The C. F. Martin Guitar Company Factory Tour and Museum, Nazareth, PA

This quote is stenciled on the wall at the entrance to the museum

What do the songs "Julia" and "Blackbird" from The Beatles' White Album have in common with Eric Clapton's famous, 1992, unplugged concert on MTV? The answer: John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Clapton each played a C. F. Martin acoustic guitar during those performances.

Considered by musicians around the world as being among the finest musical instruments of their kind it seems like every famous axeman owns at least one Martin. Among them are Judy Collins, Tom Paxton, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Amanda Shires, The Avett Brothers, John Mayer, Muddy Waters, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hank Williams, Sting, Elvis Presley, Neil Young and the recently departed David Crosby.

The business began in 1833 in New York City. Because German immigrant and company founder Christian Frederick Martin and his family were not happy living there he moved the whole operation to Nazareth, PA in 1838. Six generations later the company is still owned by the family and is the oldest, continuous maker of stringed instruments in the world. Currently, C. F. "Chris" Martin IV, the great-great-great grandson of the company's founder is the firm's executive chairman and majority owner even though in 2021 someone outside the family was hired as CEO for the first time in history.

There are around 500 workers employed at the Nazareth headquarters and another 450 at a second factory in Mexico.

I live just a little over an hour away from Nazareth. It's located in eastern Pennsylvania, about a half hour north of the city of Bethlehem and close to the Pocono Mountains.

My wife and I each paid the affordable $5 fee for a one hour tour. Then, we visited the free museum and finally the gift shop where you can easily spend way more than the cost of admission. Tickets must be reserved online prior to your arrival and are subject to availability. Tours are offered weekdays, six times per day, from 10 am – 2 pm and are limited to eight visitors per tour. Flash photography isn't allowed, but visitors may take pictures.

While there, you'll find the place looks very much like a typical American manufacturing plant. Martin has no assembly line even though workers use a lot of machinery and modern technology to construct these high quality instruments. The painstaking process each guitar goes through means it can take up to three months to make one.


One of the stages of construction is shown here. To shape the side of a guitar properly water is applied to make its thin wood very soft and pliable. It's then placed on this device to mold the sides. No machines are used to speed up the drying process because it might damage the wood.

The quality of Martin's guitars are of paramount importance. There are no factory seconds so don't expect to buy your dream guitar at a discount. If an instrument isn't constructed perfectly according to plan they'll salvage any reusable parts and then destroy it. Our tour guide said that some flaws may not be readily apparent to untrained eyes and ears, but that doesn't matter to quality control.


Martin's complete history is told in the small museum that is loaded with memorabilia and guitars that were formerly owned by famous musicians. Also on display are a few Martin special editions - such as this one millionth guitar they made - and examples of banjos, mandolins and ukuleles they also made.

In addition to the tour and museum you'll also see a wall displaying many of the models Martin currently offers for sale. Visitors are allowed to take them down from the wall and play them if they wish. If you don't find one that suits your fancy you can also create your own, personally designed model. Please be advised that if you choose this last option you may have to sell your kids to pay for it.


Above is only the second completely plastic free guitar on the market today. Martin's OM Biosphere is constructed to show support for preserving and replenishing our oceans' great coral reefs. It's 100% FSC® certified. The artwork is by Robert Goetzl. It can be yours for $2,299.

Finally, be sure to check out this twenty minute interview with Chairman Chris Martin.

All photos were taken by Karin Ricci

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