the journal martin co
TRANSCRIPT
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VOLUME 1 | 2014
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3 | MARTIN
C. F. Martins signature on a canceled check from 1856
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4 | MARTIN
SET LIST
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TAKE IT FROM THE TOPA Word from Chris
LINER NOTESLetters from the Community
THE NEW PIONEERS:
SETTING A NEW STANDARD
By Jonathan R. Walsh
NORTH STREET ARCHIVE
ED SHEERAN: 15 MILLION ALBUMS
SOLD & HES JUST GETTING STARTEDBy Jeff Simpson
NEW RELEASES
180 YEARS OF MUSIC TRADITIONNew Martin App Charts
Acoustic Music History
By Daniel Long
BUDDY GUY TAKES THE
BLUES FULL CIRCLEMartin Interviews Chicago Bluesman
By Marshall Newman
FROM THE WORKBENCH
INVENTING THE AMERICAN GUITARBy Peter Szego
REVISITING VINTAGE TONENew Martin Retro Strings
By Omer Leibovitz
THE 1833 SHOP
IN MEMORIAMKitty Wells & George Jones
SOMETHING OLD
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5 | MARTIN
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6 | TAKE IT FROM THE TOP
Dear Martin Enthusiast,
Welcome to the first edition of MartinThe
Journal of Acoustic Guitars. You may be familiar
with The Sounding Board, a publication we
produced two times a year to coincide with
the two NAMM shows we attend. We decided
to consolidate these publications into one
broader and deeper look at what is going on
at the Martin Guitar Company.
Last year, we celebrated our 180th anniversary.
Not quite as exciting as our 175,th but still
significant. In fact, while there wasnt as
much public hoopla around our 180,th it was
an important opportunity for those of us who
work at the company to pause and reflect
on our past, present and future. In fact, my
colleagues are already excited about the
tremendous celebration we can have in 2033!
I have to tell you how proud and amazed I
am at the conclusions drawn in the spectacular
publication of the book Inventing the American
Guitar. This project has taken several years.
While I had an inkling of what was being
discussed by the scholars who were investigating
my great-great-great grandfathers work, it
wasnt until I began to read the proofs for
the book that I began to grasp the profound
influences he had on todays modern acoustic
guitar. I dont want to give away the plot, so I
encourage you to get a copy of the book.
Speaking of books, there is also a new book
out about the Martin ukulele. Who would have
thought that the company would be in the
midst of the third ukulele boom in its history?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch (well, actually,
the factory), we have been busy responding to
the demand for more and more Martin guitars,
thanks to a continued resurgence of acoustic
music and the singer-songwriter. This is an
exciting time to be an acoustic guitar builder.
When popular artists embrace Martin guitars
to ply their craft, it is good for business.
Our goal continues to be to try and find the
balance between the old and the new in our
ongoing effort to build the perfect guitar. We
are closer than we ever have been to that
elusive, but worthwhile, goal.
I hope you enjoy this publication. Remember to
come and visit us any time you are near Nazareth.
Sincerely,
C. F. Martin IV
Chairman & CEO
C. F. Martin & Co., Inc.
TAKE IT FROM THE TOP
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M A RT I N G U I TA R .COM | 7
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MARTIN
THE JOURNAL OF ACOUSTIC GUITARS
PUBLISHER C. F. Martin & Co., Inc.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Amani Duncan
EDITOR Dick Boak
DESIGN & PRODUCTION Spark (sparkcreatives.com)
ART DIRECTOR Denis Aumiller
DESIGNER Laura Dubbs
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Joe Iacovella
COPYWRITER Scott Byers
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Pat Lundy
PRINTING Payne Printery
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dick Boak, Jonathan R. Walsh,
Jeff Simpson, Daniel Long, Marshall Newman, Peter Szego,
Omer Leibovitz
PHOTOGRAPHY John Sterling Ruth, Mandee Taylor,
Justin Borucki, Donna Hunter, Kevin Mazur, Jimmy Williams,
Mike Tomaskovic
MARTIN THE JOURNAL OF ACOUSTIC GUITARS
Business Office
C. F. Martin & Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 329, Nazareth, PA. 18064
P. 610.759.2837
F. 610.759.5757
www.martinguitar.com
2014 C. F. Martin & Co., Inc., Nazareth, PA.All rights reserved.
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8 | LINER NOTES
LINER NOTES
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ONCE THE MUSICAL
Dear Martin Guitar,
I am an avid Backpacker user. I have a brand
new one and want to let you know that I love
the little guitar. In fact, I had it customized with
style 45 hexagon inlays! After I hiked to the top
of the mountain with my paraglider, I played
some songs to pass the time in the beautiful
meadow while I waited for a good launch
window. It was quite a flight and I suspect
this has not been done before!
