C. F. Martin & Company

C.F. Martin & Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Musical instruments
Founded	1833 (1833)
Founder	Christian Frederick Martin
Headquarters	Nazareth, Pennsylvania , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, tiples, electric guitars, basses, guitar strings
Number of employees	600 (2007)
Website	www.martinguitar.com

C.F. Martin & Company, widely recognized as Martin, is a prominent American manufacturer of guitars established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin. Initially situated in New York City, the firm moved its base to Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1839, where it continues to operate today. Martin is renowned for producing steel-string acoustic guitars and ukuleles, and historically, its offerings included mandolins, tiples, electric guitars, and bass instruments.

The original manufacturing site on North Street in Nazareth, currently housing Guitar Maker's Connection, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The present-day headquarters on Sycamore Street features the Martin Guitar Museum, which displays more than 170 instruments and illustrates the company’s impact and heritage in the market. Visitors can participate in factory tours and enjoy retail services at this location.

Martin’s operational approach prioritizes exceptional craftsmanship, with a daily production rate of roughly 193 guitars. The company also maintains a production facility in Navojoa, Mexico, where it manufactures both guitars and strings to support international distribution. Esteemed musicians such as Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and John Mayer have favored Martin guitars, highlighting the brand’s strong industry standing and competitive edge.

Founding

Christian Frederick Martin, born in 1796 in Markneukirchen, Germany, descended from a lineage of skilled cabinet makers and wood artisans, including his father Johann Georg Martin, who crafted guitars. At age 15, he began an apprenticeship with the celebrated Viennese guitar maker Johann Georg Stauffer. After completing his training, Martin returned home to establish his own workshop but encountered guild-imposed restrictions that limited guitar production.

During early 19th-century Europe, guilds strictly regulated trades; while the Cabinet Makers' Guild produced guitars, the Violin Makers' Guild asserted exclusive rights over musical instruments and frequently challenged cabinet makers’ rights to manufacture guitars. Although cabinet makers successfully defended their position on several occasions, Martin found these limitations stifling and chose to relocate to New York City in 1833 to pursue his craft without such constraints.

This relocation was a pivotal decision that enabled the company’s expansion and innovation in guitar making, setting up its headquarters in the United States and marking an essential milestone for its global influence within the musical instrument sector.

19th century

In 1838, the company shifted its headquarters to Nazareth, Pennsylvania located in the Lehigh Valley region—a site that remains its base today.

The firm is credited with pioneering the X bracing system during the 1850s; although C. F. Martin did not secure a patent for this design. At that time, several German immigrant luthiers employed X bracing techniques; however, Martin was the first to implement it extensively. While fan bracing became prevalent across Europe from the 1860s onward, Martin and other American manufacturers such as Washburn Guitars preferred X-bracing due to its superior compatibility with steel-string guitars that gained popularity in the early 20th century. Additionally, Martin introduced the dovetail neck joint—borrowed from cabinet-making practices—which improved sound transmission.

As demand for louder instruments increased during the early 1900s, metal strings gradually replaced traditional catgut ones. By 1921, Martin had shifted its focus predominantly to steel-string guitar production.

The company broadened its product range by adding mandolins in the late 1890s and later incorporating ukuleles during the 1920s, thereby enhancing its market share and supporting continued business expansion.

20th century

By 1928, Martin was manufacturing more than 5,000 instruments each year, with the ukulele serving as a major profit driver throughout the 1920s. The company remained family-owned and employed a modest group of skilled artisans dedicated to crafting instruments by hand. By the early 1960s, demand had grown so significantly that waiting lists extended up to three years. In response, Martin inaugurated a new factory in 1964, which continues to function as their main production site.

Martin upheld a policy of avoiding endorsement agreements but provided professional musicians with a 20% discount and offered personalized instruments featuring custom name inlays.

The onset of the 1929 Great Depression drastically reduced sales, leading Martin to introduce two significant innovations. One innovation was the 14-fret neck design, which facilitated easier access to higher frets. Unlike most guitars at the time that joined the neck at the 12th fret, this design was aimed at plectrum banjo players transitioning to guitar for broader employment options. This adjustment was made following requests from tenor players such as Al Esposito, who managed the Carl Fischer store in New York City. The "Carl Fischer Model" tenor guitars were subsequently renamed 0-18T. To accommodate the extended neck, Martin modified its 0-size guitar body—the first alteration to their original body shapes.

Perry Bechtel, an Atlanta-based banjo player and guitar instructor, requested a guitar featuring a neck-to-body joint at the 15th fret. Martin responded by adapting their 12-fret 000-size guitar, lowering the waist and sharpening the upper bout curves so that the neck joint aligned with the 14th fret rather than the 12th. Intended for pick playing and as a banjo substitute in jazz bands, this first 14-fret, 000-shaped guitar was named the Orchestra Model (OM). By the mid to late 1930s, Martin applied this designation to all their 14-fret instruments.

Original Martin OMs produced between approximately 1929 and 1931 are rare and highly valued by collectors. The OM—characterized by a modified 14-fret 000 body shape, a long scale length (25.4"), a solid headstock, a nut width of 1-3/4", and specific string spacing—is widely regarded as one of the most adaptable steel-string acoustic guitar designs. Many modern manufacturers model their guitars after the OM pattern.

The widespread acceptance of the modified body shape combined with the longer neck led Martin to establish the 14-fret neck as standard on nearly all their guitars; this approach soon became common throughout the industry. Classical guitars, however, retained their traditional design featuring a neck joint at the 12th fret.

