The C.F. Martin story
Martin acoustic guitars have been manufactured in the USA for over 180 years. A high standard of quality and the sensational unparalleled Martin sound has driven the success story since 1833.
This story begins in 1796 with the birth of Christian Friedrich Martin Senior in Mark-Neukirchen Germany. He decided to apprentice with his father Johann Georg Martin as a carpenter and instrument maker. At the age of 15 he received an apprenticeship with Johann Georg Stauffer, one of the most important guitar workshops in Europe. Through his sensational work, Christian Friedrich Martin made it to his foreman. After 14 years he left Stauffer and took a job as a harp maker with Karl Kuhle. The impulse did not come from love for the harp, but from love for the daughter of the harp maker Kuhle. As life plays, he had fallen in love with Ottilie Lucia Kuhle and as a result married her. In the same year C.F. Martin Jr. was born. Marrying and starting a family, he went back to his home in Mark-Neukirchen. Here he established his own business. Due to the developments of the guild of violin makers, who claimed the carpenters were building guitars without permission, as they were not members of the guild of violin makers... There was a complaint to the Saxon king and thus trouble!
In 1833 Christian Friedrich Martin went to New York with his family and founded his music business in the same year. The business focused on wholesale, import and resale of guitars, as well as wind and string instruments, accessories and sheet music. In addition to sales, he also repaired violins, guitars and other wooden instruments. After a short time Christian Friedrich Martin Sr. started manufacturing his own guitars. He built instruments in a wide price range, where the highest quality guitars were very similar to the Stauffer models. He built guitars for at least three different projects.
In 1839 he sold his store in New York and moved to Cherry Hill, a hamlet near Nazareth, Pennsylvania. A showroom remained in New York. Production of his own guitars continued to be focused. In the 1840's and 50's C.F. Martin discarded most of the Austro-German characteristics of his instruments and slowly the instrument that would soon be recognized as the American guitar emerged.
The development of the acoustic guitar continued to progress. An important milestone was the X-Bracing pattern, which gave larger guitar designs a high degree of stability with sensational vibration characteristics. This modification became important about 70 years later when Martin started to use steel sides.
In the late 1850s, Martin Guitars moved to new premises in Nazareth. It was a residential building with an attached workshop. Years passed and C.F. Sr. Martin took his son C.F. Martin Junior and C.F. Hartmann into the management. The label was imprinted with C.F. Martin & Co. of New York. Distribution was still handled through New York.
In 1873 C.F. Martin Senior died at the age of 77, C.F. Martin Junior died 15 years later in 1888 and passed the company on to the 3rd generation. The 22 year old Frank Henry Martin added Italian-Style (bowl-back) mandolins to the production in 1895. In addition, he broke away from New York distribution and printed the first Martin Guitars catalog in 1898. The label of Martin acoustic guitars was changed to ,C.F. Martin & Co, Nazareth, Pa. In 1898, C. F. Martin the III was born.
All acoustic guitars from Martin
A Martin acoustic guitar is not just a guitar. It is playable history!
Set in the specialist workshop
All Martin guitars are fully adjusted in our workshop before safe shipment. The neck curvature is adjusted, the nut notches and bridge inlay are adjusted. We pay attention to a very good playability of the instruments. We are happy to take your preferences into account when adjusting your Martin acoustic guitar. For this you can contact us after your order.
Interesting facts about Martin Guitars
Martin 15, 16, 17 Series
The Martin 15 Series is the most affordable Martin acoustic guitar made in Natareth, Pennsylvania. The body of the 15 Series was made from a traditional solid wood construction with a matte finish. The beautiful dark mahogany immediately evokes a fantastic vintage character, which is topped off by the butterbean tuners, single ring on the soundhole and Diamond inlays in the fingerboard. The Martin 15 series is also not to be missed in terms of sound. The sound is mid-range with a decent amount of punch, which is great for fingerpickers or solo players. The 15 Series Vintage is based on classic designs. Available are the Dreadnought, 000, 00 and the 000 as a 12th fret guitar.
In addition, the Martin 15 Series is also offered as a Streetmaster variant. The Streetmaster models have been given a special finish. The finish was made a little darker and lightened in the relevant known places. Thus, the Martin Streetmaster series was given a used image. It gives the playing feel of a well-rehearsed instrument and the playability of a brand new guitar.
The Martin 15 series acoustic guitars come with a Martin case. The Martin 15s Streetmaster guitars come with a Martin soft case.
Martin Standard Series
The Martin Standard Series acoustic guitars created the template of the American Flattop guitars. The Standard Series models embody nearly two centuries of craftsmanship and innovation in guitar making. In the Martin Standard Series you will find the legendary Martin classics from the Martin D-18 to the D-45 the flagship of the Standard Series.
The Martin Standard Series classics are made in Nazareth Pennsylvania. The body is made from solid tonewoods, the top construction is X-bracing, and the neck attachment is a traditional dovetail neck joint. The construction method draws on soon-to-be centuries of experience.
The Martin 18 models were equipped with a solid mahogany body combined with a solid Sitka spruce top. The sound characteristics amount to a fantastic response and a powerful loud sound. The 18s models are suitable for strumming as well as fingerpicking. The look of the 18 models is very simple and focused on the essential, a sensational sound. The spruce top is treated with an aging toner and fits great to the vintage style of the 18 Series. An ebony fingerboard and open tuners complete the picture.
The 28 models of Martin Standard Series guitars were made with a solid rosewood body combined with a solid Sitka spruce top. The latest generation of 28 Series instruments combine a modern feel with the classic details of a legend. The combination of a spruce top with a rosewood body is considered the most popular wood combination in guitar making. The deep bass and strong harmonics create a fantastic soundstage that feels at home in many genres of music. One of the most famous Martin guitars is the Martin D-28 and HD-28, which was first introduced in 1931. It is a legendary instrument for strumming, picking, rock, bluegrass and many kinds of music. The D-28 was popular not only with Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan, Brad Paisley but with many artists. The Martin HD-28 is based on the earlier D-28 (pre-1946) with scalloped X-bracing and herringbone binding. Today's D-28 is equipped with a non Scalloped X-Bracing and a Black-Multi-Stripe Binding.
The Martin D-35 and HD-35 dreadnought acoustic guitars inspire with a 3-piece back, which was made of East Indian - rosewood. The difference of the HD to the D is Scalloped HD and non Scalloped on the D-35. Visually it is the difference between Herringbone Binding HD and...
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