For my day job, I have an acoustical engineering
research office where I can measure the attack,
sustain and surface vibration of instruments.
This is especially valuable when comparing
vintage instruments with modern day replicas.
I certainly share your passion for guitars.
Sincerely,
Peter Karsten
Braunschweig, Germany
Dear Chris Martin,
This great photo from the Broadway show
Once was taken recently on set at the
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in Manhattan.
C. F. Martin & Co. is a sponsor of the popular
show and Martin guitars are prominently
featured, as they certainly should be!
Sincerely,
Emily Bender
New York, NY
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M A RT I N G U I TA R .COM | 9
ABCs HIT TV SHOW NASHVILLE
U.S. ARMY PILOT
Dear Mr. Martin,
Our company recently acquired one of your
Little Martin guitars. We really love this little
instrument and I can assure you, it gets a great
deal of use. I cant tell you what it means to us
over here to have music in our lives!
Regards,
Allen Steich
B. Co. 4-3 AVN
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Dear friends at Martin,
Heres a show worth seeingABCs
Nashville! The shows lead actor, Charles
Esten (shown to the right with co-star Hayden
Panettiere), made his Grand Ole Opry debut at
the Ryman Auditorium this past November with
his Martin guitar. Charles performed Back
Home, a song he has performed on Nashville,
and a Buck Owens song, Act Naturally. As
a Martin fan, I was glad to hear that the show
has been picked up for a full season. Its a hit
and your beautiful guitars are all over it!
Sincerely,
A music lover in Nashville
I CANT TELL YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO US OVER HERE TO HAVE MUSIC IN OUR LIVES!
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10 | MARTIN10 | FACTORY STANDARD
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11 | MARTIN
When Henry Ford pulled apart the innards of steam engines in his late teens, grease under his nails and on his
clothes, it is easy to wonder if he had an inkling of the brand hed be building later in life. Or, when Jasper Jack
Daniel was learning to work a still, getting to know the smell of sour mash as he got older, did he know how iconic
the square bottle of his whiskey would become? And, when Christian Frederick Martin was apprenticing with
Johann Stauffer in Vienna in the early 1800s, leaving work at the end of every day covered in sawdust, his fingers
sticky with hide glue, could he glimpse the 180-year-long story that he was just beginning? The landscape of
American culture is defined by names: Martin, Ford, Daniel; men and women who breathed life into their ideas in
workshops and garages around the country, but ultimately grew them into something much larger than themselves.
What does it take to carry the seed of an idea, the spark of passion from quiet workbench to noisy assembly line?
How does a company today live up to the name that defined an industry almost two centuries ago?
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12 | THE NEW PIONEERS
his ilk bunglers and nothing more than
mechanics, and fought to ban them from
creating guitars at all, believing that only
Violin Makers should have that honor. In
order to pursue his passion, Martin Sr. and
his family, boarded a ship bound for the
United States, away from his homeland and
to the place where he, too, would spend
the rest of his days. He arrived in New York
City in November, set up shop near what is
now the mouth of the Holland Tunnel, and
began to use the craft he had mastered in
Europe to create something truly unique.
Eventually, like Chopin, Martin would draw
inspiration from Spain: In New York City,
C. F. began to blend the Stauffer-influenced
Viennese guitar designs with Spanish-styled
instruments ordered by his distributor
John Coupa, Martin says, and with the
inclusion of his own unique innovations,
a new and refined guitar emerged. He
eventually moved his company from a
workshop in New York to a factory in
Nazareth, Pennsylvaniaa move that would
be the first step on the road that took Martin
from being one of many talented luthiers to
becoming an American institution.
It was in Pennsylvania, in the early 20th
century, that technology pushed a crucial
change for Martin. The company made the
transition, as did other guitar makers,
from gut to steel strings, says Martin.
