Martin Guitar factory tour

[Mark Yundt]

Oh yes, don't let the high tech fool anyone. Further into the tour it's nothing but hands on work.
Since I'm on the "Martin " theme here is a link you may enjoy that is totally hands on work.
Willard Martin ( not related to the Martin guitar family) is quite well known for his custom harpsichords and lives nearly next door to me in Bethlehem, Pa. At one time I made strings ( like I said, all hand made ) for his instruments. He builds everything from the cases, to the soundboards, keys,,, well,, everything by hand. Beautiful stuff and a very interesting and smart guy. Check out the link.

The closest I've come to building an instrument is a Hammered Dulcimer. But this guys stuff is mind boggling.

https://www.google.com/search?q=willard+martin+harpsichord&client=firefox-a&hs=sUL&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=P_CUUbb qEpHC9QTr84GIAw&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=1161&bih=620

[brian c miller]

You probally saw my guitar there... it was in the repair shop recently (about 6 month turn around time).

It is pretty amazing, there is a lot of work that gets done on CNC's both all the critical work seems to be done by hand still. One of the guys show me the sharpening stations on the tour (Tormek and water stones).

[Mark Yundt]

Was yours the one the guy was holding that looked like it was left out in the rain and shrank?

I saw a number of whet stones and watched one woman sharpen up her chisel to carve the support ribs. Gotta' say, she got it sharp! Sliced like the wood was butter.

[Bruce Page]

Great post Mark. Thanks for posting it!

[george wilson]

Martin makes fine guitars,but I have to say that some of that fancy inlay is just tasteless. Not in the amount applied,but in the designs and themes. Learning how to do inlay is one thing,but,as in most things,knowing what to inlay is the hard part.

Never the less,an interesting post. Thank you for putting it up. Back in the 60's I was a factory authorized Gibson repair man. Meaning that if a Gibson in my area needed repairing,they'd send it to me instead of sending it all the way to Kalamazoo(which its where Gibson was located until relatively recent years,when they moved to Nashville. At first that was a disaster.)

[Mark Yundt]

Like anything, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Then too after I would build my one millionth guitar, or be in business for 180 yrs. I might tend to throw caution to the wind. Also , as it is in my own business, if a customer wants something done and is willing to pay for it and has a design in mind who am I to say no to their request. I generally don't say no simply because it isn't my taste. I have a lot of work out there that wouldn't be in my home,, but the customers are in love with it.

[David Weaver]

I agree with george. I grew up wanting to get a martin guitar like nothing else. When I got out of college, I did get a brand new D-28, and the store near me had an HD-28V. It took little time for me to realize that I had made a mistake selling off a US made washburn (that was probably made by Tacoma) that was a lot stronger and cost about half as much. My D-28 was kind of dead sounding and very mass produced in feel (there wasn't anything "bad" about it, there just wasn't anything good either), the HD-28V at the shop down the street was dead compared to the washburn, too.

That said, they're an icon. Watch any bluegrass, and you'll find a vintage martin (Lester Flatt, just to start). Clapton - martin. Jimmy Page early on - martin. I understand the need to put lavish inlay on the guitars, but I have the same thought about them as George. Martin gets (asks) more for their custom touches than anyone else I've seen, except maybe gibson.

A local shop here mentioned that it's a shame that most of his finest instruments go to people who will never learn to play anything harder than cripple creek, because they're finance professionals, doctors, etc. When I asked him what he did before he opened up a music shop......he said ...."finance professional". Gotta sell to the people who have money, and the earlier on they are in the process (before they have a chance to get their fingers on too many vintage instruments) the better.

[Mark Yundt]

Pretty much my point. I sell to the people with the cash. Who doesn't? It's pretty hard to make a living trying to sell to people who can't afford it.

[David Weaver]

Pretty much my point. I sell to the people with the cash. Who doesn't? It's pretty hard to make a living trying to sell to people who can't afford it.

Yeah, I don't slight them one bit for that. The same shop that I mentioned having the HD-28V was always trying to please the enthusiasts, offering deals, buying back guitars on trade for what people paid for them from him. He went out of business (as have a lot of small guitar makers who made superb guitars for peanuts, but who had no branding and who killed their business trying to offer what they thought they'd have wanted for a price they'd have wanted to pay - instead of one that kept their doors open).