regulations the guild system placed on gifted and enterprising young craftsmen, and he and his wife Ottilie boarded the first ship bound for the New World.
The Martins settled on New York’s lower west side, but they could never get used to the big city, and they soon relocated some 80 miles west to rural Nazareth, Penn., which was, in many ways, reminiscent of Christian Friedrich’s native Saxony. One hundred and seventy-four years later, the Martin family is still making acoustic guitars in Nazareth, and the instrument has never sounded better.
That’s the story. An immigrant makes good after fleeing a creativity-stifling, over-regulated society. One wonders if America is still a place where gifted entrepreneurs can come to escape bureaucracy and regulation, and scope out a level playing field on which to flourish. Or is America’s story now one in which we drive prospective CF Martins away?
About the Author
Christopher Orlet writes from St. Louis.
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Galen| 1.28.10 @ 7:58AM
Since German s are the second lagest American ethnic group after Great Britain and Ireland, I dare say there is a lot of Dutch blood in Country and Western.
shaggydave| 2.1.10 @ 2:00AM
I'm not sure I would put the english and irish in the same ethnic group. You could put the welsh and scotch in with us but not so much the anglo/saxon/norman folk.
Dave | 1.28.10 @ 8:17AM
This Christopher Orlet column is kind of niche in content, story and family history, but for those among us who've owned and still own one of those wonderful Martin "stavation boxes" it was a fun journey.
I've had my Martin since my Aunt Beez bought one for me when I was a kid-of-a-boy back around 1954. I kind of got hooked on that cool looking music box from watching a western swing band program on local Los Angeles television back in the day, and of course when Jimmy Dodd occasionally played his full size 4 string baritone-uke on the original Mickey Mouse Club. I think his was a Martin, too.
After watching those shows and seeing how cool it would be to learn how to play one, my mom ... who was once a really good big band singer in the '40s, and could play a few chords on a full sized 6 string, decided to teach me a few basic ukelele chords on an small plastic Hawaiian uke we had in the house. She told me: "Davey, let's see if you can learn play this one. If you do, we'll see about getting you a big guitar."
In a couple of days, I easily picked up the "riff and feel" of fingering and strumming at the same time. Next, it was time to move up a bit. However this time, I decided to settle on a red plastic (but official) Mickey Mouse Club guitar (kind of a larger Hawaiian uke) made by Mattel Toy Company and designed after the one Jimmy Dodd played for the Mousekeeters.
A while later, I stumbled across an honest to goodness full sized-6 sting Martin that was stored in the side closet of my best friend's house. It was his mom's. With Mrs. Simmon's permission, I took it out, and started to finger the uke chords I'd just learned a few months back.
It didn't work so well. The Martin she had was a 6 sting and I was having trouble getting the fingering to work on that full size unit. Among other things, my hand was pretty small back then. I needed more lessons from Mom.
OK, this post is getting longer than I'd intended. Let me wrap it up my thanking Mom for teaching me those 6 chords she knew; kind of "cheater chords" I could use that would work with my small hand.
Thanks, Ma.
And a heartfelt thanks to my Aunt Beez for sending me an honest to God, full size Martin that I went on to use in folk groups, ballard groups and for over 50+ years, used it to write and create some pretty successful commercial jingles for my side business while I working in radio here in California. It was a great time.
And how's that ol' friend today? Well, as we speak, "Grandpa Martin" is resting safely and confortably in his case, in the bedroom just behind me.
That great, old nicked instrument is kind of like MasterCard to me: Priceless. And don't ask. It ain't for sale.
Thanks for the column, Chris.
Indiana Alex| 1.28.10 @ 9:17AM
I have many guitars, but when I really feel like playing music, I grab the Martin.
Northern Rebel| 1.28.10 @ 9:22AM
Martin acoustic guitars, are the stradivarius of acoustic guitars. There is nothing that compares to the beautiful harmonics, of a well made guitar, and Martin is the major leagues!
Stan| 1.28.10 @ 9:41AM
One day back in 1981, I ventured into a music store in Peoria, IL, intent on upgrading my blonde Epiphone six string accoustic. That guitar had served me well, but I had finally saved up enough money to buy a quality accoustic guitar.
I had picked a Gibson J series guitar off the wall and started playing it when a salesman came up and asked if I had ever played a Martin. I hadn't, and being a Gibson guy, I really hadn't even considered it. He handed me a D28. From the first strum, I fell in love with that guitar. I plunked down $1000, a fortune to me at the time, and took home what is still one of my prized possessions.
Mike Donahue| 1.28.10 @ 10:01AM
What a great article, just not long enough! I got my Martin (D-35) way back in 1970. I had graduated from college a few years earlier, and was teaching school. We'd just had our first child and money was very tight. I grew up in Lancaster County Pa, not real far from the Martin factory, and I had drooled over any Martin since I first started teaching myself the guitar at 14. Even back then a Martin D-35 cost more than $500, which was more than my monthly take home income! I kept stopping by the shop to lust and touch and play the instrument of my dreams until one day it was gone! I simply couldn't get it through my feeble brain that somebody could have actually bought the instrument of my dreams! After this disheartening discovery I stopped by my parents home to complain to them. The first thing I saw upon entering their house was the guitar. My dad, a man of modest means, felt that the guitar and his son were meant for each other. He's still with us at 90; as is my guitar, at 40 years of age. It still sounds great; even though my skills are diminishing. Hopefully, some day my grandson, now 4, will play it and appreciate it as much as I have.