That point, he says, that was sort of the
stake in the ground where we say, okay,
this is an American instrument. This is
an evolving design, a purely American
guitar. The C. F. Martin & Co. guitar
company was now entering the territory
it would later come to define, creating a
series of guitar designs and innovations
that would eventually supersede all others
in the field of guitar manufacturing.
SET T ING THE STANDARD Before he could introduce the X-bracing
that would one day become the industry
standard, and nearly a century before the
first Dreadnought guitars carried his name,
C. F. Martin Sr. had to build that name into
one that was synonymous with excellence.
C. F. Martin IV, CEO and Chairman of Martin
Guitar, says that this began with one thing
primarily: quality. I spent a fair amount
of time earlier in my career looking closely
at the guitars that he built originally, the
original New York guitars, and I was, at
that point, impressed by the impeccable
workmanship, says Martin. Whatever
drove him to build guitars to that level, I
think that was the point that the standard
was set for everybody else who builds
guitars. C. F. Martin Sr. learned from
the besthe apprenticed in the famed
Viennese workshop of Johann Stauffer
and upon returning to his native Germany
was able to use his considerable skill
as a craftsman to create guitars in the
Stauffer style that were unmatched in their
construction. In 1833, however, disputes
with the German Guild system sent him on a
journey that would change his life, and the
sound of American music, forever.
That year, Frdric Chopin composed
his Bolero, Op. 19, for Piano. A stirring
piece of music, it is the product of a Polish
composer working in a Spanish style, written
while exiled in France, where he would
spend the rest of his days. The same year,
C. F. Martin Sr. would find himself in a
similar, self-imposed exile, far from his
homeland. In Germany, the Martin familys
association with the Cabinet Makers Guild
led to a protracted dispute with the Violin
Makers Guild, who called Martin Sr. and
THATS THE FIRST THING, HE SAYS, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE GUITARS WE ARE BUILDING TODAY ARE AT LEAST AS GOOD AS THE GUITARS THAT WERE BUILT YESTERDAY, AND ALL THE YESTERDAYS THAT GO BACK 180 YEARS.
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As history has taught, however, innovators
do not always become institutions (R.I.P.
Studebaker, Atari); a brand needs to pass the
test of time in order to become legendary.
Part of this is shepherding that initial vision
through an intensely competitive marketplace.
He had competition, says Martin of his
great-great-great grandfather. What aspect
of the competition drove him? What aspect
of the competition drove him crazy? Those
are two different thingsand maybe the
end result is the samebut he and all of my
ancestors, so far, have managed to, if not
stay ahead of, outlive all of our competitors.
As much as we recognize C. F. Martin Sr.
as an innovator and a master luthier, he did
much more than build the finest guitars in
the country: he developed the nations finest
guitar factory as well. While there are those
who would criticize any product made on
as large a scale as Martin does today (over
100,000 guitars per year), you cant make
them better in your studio, says Martin.
You might make them as good as we can
in your garage, but nobody can make a
better guitar than we can. That dedication
to quality is part of how the company
was able not only to get off the ground
180 years ago, but also to survive the Civil
War, the Great Depression, two world wars,
and countless financial crises. A big part
of it is competing with ourselves, says
Martin, and knowing that we cant be the
generation that lets down all of the previous
generations of Martin employees.
BUILDING A LEGEND
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14 | THE NEW PIONEERS
The key to becoming a part of this musical
heritage, says Greene, lies in the players:
Our guitars are so heavily influenced by
the artists who play them. A lot of our best
innovations come from the needs of artists;
theyre the ones out there creating new
music; theyre playing our instruments, and
the sound of our instruments starts to be a
signature of that time and place. This is
as true today as it was when Gene Autry
commissioned the very first top-of-the-line
Martin D-45 back in 1933. As easy as it
is to look at a D-18 or HD-28 today and
appreciate what is now a classic design,
when the Dreadnought was introduced, it
was larger and had smoother curves than
anything the company had produced before.
Though having someone lend their name
to the success of a particular model or
design is an important part of helping
it become accepted by the wider public,
that relationship is reciprocal. The
relationship weve had with artists is one
of mutual admiration, says Martin. And,
generally, it starts when the artist isnt
wildly successful, famous, or wealthy.
