MARTIN GUITARS

The C.F. Martin & Company is a US guitar manufacturer established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin. Martin is renowned for its high-quality steel-string guitars, and is arguably the world's preeminent mass manufacturer of flattop acoustics, with models that retail for thousands of dollars and vintage instruments that often fetch six figures at resale. The company also made several models of electric guitars and electric basses. The company's headquarters and primary factory are in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, located in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.
In the 1850s, the Martin company developed one of its best technological innovations for the guitar, the X-bracing system. The musical and structural integrity of an acoustic guitar is a balance between the need to allow the soundboard of the guitar to resonate freely for acoustic purposes versus the compensation needed for maintaining structural integrity over the long term. By gluing struts of wood to the underside of the top of the guitar in a modified X brace pattern, Martin invented a design that successfully met these competing demands: the compromise being pleasing to the ear of players and listeners as well as the demands of time, with instruments of 100+ years of age still being eminently playable. The growing popularity of the guitar in the early 1900s, fueled by the growing popularity of folk music and country and western music, led to a demand for louder and more percussive guitars. This led to many companies beginning to string their guitars with metal instead of catgut.
During the late 1960s, Martin manufactured hollow-body electric guitars similar to those manufactured by Gretsch. Martin's electric guitars were not popular and the company has since continued to concentrate on the manufacture of a wide range of high quality acoustics. They also brought back the famous D-45 in 1968. During the 1960s, many musicians preferred Martin guitars built before World War II to more recent guitars of the same model. The pre-War guitars were believed to have internal bracing carved more skilfully than later instruments, producing better resonance. Additionally, 1960's Martin dreadnoughts suffered from poor intonation in the higher registers. This is attributed by some luthiers and repairmen to a gradual trend of misplacing the bridge on these guitars. Apparently, the same jigs for bridge placement were used throughout the history of each model's production. As the amount of production increased from the Martin factory, the jigs eroded, resulting in inaccurate bridge placement. This was eventually identified and corrected. Although Martin continued to make all these models and continually added innovations, musicians liked the old ones better, and they gladly paid premium prices for vintage Martins. This trend has continued. Curiously, however, one sees 1971 guitars offered on eBay as "vintage Martin guitars." At present, any old guitar is valuable to collectors, if not to musicians. Christie's sets new records every year, as it does with paintings. One suspects that scarcity, new wealth, and the psychology of speculation are behind these prices, more so than musical quality.
In 1979, Martin opened its "Custom Shop" division. Martin built its 500,000th guitar in 1990, and in 2004 they built their millionth guitar. This guitar is worth an estimated $1,000,000, being purely hand crafted and having more than 40 rubies and diamonds encrusted into the guitar. As of 2007, there are 600 employees at Martin with 13 individuals devoted to quality assurance.


Martin dm-1 Review:

Features : 10 My guitar is a full size dreadnought in a gloss finish. It comes with a Mahogany back and sides. The tuning gears are chrome cast with custom nut and saddle. It has a rosewood fretboard and bridge. The strings I have on there are extra light. It is a 'standard' sigma martin guitar but it was modified by Denny Zager for easier play.
Sound : 10 I recieved the guitar as a christmas present not knowing what to expect. I read the comments on Denny's site and then read the 'other' comments on websites such as ugmf. The posts I have read seem to be from folks that dont own one and am reminded of some posts from guitarforums.com. In particular, one that said, try it out if you dont like send it back. they offer 100% refund no questions asked. As far as the guitar, i like it. plain and simple. it has a great sound. you dont get any buzz on the fretboard from the low strings. The reshaping of the neck does make it easier to play. All in all it is a great setup that makes it conducive for playing and your fingers dont hurt. The is probably the most discouraging thing for a young guitarist. They will walk right out on a great guitar because it isnt setup properly for playing. So if Denny gives me a guitar that i love to play, sounds great with quality work, well then it was worth the money. It has a rich tone that is great for playing acoustics. There isnt any buzz on the fret board from the low strings. The strings are extra light. I didnt have to re-tune it when i got it. It is very comfortable to play and ejoyable. I think people would change their mind if they tried it
Action, Fit, & Finish : 10 the guitar had no flaws that i could notice. again the bridgework, neckwork, fretjob and the nut work were really quality work. Again it came with a zager setup and i really enjoy playing it
Reliability/Durability : 10 the quality of work is top notch. the guitar is rock solid and ready to play on a nice set up. i think i could depend wholeheartdly on my guitar and it would stand up to live playing, though i havent tried it yet
Overall Rating : 10 The zager guitar was my first. Until They start to do other brands, well I well have to go with someone else as far as electrics are concerned. That is my next purchase. Actually an Epiphone or possibly a Hohner. I havent decided yet. But what ever it is, I want it conducive to playing that I am going to enjoy