Dreadnought

Between 1915 and 1930, Martin introduced its second major innovation: the dreadnought guitar. Developed in 1916 in collaboration with retailer Oliver Ditson Co., this guitar featured a larger and deeper body inspired by the HMS Dreadnought battleship—symbolizing strength and volume. It was designed to improve bass response and overall loudness for accompaniment purposes in an era when sound amplification was limited. Early fan-braced dreadnought models were met with poor reception.

Martin reintroduced the dreadnought in 1931 with X-bracing and further refined it by modifying the body to accommodate a 14-fret neck by 1933. This model rapidly became Martin’s top-selling guitar and established a benchmark within the industry. The dreadnought size has since become iconic across various musical styles.

Archtop

In the 1930s, Martin ventured into producing archtop guitars that differed from competitors by attaching the fingerboard directly to the top and using flat rosewood shaped into an arch for backs and sides. These models failed to achieve commercial success and were discontinued after several years. However, modifications of Martin F-7 archtops during the 1960s inspired the creation of "M"-sized (0000) guitars; original M-36 and M-38 models were manufactured in the 1970s, with production of the M-36 model later resuming.

Throughout this era, Martin also continued manufacturing ukuleles, tiples, and mandolins.

1960s

During the late 1960s, Martin briefly ventured into producing hollow-body electric guitars reminiscent of Gretsch’s style, including models like the GT-70 and GT-75, each with a production run of roughly 700 units. Although these guitars featured components such as DeArmond pickups and Kluson tuners, they did not achieve significant commercial success, prompting Martin to concentrate solely on acoustic instruments afterward. Additionally, the company reintroduced the legendary D-45 model in 1968.

Collectors highly value prewar Martin guitars from this period due to their use of scalloped bracing and Adirondack red spruce tops, which deliver enhanced resonance compared to postwar versions that employed tapered bracing and Sitka spruce. Following 1969, trade restrictions led to a shift from Brazilian rosewood to Indian rosewood for guitar components. Vintage D-28 and D-35 guitars crafted with Brazilian rosewood now command prices between $50,000 and $60,000, whereas later models featuring Indian rosewood typically sell for less than $2,500.

Stinger Guitars

Between 1985 and 1996, Martin produced the Stinger series of solid body electric guitars and basses, inspired by Fender designs and manufactured in South Korea. These instruments were sent to Martin’s factory for quality inspection and final adjustments before being released to the market.

Martin established its "Custom Shop" division in 1979. The company celebrated building its 500,000th guitar in 1990 and reached the milestone of one million guitars in 2004—a meticulously handcrafted instrument adorned with over 40 rubies and diamonds, valued at around $1 million. By 2007, Martin employed approximately 600 individuals.

21st century

In October 2009, the Martin D-28 that Elvis Presley played during his last concert was sold at auction for $106,200.

To address the mid-range guitar segment, Martin introduced laminated wood models starting with the D1 series in 1993, which featured laminated sides combined with solid backs. Subsequently, the more budget-friendly DX series incorporated high-pressure laminates (HPL) alongside laminated "durabond" necks. These models were produced at Martin’s facility in Mexico while maintaining quality standards.

At the NAMM Show in January 2018, Martin debuted the D-45 John Mayer signature edition, broadening its lineup of premium instruments. That same year, guitarist Greg Koch was appointed as a brand ambassador to promote Martin guitars through educational clinics.

Reflecting its commitment to social causes, Roger Waters contributed his black Martin guitar from the Us + Them Tour to support Kurdish singer Nûdem Durak, who was imprisoned.

On June 21, 2020, Kurt Cobain’s customized 1959 Martin D-18 E used during Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance sold for a record-breaking $6.01 million. Shortly thereafter, on August 1, 2020, an Elvis Presley-owned D-18 fetched $1.32 million—the highest price ever recorded for an unmodified acoustic guitar.

The company continues as a family enterprise; executive chairman C.F. 'Chris' Martin IV is a direct descendant—great-great-great-grandson—of the founder. Martin pioneered influential innovations such as the Dreadnought body shape and scalloped bracing systems that have defined modern steel-string acoustics. In June 2021, C.F. Martin IV stepped down as CEO but remains Executive Chairman. Thomas Ripsam was appointed as the first CEO from outside the family, signaling a significant shift in leadership structure.

See also

• List of music museums

Bibliography

• Acoustic Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, Chartwell Books, New York, 2011, pp. 196–221, ISBN 978-0-7858-3571-4
• Denyer, Ralph; Guillory, Isaac; Crawford, Alastair M., The Guitar Handbook, Knopf, New York, 1982, pp. 36–45, ISBN 0-394-71257-9
• Denyer, Ralph et al., The Guitar Handbook, Pan Books, London and Sydney, 1992 (Fully revised), pp. 44–45, ISBN 0-330-32750-X
• Gura, Philip F., C.F. Martin and His Guitars, 1796–1973, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2003, ISBN 0-8078-2801-7
• Washburn, Jim; Johnston, Richard; Stills, Stephen, Martin Guitars: An Illustrated Celebration of America's Premier Guitarmaker, Reader's Digest, Pleasantville, NY, 2002, ISBN 0-7621-0427-9
• Wilson, Carey. "Profiles in Quality with Vince Gentilcore," Quality Digest, November 2007, pp. 56–58

External links

• Car Talk Martin Guitar by Dick Boak, Director of Artist and Limited Editions
• Early history of C.F. Martin & Company
• Michael Lorenz: "Stauffer Miscellanea", Vienna 2014
• Chris F. Martin Interview, NAMM Oral History Program (2007)
• Dick Boak Interview, NAMM Oral History Library (2005)
• Chris Thomas Interview, NAMM Oral History Library (2013)
• Amani Duncan Interview, NAMM Oral History Library (2013)
• Fred Greene Interview, NAMM Oral History Library (2013)