Theyre ambitious; they have a talent, and
at some point early in their career, they get
a hold of a Martin guitarthey buy one, or
someone lends them oneand thats the
point at which they realize the importance
Thats the first thing, he says, to make
sure that the guitars we are building today
are at least as good as the guitars that were
built yesterday, and all the yesterdays that
go back 180 years.
I think a part of it is longevity, says Fred
Greene, Martins General Manager of Guitars,
about the companys success. When you
think of country music, or bluegrass, or folk,
or blues, or rock n roll for sure, the sound
that youre hearing is a Martin guitar, and
then that starts to tell you thats what that
music sounds like. Everything else is going
to be measured against that.
Becoming a standard, then, is not simply
a matter of creating the finest instrument
available, but also about becoming
an integral part of the greater musical
landscape. Ive just seen so many people
and kids become curious about the music
itself, says Martin. And they begin to
do some research and say, Im going
to look at some of my musical heroes,
and, inevitably, in our case, more often
than not, you find a connection between
those musical heroes and Martin guitars.
So I think theres a continuity where, if a
young player says, Im going to do some
research; Im really interested in the roots
of this music, along the way, they keep
bumping into Martin guitars.
These proud workers were
photographed at Martins North
Street factory circa 1939. Referred
to as the machine room, this
is where raw wood was cut and
processed into guitar parts.
The lumber in the foreground is
freshly resawn mahogany for
Style 18 backs and sides.
BUIL
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M A RT I N G U I TA R .COM | 15
The wooden clothespin has served as the
simple tool for gluing the guitars interior
ribbon lining since the onset of the company.
of playing a Martin, in terms of their career.
And so, by the time we get to know of them,
they already know about us. Were not
looking for people and saying, Hey, can we
pay you to play a Martin, or can we give
you a free Martin? Those people who we
want to talk to, they already know about us.
Theyve had a Martin, or several Martins,
and that guitar was there for a long time
with them in terms of their career.
But in a century that has seen spinet
pianos, accordions, organs, and
synthesizers come in and out of style,
part of what helps carry the Martin Guitar
name through history is the success of
the industry itself. Its such a worldwide
phenomenon, that people want to play
guitar, says Martin. I think one of the
reasons that our business is so good is
theres a reason we are competing with
other peopletheres enough demand and
the customers want choices; they want
alternatives, and thats a good thing.
One of the things that sets acoustic
guitars apart is the unique relationship
musicians have to the guitars themselves.
Theres more interaction with an acoustic
guitar than with a lot of instruments, from
a musicians point of view, says Greene.
For instance, if I push a key on a keyboard,
it sounds exactly the same as if any
professional musician pushes that key, he
says. Its the same sound coming out. But
its not necessarily the same sound that
comes out with a guitar, because its all in
the way that your hands play, and feel, and
move, and grip the instrument, and great
guitarists and musicians can get things out
of the instrument that I cant.
Part of this is because guitars, as wooden
instruments, vary from one another by
nature. Guitars have personalities, says
Greene. There are variants in each guitar,
like people. They may look basically the
same, but theyre not the same. And they
change over time; they change with the
way you play themagain, like people.
So they start to take on personalities that
are unique, and you form a real bond with
them, because you kind of personally
go through the same changes, in a weird
way, that guitars do. And guitars sound
better and better the more you play them
certainly our guitars do. And you cant say
that about every instrument. There are not
many things in this world that get better
the more you use them.
AND GUITARS SOUND BETTER AND BETTER THE MORE YOU PLAY THEMCERTAINLY OUR GUITARS DO. AND YOU CANT SAY THAT ABOUT EVERY INSTRUMENT. THERE ARE NOT MANY THINGS IN THIS WORLD THAT GET BETTER THE MORE YOU USE THEM.
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16 | MARTIN
Just as it did in the past, Martins focus
on its players is helping to guide the
company as it moves forward today. We
dont introduce changes to our guitars to
make our job easy, says Greene. We try
to make adjustments to the instruments
that make them better for the player, that
make the tone better for the player. If we
were simply to go ahead and come up with
some kind of a new neck joint because it
was easier for us to adjust, or it was easier
for us to produce, with no care about how
it sounded, that may help us temporarily,
but in the long run wed lose what makes
us unique, which is how our guitars sound.
Guitars dont really have any other purpose,
if you think about it; their only purpose
is to make music. If theyre not making
music or making sound, theyre just
basically giant paperweights.