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Binghamton Senators Face Three Foes on the Road This Week – Minor … | Binghamton Sena links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
David| 1.28.10 @ 10:57AM
Twenty years ago it is unlikely that one would enter a local music store and stride "past the Gibsons, Taylors and Guilds" as the author put it. Taylors didn't really begin to penetrate the overall market until the mid-nineties. We understand the intent, however, and appreciate the sentiment. Personally, I have always lusted after a Martin, any Martin, and have yet to acquire one. My thirty-four year old Vivi dreadnought is a rarity, though, and I would not trade it's gracefully aged patina and mature mellow tone for anything.
James Anderson| 1.28.10 @ 11:53AM
My Uncle still has a Martin D28 from the mid to late `40s. He wanted to sell it because of his age and his fingers just couldn`t do it anymore.
He did not know the value! I quickly web searched it a few years ago and told him not to, it`s value is about $5,000.00
dnha14| 1.28.10 @ 12:15PM
1940's? D-28? $5,000? Think higher.
Dumbest thing I ever did in may life was trade my 1956 D-28 for a pre-CBS Telecaster and a Guild acoustic. There are still bruises where I've been kicking myself for years.
Richard Meade| 1.28.10 @ 12:16PM
I bought my D-28 in the summer of '71 at Sam Ash in Hempstead, NY. $450, including a hard shell case.
Unfortunately, dire financial times forced me to part with it about five years later.
I just recently picked up an LX1 "Little Martin" for strumming around the house. It's 3/4 scale made in Mexico, but, pound for pound, it's still a Martin.
dnha14| 1.28.10 @ 12:18PM
P.S. A trip to the Martin factory is life changing.
Jim Hollis | 1.28.10 @ 12:47PM
I am a career musician of twenty-six years, and I currently own two wonderful Martin guitars; a DC-Aura and an OMC-Aura. Each retailed for around $3,700.00 I am a left-handed player, and Martin does not discriminate where lefties are concerned. Most of their models are available lefty, and there's no upcharge. Both my Martins are wonderfully crafted instruments with mastergrade spruce tops, and both sound magnificent in their own way. Each have pickups, as I play live; as an interactive performer, I cannot stand still long enough to use a condenser microphone!
There are many guitar manufacturers out there, building very good guitars; in fact some are beyond fabulous. Collings, Santa Cruz, Huss & Dalton, and James A. Olson. All of them sound great in their own way, but all of them are heavily influenced in both design and apperance by none other than Martin. Though I believe there could be better guitars out there than a Martin, nothing sounds quite like a really nice old D-28H. It's got boom, it's got shimmer and balance, and it looks really sweet. No matter what your personal preference, when you think of acoustic guitars, you're really thinking of a Martin!
Jim Hollis | 1.28.10 @ 12:48PM
I am a career musician of twenty-six years, and I currently own two wonderful Martin guitars; a DC-Aura and an OMC-Aura. Each retailed for around $3,700.00 I am a left-handed player, and Martin does not discriminate where lefties are concerned. Most of their models are available lefty, and there's no upcharge. Both my Martins are wonderfully crafted instruments with mastergrade spruce tops, and both sound magnificent in their own way. Each have pickups, as I play live; as an interactive performer, I cannot stand still long enough to use a condenser microphone!
There are many guitar manufacturers out there, building very good guitars; in fact some are beyond fabulous. Collings, Santa Cruz, Huss & Dalton, and James A. Olson. All of them sound great in their own way, but all of them are heavily influenced in both design and apperance by none other than Martin. Though I believe there could be better guitars out there than a Martin, nothing sounds quite like a really nice old D-28H. It's got boom, it's got shimmer and balance, and it looks really sweet. No matter what your personal preference, when you think of acoustic guitars, you're really thinking of a Martin!
Pingback| 1.28.10 @ 12:57PM
The American Spectator : Martin and Me | Drakz Free Online Service links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 1.28.10 @ 12:57PM
The American Spectator : Martin and Me | Drakz Free Online Service links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Dr. Dave| 1.28.10 @ 3:06PM
This is amusing. I, too, had my share of Silvertones and cheap Epiphones. 34 years ago, at the age of 19 I drove up to Elderly Instruments to buy a Martin. I played a lot of guitars and ended up buying a Guild D-40 because it sounded better and played better than the Martins. I still have it to this very day.
