Martin Guitars

C. F. Martin & Company, the company known for the manufacture of Martin guitars, has been making acoustic guitars for just less than two hundred years. In 1833, Christian Frederick Martin formed the company in New York City, shortly after his immigration from Vienna, Austria. Martin had been involved in the production of acoustic guitars in Austria, but competition between guilds of craftsmen there was one of the major reasons behind his move to the United States.

Martin developed the X bracing system in the 1840s and 1850s, and this innovation is generally viewed as one of the most significant contributions of this company to the manufacture of acoustic guitars. The X bracing system, which involves struts of wood glued to the back side of the top of an acoustic guitar, helps the guitar to maintain its structural integrity over a longer period of time than the lifespan of an unbraced guitar. The wooden struts are all hand carved, even to the present day, as machines cannot reproduce the shaping necessary to give these acoustic guitars high quality resonance and sound. Other guitar makers adopted the X bracing system for their acoustic guitars, and it is still considered the best bracing pattern for guitar tops.

During the Great Depression, when guitar sales waned severely, Martin introduced two additional innovations in an effort to increase their sales. The first of these, which was initially released in 1916 to poor popular reception, was the Dreadnought guitar. The large body of this guitar gave it a greater volume and more of a bass sound. Although not popular initially, the Dreadnought, which was originally a collaboration between Martin and the Chas. H. Ditson Co., achieved greater popularity as folk music became a more prevalent style. When Martin made the Dreadnought a part of their line of guitars, in 1931, sales of this guitar skyrocketed. The second innovation was a 14-fret neck, as opposed to earlier guitars having only 12 frets. In the case of both of these developments, as previously, other acoustic guitar manufacturers followed suit, and both developments became industry standards.

The popularity of Martin guitars is partially evidenced by the fact that in the early 1960s, the backlog of orders for Martin guitars was great enough that customers had to wait up to three years for their guitar to be completed. Today Martin uses manufacturing plants to produce their parts, but prior to 1964, nearly all Martin guitars were made entirely by hand. Also in the 1960s, Martin experimented with hollow body electric guitars, but these never received the popular reception afforded to their acoustic models. Even with the many years of hand-crafted acoustic guitars, C. F. Martin & Company made their millionth guitar in 2004. The company is still owned and run by the descendants of Christian Martin, with his great-great-great-grandson currently at the helm.

Although today Martin offers over one hundred eighty different guitars, none of their models have quite the same name recognition as that afforded to electric guitars manufactured by other companies. Part of this is probably a result of the standard Martin model numbering system, as opposed to the naming of individual models. It is considerably easier for people to remember a catchy name than a series of numbers, though dedicated guitarists will be able to tell others what sort of Martin they play. Despite this fact, Martin is still the best brand name in acoustic guitars, even if their model names are less memorable.

Martin has offered special models in the past, some of which are only offered for a limited time. Other models have been produced in limited numbers initially, but later adapted to become signature series models. Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, and Merle Haggard are among just a few of the artists who have been involved with the production of Martin signature series acoustic guitars. They also feature a Joan Baez signature guitar as a part of their "Women in Music" series, launched in 2005. The company also produces a large number of limited edition guitars. For some of their limited edition guitars, only a single guitar is produced in that style; their largest production runs for limited edition guitars have never exceeded one thousand guitars.

Although guitar manufacturers such as Fender or Gibson are more commonly known, experienced acoustic guitarists will recognize the name Martin, and understand, at least in part, some of what this company has done for the history of the acoustic guitar. Since the manufacture of the first Martin guitars in 1833, the company has developed a significant reputation for quality craftsmanship and great attention to detail. These qualities translate into unparalleled acoustic guitars which both sound and look beautiful.