And, as they did in the past, changes
in materials and technology are helping
to inspire the companys designs as well.
I think were going to become a little more
experimental in terms of the mixing of
tonewoods, Greene says. Some of the
traditional tonewoods just arent available, or
are available in very limited quantities, so I
think were going to have to experiment.
While changes in wood availability
(Brazilian rosewood, famously, is no
longer harvested for guitar production) are
seen by some as an obstacle, Greene feels
differently. Its definitely an opportunity,
he says. Theres a part of me that would
like to have all the old, traditional materials
available; but theres another part of me
that wonders, if they were still readily
available, would we be so anxious to push
so hard to try new things? Would we rest on
Innovation, vision, and dedication to
quality helped get Martin Guitar through
the first 180 years of its existence, and
Martin and Greene feel those same qualities
will get them through the next 180. We
want to preserve what were proud of within
the organization, and certainly with our
guitars, says Greene, but throughout the
history of Martin, its always been about the
evolution of the instrumentyoure always
trying to make it better. At no point has any
generation really rested and done nothing;
theyve all tried to move it forward in some
particular way, and I think thats really
important. You definitely feel a responsibility
to the heritage and the tradition of what we
do; were never going to give that upthats
just not going to happen.
But, he adds, we dont have to give
it up. I dont think we have to walk away
from one piece of what we do in order to
do something else; I think we can do them
together. We can always offer a straight-
out D-28, D-18, Dreadnought, 00-42 or
something of that nature; but we dont
have to walk away, or give those things
up in order to create something new
that answers a musicians need today,
because their needs today may be a little
bit dif ferent. Im really excited about the
fact that we live in a time when we can
do those kinds of things, and technology
is pushing us. So its not something Im
worried aboutits something Im conscious
of. But I feel very comfortable that we have
the right mix within our organization, to
celebrate where weve been and be excited
about where were going.
KEEPERS OF THE FLAME
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17 | MARTIN
our laurels and just be satisfied with what
we have? I look at this as a real opportunity
for us to go out and find things that can
maybe inspire people in a different way.
Technology is pushing us, and the world is
becoming a smaller place; were able now to
find woods that we couldnt find, maybe, in
the 1920s. In terms of what these changes
might look like, Greene says, I think our
use of Madagascar rosewood, which is not
a traditional guitar tonewood, and some
of the other rosewoods, for sure, are going
to come into play. This year were going to
experiment with Honduran rosewood on
some of our Custom Shop models, and
were experimenting with torrefied spruce
tops, which are tops that are basically
heated until the cells collapse, yielding a
more aged tone.
Treating those materials with respect,
Greene says, is a big part of making sure
Martin has a successful next century as
well. Were certainly way more responsible
in our usage, as I think most industries are,
of the natural resources that are available
to us. Its in our best interests to make sure
we dont abuse the resources that were
given. And, I think, in the end, it provides
more choices for consumers to find the
piece that speaks to them. Before, you were
very limited: you were getting Brazilian
rosewood, or you were getting mahogany
or maple, thats it. If you couldnt get it out
of that, then you were sort of stuck. Now
you have many more choices, whether it
be koa, or ovangkol, or walnut; Cambodian
rosewood, or Honduran rosewood, or
Indian rosewood, or Madagascar rosewood;
sipo, sapeleyou can go on and on. Theres
something out there, and you never know
when a young guy or girl is going to pick up
a guitar thats a nontraditional piece of wood,
and go out and create something iconic. And
then, from that point forward, that piece of
wood and that guitar is an iconic instrument.
Forever associated and linked to that time
and period and person. And who knows who
that inspires, and it goes on and on and on."
Martin and Greene talk about it today
with great humility; it is almost as if they
do not realize that they are Martins new
pioneers, which we know is not the case.
They are focused, on the one hand, on the
responsibility of history, the blessing and
the curse, as Martin puts it, of helming a
company with almost two centuries worth
of heritage behind it. But on the other hand,
they are focused on the future, where
new materials, new techniques, and, most
importantly, new players will take them.
The fact that the more accomplished you
become, the less you think about it and
the more you feel it, as Martin says, that
feeling is what Martins future is all about.
We create instruments because we want
to change the world, says Greene. We
want people to go out there and pick up our
guitars, create beautiful music, to make
something that inspires them personally
and inspires other people. That is the
primary purpose of everything we do.
