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

Comments

Post a Comment

WHAT'S HOT TODAY!

Slower Than Slow: 16 RPM Records

Image
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequent
Read more

Why Do 45 RPM Records Have Big Holes?

Image
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi
Read more

Primrose Hill, James McCartney's New Single, Was Written With Sean Lennon

Image
I didn't plan to post anything about  James McCartney 's new single and video, "Primrose Hill" because so many blogs and websites have written about it already, and I really don't have anything new to add. That said, I'm too big of a Beatles fan to let this opportunity pass me by, and I've had a request to write about it. "Primrose Hill" is the latest song released by the younger McCartney - son of Linda McCartney and the prolific and still relevant James Paul McCartney, ex-Beatle and musician extraordinaire - but it's the first one he's composed with Sean Ono Lennon , son of Yoko Ono and Paul's late and equally creative songwriting partner, John Lennon. That is what makes this new track an event even before hearing it. The song is named after a park in the high-end Regent's Park section of London, England. On his official Instagram account  James McCartney posted, "I had a vison as a child in Sc
Read more

The Late Dickey Betts Discusses How Jimmy Carter's Friendship With The Allman Brothers Band Helped The Candidate Win The 1976 Presidential Election

Image
Below is a music related tribute I originally wrote for President Jimmy Carter over a year ago when he first entered hospice care in February 2023. I expected it would only be a short time until he passed. When he didn't, I decided to save it until October 1, 2024 to celebrate his 100th birthday should he make it to that milestone.  However, with today's unhappy news about the passing of Dickey Betts (1943 - 2024) I decided it is time to finally post the article because the great second guitarist of The Allman Brothers Band is quoted in it. Betts' most famous songs with the outstanding sextet are "Revival," "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," "Blue Sky," and of course,  "J essica," and  "Ramblin' Man." Because most blogs and websites will likely post more traditional news stories and tributes, I hope this essay serves as something a little different and as an homag
Read more

Terry Kath's Solo on "25 or 6 to 4"

Image
The rock band Chicago, currently celebrating their 54th year in the music business, have never been a darling of the critics but there was a time when the Windy City jazz-rock outfit had a lot of street cred with young music fans everywhere. I have always believed (despite their early outspokenness against the Viet Nam War) that magazines such as Rolling Stone always hated them because their public behavior was never anti-establishment enough to suit the rock press who, during that era, often confused boorishness with artistic genius and self-expression. Unlike Jim Morrison, they never dropped their pants on stage. During Chicago’s salad days of the early 70s the critics were the only ones who didn’t like them. Music teachers liked them. Jazz musicians liked them. Doc Severenson, Duke Ellington, and Jimi Hendrix called themselves fans. Hendrix even took them on tour with him. He was also credited with saying to Chicago’s woodwind player, Walt Parazaider, "When I saw you
Read more