C.F. Martin & Co. a guitar pickers' paradise

NAZARETH, Pa. - On a rain-swept morning, Mark Scheibel sits in the Pickin' Parlor. As he waits for the tune-up of his GPCPA1 guitar, he's strumming another exquisite Martin instrument.

A broad smile creases his face. "Martins deliver such a rich, full sound," says Scheibel, a resident of Mount Holly Springs, near Harrisburg. "Playing one is always a beautiful thing."

Every weekday, guitar-playing pilgrims and music lovers travel to tour C.F. Martin & Co. in this village. The most coveted flattop guitars in the world, Martins are celebrated for their power and balance, deep, resonant bass, and crisp, clear treble. The company's commemorative and deluxe first editions rise above the rigors of daily play to stand as superlative works of art.

The Martin story began in 1833 when Christian Frederick Martin came to America from Germany and opened a shop in New York City. Six years later, he moved to Nazareth, in the Lehigh Valley, and built the first Martin factory in a redbrick building next to the family homestead on North Street.

Six generations later, Martins are still the gold standard. The company is headed by C.F. (Chris) Martin IV, who took the leadership role at age 30, after the death of his grandfather in 1986. Martin has sold more than 1.5 million instruments.

Martin attracts more than 40,000 visitors annually. Its museum is a huge draw. Sleek and spacious, it tells a well-paced story through 220 rare, vintage guitars, photographs, graphic panels, and artifacts. It takes visitors through Martin's earliest guitars and into the 1920s, when the company produced tens of thousands ukuleles made of Hawaiian koa wood. It gallops into the cowboy era of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers in the '30s and '40s, and scoots into the country, rockabilly, and early rock-and-roll explosion of the '50s. It wheels into the folk and rock boom of the '60s, '70s, and '80s, then pivots into the "unplugged" surge of the '90s and beyond.

In an adjacent room, dazzling items from Chris Martin's personal guitar and art collection are spotlighted. The most expensive guitar is a 1942 D-45 built of Brazilian rosewood and other rare woods. Played by Gene Autry, it was purchased for $275,000 and is now valued much higher.

"It's the best-sounding guitar in the building," observes Dick Boak, Martin's manager of artist relations and a tour guide. "Experts refer to it as the Holy Grail."

Today, the company turns out more than 300 guitars a day. The instruments are sold through authorized dealers with a suggested price as low as $309 for a Backpacker to $2,999 for the popular D-28. Specialized instruments range well into the thousands. The company remains creative; 15 new guitars and ukulele models will be unveiled Jan. 19 in Anaheim, Ca.

Inside the factory on Sycamore Street, the shop floor is humming full throttle. Burly, tattooed men and grandmotherly ladies attend their stations as lathes turn, sanders buzz, guitar bodies are burnished, and strings are strung.

At a time when job growth is largely stagnant, C.F. Martin & Co. has hired 50 workers in the last six months and now has 550 employees.

Where are all these guitars headed?

"Could be to Occupy Wall Street," deadpans Boak.

"Seriously, during tough times folks gravitate toward the most respectable brands. Our busiest time is from September through December and the demand is up this year."

Back in the mid-1970s, when Boak was an art teacher, woodworker, and guitar player, he regularly raided Martin's trash bins to retrieve chunks of mahogany and thin cuts of rosewood, ebony, and spruce. With the scraps of exotic woods he built a few mountain dulcimers and a mando-guitar. Impressed, Martin offered him a job in design drafting. That was 35 years ago. Ever since, Boak has excelled at numerous positions, earning the nickname "Mr. Martin Guitar." He has written a coffee-table book, Martin Guitar Masterpieces, featuring memorable instruments.

When Sting wanted a special sound for the recording of "Dead Man's Rope" on his Sacred Love album, he turned to Boak. Together, they created a small-bodied instrument that has a 12-fret (to the body) design and bright, chimelike tuning and tone.

"He wanted a little guitar that could be strung an octave above pitch in order to get a shimmering treble sound effect," explains Boak, who owns 60 guitars.

"In its purest sense, the guitar is essentially a tool for musicians. We start with the Martin sound and build a box around it."

Creating that "box" is a complex and lengthy process. Depending on the model, there are roughly 300 steps. It can take two to six months of craftsmanship to transform rough spruce, rosewood, ebony, and other sustainable woods into a finished guitar.

Martin's trademark is its brilliant tone and sound volume. It comes from an "X" bracing system across the top of the instrument that C.F. Martin devised in the 1850s. The hand-shaped, scalloped braces are tough enough to withstand the tension of the strings, yet soft enough to breathe superior tone.

Resembling a massive wood shop, the factory is an open environment where you can observe the craftspeople at their specialized tasks. Most workers eagerly respond to questions as they bend, trim, shape, glue, fit, sand, stain, buff, and inspect each guitar.

Computer-controlled machines rough-cut lumber into the bridges, fingerboards, and necks. The final shaping is done by hand with rasps, files, and carving knives. Interior rims are glued to the guitar's side, held in place with dozens of old-fashioned clothespins. The binding is put on each guitar, which then gets a clear finish that enhances the wood grain. All the bodies are buffed to a high gloss. Spectacular mother-of-pearl and abalone shell are meticulously inlaid on various parts of the guitar.

While handcrafting reigns, a pair of robots steal the show.

"They actually pick the guitar up and polish it," Boak explains. "The robot does an unbelievably consistent job that is amazing to watch. And it's really improved the guitars. It's the most popular part of the tour."

Bridges are glued and clamped into place. Finished guitars await tuners and strings in final assembly. At the end-stage station, a cluster of employees swap ringing chords and familiar riffs, testing each guitar's playability.

There is no charge for the museum and factory tours.

"A lot of people who see how our guitars are made wind up buying them," Boak says. "It's our best advertising tool."

Beck

Jimmy Buffett

Johnny Cash

Eric Clapton

Jim Croce

Peter Frampton

Nancy Wilson

Merle Haggard

Tom Petty

Sting

C.F. Martin & Co.

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