NEW PIONEERS
WE WANT PEOPLE TO GO OUT THERE AND PICK UP OUR GUITARS, CREATE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT INSPIRES THEM PERSONALLY AND INSPIRES OTHER PEOPLE. THAT IS THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF EVERYTHING WE DO.
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18 | NORTH STREET ARCHIVE
Charlie Anglemire
AN
GL
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ITA
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NORTH STREET ARCHIVE
Charlie Anglemire was a master craftsman
who worked at Martin from May 1906
through August 1917. His extraordinary
fascination and experimentation with
double soundboards and suspended
double bodies most likely contributed to
the Paramount and Model America designs.
This resophonic model, with its lyre-shaped
sound hole and clock-key neck adjustment,
is unique. A secondary spruce frame is
suspended at the middle of the instrument,
supporting a resonator cone. The body has a
figured maple clasp around the top of the sides
that allows the top and back to be separated.
CUSTOM RESOPHONIC GUITAR
CRAFTED BY CHARLES N. ANGLEMIRE
CIRCA 1910-1920, NO SERIAL #
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M A R T I N G U I T A R .COM | 19
Based on the small Portuguese instruments
that would become the Hawaiian ukulele, this
eight-string taropatch by Charlie Anglemire
(Martin employee from 1906-1917) is the
most unusual example we have ever seen.
The exquisite and ornate layered headstock
and matching pondelogue body inlays
are enhanced with an elaborate bridge and
delicately inlaid Handel tuners. The all-
mahogany body is indicative of subsequent
Martin ukulele offerings that would create
significant growth for the company.
CUSTOM TAROPATCH
CRAFTED BY CHARLES N. ANGLEMIRE
CIRCA 1916, NO SERIAL #
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20 | MARTIN
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21 | MARTIN
This vintage image from the extensive Martin Archives
shows a worker preparing a rosewood guitar back prior
to the assembly of the rim. This is the earliest known
photograph (circa 1912) of the inside of the original North Street
factory. A batch of larger traditional 000 12-fret bodies is on
the workbench. Martin models continued to grow in size to
compete in volume with the mandolins and banjos of the era.
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22 | ED SHEERAN IS JUST GETTING STARTED
BY
: JE
FF
SIM
PS
ON
ED SHEERAN: 15 MILLION ALBUMS SOLD & HES JUST GETTING STARTED
look like Justin Timberlake. His copper hair
is arranged in a controlled, yet messy bed
head that boyishly frames his face, giving him
a slightly cherubic look, while his performance
attire almost always consists of hoodies,
t-shirts, blue jeans, and sneakers. His college-
freshman dress style and easy demeanor may
come across as feigned nonchalance, but
his poise, on and off the stage, has an air of
weather-worn honesty: Hes paid his dues.
Sheeran started playing guitar at age
11, and by 16 he had dropped out of school
and moved to London with no contacts
and little money. To make a name for
himself, he busked along Londons famous
Grafton Street and played as many shows
as he could get. (He claims to have played
over 300 shows in 2009 alone.) In early
2011, he released an independent EP,
No. 5 Collaborations Project, and used
the Internet and word-of-mouth marketing
to build and grow his fan base. The EP
eventually caught the attention of both
Elton John and Jamie Foxx, and Sheeran
was signed to Asylum Records, who
released his debut record, + (pronounced
Plus), later that same year. + would go on
to be certified quintuple platinum in the
U.K. and earn Sheeran two BRIT Awards
(the British equivalent of the American
Grammys) for Best Male Solo Artist and
Best British Breakthrough Act. This is a lot
of attention for an artist to receive only
a mere six months after his debut record
drops, but watch Sheeran perform and the
hype starts to make sense.
During the BRIT Awards, one of Sheerans
first major live performances, he stood on
FROM NOWHERE TO EVERYWHERE
All photographs in this article
are courtesy of Justin Borucki.
On a Sunday night last August, Ed
Sheeran walked on stage at the London
Olympics closing ceremony to perform a
softer version of Pink Floyds Wish You Were
Here in front of 3.8 billion viewers. While
he played, a tightrope walker wearing a
three-piece suit stepped slowly overhead.