A couple years ago a guy at work brought in his Martin D-50...a mighty fine guitar. Very well built, deep solid bass notes, great action. I started to lust after a new "really expensive" guitar so I went to the local shop that has a climate controlled playing room for the high dollar guitars (i.e. Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild, etc.). I played every Martin they had. Then I tried the one and only Guild D-55 they had in stock (and behind a locked glass case). It was one of the last American made Guilds (made in Rhode Island). Fender bought Guild and shipped the manufacture of their high end instruments overseas. This Guild blew every Martin out of the water! It was the sweetest sounding and playing guitar I have ever touched. Sadly...I didn't buy it. I couldn't justify dropping $2,800 on a guitar I knew I wouldn't play every day like I did when I was a kid.
Martins are sweet. But they're more name than substance.
Thomas Donley| 1.28.10 @ 4:00PM
Kudos to Mr. Orlet, for I have been waiting most of my adult life (56 years) to see an article in a political publication which refers to C. F. Martin & Company.
As with Mr. Orlet and all other musicians who own one, I, too, treasure my old Martin guitar. It is an instrument of exceptional quality and vibrant, heart-rending tone. That it continues to appreciate in value beyond what I initially paid is a testament to it's durability as well. What makes it truely special, though, is that, to me, it represents the very embodiment of all which America once stood for.
C. F. Martin & Company, which was established in 1833, is one of America's oldest family-owned businesses. They have survived family tragedies, a civil war, two world wars, a Great Depression, innumerable economic downturns, incessant competition and ever-increasing taxation to boot, all without sacrificing a level of quality which still today sets the industry's standards. This family is truely the personificaion of the American Dream, and a perfect example of what entrepreneurial individuals can attain if left alone by government to pursue their hopes and dreams. Mr. Orlet "wonders if America is still a place where gifted entrepreneurs can come to escape bureaucracy and regulation, and scope out a level playing field on which to flourish". Perhaps it still is. However, it won't be much longer unless President Obama & the big-government collectivists (on both sides of the isle) in Congress who stand philosophically opposed to entrepreneurial, free-market concepts are sent packing. If only the fiscal affairs of our government were managed with the same degree of intelligence and wisdom that has guided C. F. Martin & Company to fiscal responsibility for the last one hundred and seventy-four years.
ric822| 1.28.10 @ 7:53PM
I had a long and wonderful relationship with Martin. It ended one day when I fell in love with Taylor.
Bill Gates| 1.28.10 @ 11:11PM
I have few guitars, but when I really feel like playing music, I do it with Martin.
That great, old nicked instrument is kind of like a Gem to me: Priceless. And don't ask. Its not for sale. colon cleansing constipation remedies
Pingback| 1.28.10 @ 11:53PM
TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League Job Board | Home | Binghamton Senators AHL An links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Kent Rebman| 1.29.10 @ 3:08PM
This story may be a bit long but since someone mentioned the factory tour, thought I'd throw it in. I own two Martins (DX, DCX1E), a Breedlove, an Ovation, a Fender Resonator and a Strat (yeah, you gotta have one electric, what the heck) but I'm partial to the Martins and being an anarcho-capitalist at heart, the family business history interests me as well. I went to the inaugural owner's club meeting in Nazareth in 2006 and the factory tour was absolutely fascinating.
As we went along one thing that jumped out at me was that at each step of the creation of the instrument, imperfection was ruthlessly cast aside. It was truly quite impressive. Also of interest was how intelligently automation had been implemented, being used where it could relieve people of dull, repetitive donkey work so they could do more rewarding parts of the process.
Eventually we arrived at the last stop, where the instruments were strung, tested, put away for a week, and brought out for another playing before shipping. It was at the point that two humorous moments occurred.
A fellow in about his mid-40s in my tour group said to a 20-something working there in the department-- 'Let me get this straight-- you set up guitars and play them all day and they pay you?' Yes, that's about right was the reply. Wonderingly his inquisitor asked, 'How the heck do you get this job?!?' And the fellow replied quite seriously, "Well, I just wandered in off the street and applied for a job and this is where they put me."
A moment or two later someone asked, 'What do you do with the defective ones?' Now this brought the fellow in the final test department up completely short and to be honest, I thought it was a dumb question. The chances of a defective instrument having made it that far were infinitesimal; it would have had to have escaped so many checks and so much scrutiny, it seemed impossible. The fellow there in the test department had a blank look on his face for about 2 seconds, then smiled and said, "We slap a Gibson label on 'em and ship 'em out!"
Richard Baker| 1.29.10 @ 3:30PM
Have a friend in Roanoke, Virginia who gets dreamy-eyed when he speaks of his Martin. Amazing loyalty for these instruments. His has an amazing sound. You do get what you pay for, I guess.
Pingback| 1.29.10 @ 3:52PM
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XCon| 1.31.10 @ 8:43AM
I had custody of a Martin back in the 70s when first I learned to play. My guess is that my much-older sibling, who was in engineering school at the time, wanted to keep it at a safe distance from that sibling's meth needs at the time. The Martin's tone quality was so superior to my cheap electric starter guitar, and the neck was so delightful. Even though I am almost entirely an electric player, the few years I had that guitar taught me lessons about quality and strategies of asset preservation.
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