Martin Guitars are Known for Quality

C.F. Martin & Company maker of the Martin Guitar, is one of the oldest, if not the oldest guitar company in the United States. Christian Frederick Martin founded the company in 1833. After years of developing their guitars and setting a standard for excellence, it is easy to say that Martin is one of the most popular acoustic guitar companies in the world.

Despite the fact that the company was founded around 175 years ago, it still remains a family operation. The current company chairman and CEO is ‘CF’ Chris Martin IV. He continues the tradition started by his family in creating high quality acoustic guitars. As a side note, they also produce some electric guitars and basses.

Christian Frederick Martin, Sr. was actually born in Germany. His family made cabinets for a living, and that was to be his future. But at the age of 15, he left Germany and traveled to Austria to apprentice with Johann Stauffer who was an expert luthier. He learned his trade well, and returned to Germany to set up shop.

He was met with serious resistance. Not from his family, but from the Violin Makers Guild. Martin wasn’t the only cabinet maker who was showing an aptitude for making stringed instruments. The violin makers feared it would hurt their business. Eventually, Martin left for the United States, where he started his illustrious guitar making company.

Martin has both a regular line of guitars and a custom shop. The Dreadnought is possibly one of their most popular guitar series and many consider Martin’s Dreadnought series to be amongst the best. Other acoustic guitars include their Limited Editions, The Backpacker, the Road Series, the X Series, the Golden Era Marquis, and the Vintage series. They have plenty of other styles and options so you may want to visit their website (www.mguitar.com) to take a look.

A lot of guitarists swear by Martin guitars. These include Beck, Jimmy Buffet, Eric Clapton, Sting, Nancy Wilson, Norman Blake, Bob Shane, Steve Miller, the late Johnny Cash, Buddy Guy, and Paul Simon. However, this is an incomplete list. Visit their website for more names and their profiles.