The wire act was used to reenact the
Wish You Were Here album cover with its
iconic photo of two businessmen shaking
hands, one of whom is on fire. But the
image seems more fitting for the plight
of a young musician whose career has
skyrocketed in the span of a few short
years in an industry thats still looking for
footing in the digital era. The metaphors
clear: With fame comes the risk of falling in
the charts or slipping under the weight of
expectationof getting burned. Few young
artists handle the spotlight well, but Sheeran
exudes a certain charm and confidence that
suggests he takes it all in stride.
Sheeran doesnt look like your typical
pop star. The 22-year-old British singer-
songwriter from Framlingham, Suffolka
quiet market town on Englands east
coast known for its thirteenth-century
medieval castlereadily admits he doesnt
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Ed Sheeran with his Signature
LX1E Little Martin Guitar.
a small black stage surrounded by candlelit
tables and guests dressed to the nines
in designer apparel. The stage floor was
transparent and flickered with computer
images projected from underneath that
accompanied addit ional animations
displayed on a digital backdrop. And in
the middle of all the techno-wizardry,
Sheeran, dressed down in a green t-shirt
and holding his staple LX1E Little Martin
guitar, delivered a solo performance of
his hit single Lego House. His minimalist
aesthetic made it seem there was no way he
could live up to the garishness of the stage
dressing and 3D animations swirling around
him, but once he started the first lineIm
gonna pick up the pieces and build a Lego
housein his pure tenor voice, it was hard
not to be surprised by his presence and skill.
Beneath his boyish good looks and down-
to-earth personality lies a smart and savvy
songwriter who understands that in the
end, songs matter and appearances dont:
A good song is a good song.
Sheeran claims he didnt start off being
comfortable on stage, but his accessibility
and composure as a performer are major
contributing factors to his newfound fame in
the U.S. (+ has gone certified platinum in the
U.S.). In 2012 he made a guest appearance
on Taylor Swifts album Red, which debuted
at number one on the Billboard 200 chart,
and he co-wrote her hit single Everything
Has Changed. On working with Taylor Swift
and writing songs for the British boy band
One Direction, Sheeran says, Its healthy
to collaborate and try new things. It s
been something Ive tried to do from the
beginning of my career. Its nice to have cuts
on some of the years biggest albums.
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24 | ED SHEERAN IS JUST GETTING STARTED
ED
SH
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ET
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TA
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ED Sheerans songwriting, though clearly
indebted to the acoustic styles of artists
like David Gray and Damien Rice, at times
shows a flare for acoustic/hip-hop mash-ups.
Hes not afraid to rap on + with numbers
like U.N.I. or You Need Me, I Dont
Need You, which includes, of all things,
beatboxing. He cites Eminem and A$AP
Rocky as influences in equal measure with
Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
But its the more serious storytelling
numbers on +Small Bump, in which he
recounts the story of a friends miscarriage
in the first-person, or the lead single,
The A Team, which tells the story of a
drug-addicted young prostitute Sheeran
met while playing at a homeless shelter
that have captivated fans and critics. The
A Team was nominated for Song of the
Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards, where
Sheeran performed it as a duet with Elton
John on piano. He describes the moment as
his introduction to American [audiences].
Ironically, these songs have also been
fodder for his detractors, who question the
authenticity of his songwriting. Appropriation
has historically been troubled water for
singer-songwriters, but Sheeran fearlessly
engages with his material to such a degree
that even if youre not convinced of his
integrity, you at least have to believe that he
believes in the sincerity of his songs, and
in doing so, he casts a sort of subconscious
pop spell over his listeners.
Despite all the success, Sheeran manages
to stay grounded and loyal to his fans.
During an interview in late 2012 with Studio
Qs Jian Ghomeshi, Sheeran explained his
views on balancing fame with reality: No
matter how big you are, people are only going
to buy your records or come to your gigs if
they like you. It doesnt matter if you have a
hit record, theyre not going to support you
if youre a jerk. Sheeran later backs up his
statement when Ghomeshi asks about the
fact that Music Metric listed + as the most
illegally downloaded album in the U.K. I am
the most illegally downloaded artist, Sheeran
says, but Im also the most legally streamed
artist and the second most legally bought artist.
My view on that is, Im on 9.5 million peoples
iPods, which Im pretty cool with. I didnt make
the album to go on 10,000 peoples iPods; I
made the album to be universally worldwide
and for everyone to hear.
