There’s Nothing Like A Martin
by John Weckerle
As we return from last week’s hiatus in New Jersey, one last experience worthy of note remains: a trip to the C.F. Martin guitar factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. We won’t go into extensive detail, here, as there is a substantial amount of information on the Martin Guitar site. However, we did grab a few photos and learn a few interesting things about guitar making that might be worth passing on. Visiting the factory, and taking the tour, was a great experience and highly recommended to those who want to know how these great instruments are made.
The factory includes a museum that traces the history of Martin guitars from the youth of Christian Frederick Martin (the first, of course; C.F. Martin IV currently runs the company), his emigration to the United States, early years in business in New York, and the move to Pennsylvania. This is separate from the factory tour, which lasts about an hour. Because of the noise in the factory, the tour guide speaks through radio headsets, which was very helpful. Each stage of creating a guitar, from selecting materials to the finishing touches, is covered, although not exactly in a step-by-step manner.
There were quite a few things I found interesting. Martin operates two factories – one in Nazareth, and one in Mexico. The Mexican factory handles some of the guitars constructed of man-made materials and other items, including ukeleles. The factory in Nazareth produces all of the all-wood instruments as well as the high-end custom pieces. We saw one of these, a $110,000 guitar with extensive peal inlay, in production. The Nazareth factory currently produces about 200 guitars per day, down from its highest production of about 300 per day prior to the current economic downturn. Lower priced models range from $300 to $1,500, and the higher-end instruments range from $1,500 to $110,000 and up.
Ever wonder how the wood around the body of the guitar gets that shape? Well, for most Martin guitars made today, this is accomplished by placing each of the two sides into a press, heated to 300o F, for about eight minutes. Bodies for the various models can be shaped quite differently, so a variety of templates are used. A few custom guitars are still made the old-fashioned way – soaking the wood and then bending it around a press by hand to fit a template.
Once the pieces are fitted together, a long, thin piece of wood cut by a series of kerfs (called a ribbon) is glued to the inside of the front and back of the body. The resulting assembly is then fitted into a bracket and placed into a high-precision sanding machine, which removes just a few thousandths of an inch from each side to ensure that the surfaces are perfectly flat and parallel. This, in turn, ensures that the front and back of the guitar will be glued perfectly onto the side.
Much of the work in the Martin factory is done by hand, but some is done robotically. Examples include spraying the finish on many of the bodies, and final buffing.The “holes” are also cut out of the front using computer-controlled equipment before the front is fastened on. Bracing, however, is applied by hand to the fronts and backs of the body by hand. Fretboards are assembled and attached to the necks, and the necks to the bodies, by hand as well. Every guitar is played at least twice before leaving the factory, once at the end of the production process and once after the guitar has “rested.”
Very little is wasted; even the rosettes that are cut out to make the hole in the face of the guitar are laser-engraved and handed out at as souvenirs at the end of the tour.
Unfortunately, there are no great factory deals on guitar purchases, as the gift shop does not sell guitars – so, while I may not yet be in a position to own a Martin, at least I can say I own a piece of one!
3 Responses “There’s Nothing Like A Martin”
And CF Martin is only one company who disproves the current axiom: “Americans can’t produce anything of quality anymore”.
It is exactly because people like CF Martin IV have generations of experience and commitment to quality in their craft that their products can never be duplicated, even with current “technological” wizardry.
That is the reason why American guitars continue to be THE most sought after instruments in the world.
A rather archaic business model, to be sure, but perhaps one that Detroit might learn a few lessons from.
Thanks for the morning vacation John.
First, I must say that I am extremely jealous that you got to tour the Martin factory. I happen to be a proud owner of a OMC 16E Koa–which I love by the way–and would be so happy to tour the factory one day. I’m on the west coast however, so who knows how long that will be. Thanks for the post and the pictures.