This year marked a new milestone in
Sheerans mission to give back to his
fans and community. In July, Martin
Guitar, the family-owned company thats
been making some of the worlds most
renowned acoustic guitars since 1833,
announced the launch of the LX1E Ed
Sheeran Signature Edition. Since he was
16, Sheeran has exclusively played the
standard LX1E Little Martin guitar, known
for its portability and affordable price tag.
I got a Little Martin because I didnt have
a fixed place to live, Sheeran says. I was
hopping on the train every day and walking
a lot, so I used it as a rucksack and kept
everything in the bag, and it was a very
portable thing. It didnt feel oversized at all.
The LX1E Ed Sheeran Signature Edit ion
features Eds personal artistic details on
the headstock, including his signature
ITS A MASSIVE THING FOR ANY ARTIST TO GET ANY SORT OF SIGNATURE MODEL FROM ANY GUITAR COMPANY, BUT TO HAVE IT FROM THE TOP ACOUSTIC GUITAR COMPANY IN THE WORLD WAS A BIG HONOR.
GIVING BACK THROUGH MUSIC
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LX1E Ed Sheeran Signature
Edition Martin Guitar
fluorescent orange + plus sign and
est. 1991, which represent the name of his
platinum-selling album and year Sheeran was
born, respectively. Additionally, the + plus
sign logo is laser-etched on the solid sapele
top, which signifies the title of his platinum-
selling debut album.Its a massive thing for
any artist to get any sort of signature model
from any guitar company, but to have it from
the top acoustic guitar company in the world
was a big honor, Sheeran says.
The Signature Edition is listed at
$599.00 MSRP, with one hundred
percent of Sheerans portion of the sales
donated to EACH (East Anglias Childrens
Hospices). EACH aims to raise around
six million pounds each year from public
donations to support families and care
for children and young people with life-
threatening conditions across the U.K.
Sheerans mother volunteers at EACH,
which is located near his hometown. Ive
worked with childrens hospices around
the world, Sheeran says, but [this] ones
my local one, and I think its important to
give back to the area youre from.
Sheeran spent the summer of 2013 on tour
with Taylor Swift and has written material
for a new album, which hes currently
recording. Its clear that the Ed Sheeran
brand is trending on a global level and
shows no sign of slowing down anytime
soon. Hes an effortless performer, a catchy
songwriter, a charitable celebrity, and, by
all accounts, a genuinely nice and funny
guy. Can it all last? Only time wil l tell, but
ask Sheeran directly and hes perfectly
clear: Its been a fantastic journey so far.
I feel like its just starting.
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NEW RELEASES
LIM
ITE
D E
DIT
ION
S OM-ECHF NAVY BLUES
ERIC CLAPTON
The OM-ECHF Navy Blues is the third in a series
of collaborations between C. F. Martin & Co., Eric
Clapton and Erics multitalented friend/associate
in Japan, Hiroshi Fujiwara. Prior ECHF models
included the popular Bellezza Nera (Black Beauty)
and the Bellezza Bianca (White Beauty). While
these two models featured a shorter 24.9" scale
length, this OM edition incorporates the longer
25.4" scale for added string tension and tonal
projection. The neck and body are lacquered and
polished with a striking dark navy coloration
atop East Indian rosewood back and sides and a
European spruce soundboard. Each OM-ECHF Navy
Blues guitar includes an interior label, individually
numbered and personally signed by Eric Clapton,
Hiroshi Fujiwara, Dick Boak and C. F. Martin IV.
www.martinguitar.com/new
Photo: Kevin Mazur
26 | NEW RELEASES
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27 | MARTIN
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28 | MARTIN
The CS-00S-14 is a premium Style 42 12-fret
slotted-head fingerstyle model, crafted with
rare Honduran rosewood back and sides for
resonant tone, a torrefied (temperature aged)
Swiss spruce top and an ultra-lightweight,
nonadjustable carbon fiber neck reinforcement.
Featuring unobtrusive plug-and-play Fishman
Aura VT electronics, only 114 of these exclusive
instruments will be offered worldwide.
www.martinguitar.com/new
CS-00S-14
LIM
ITE
D E
DIT
ION
S
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29 | MARTIN
SHOW SPECIAL
SSC-D35-14
Offered as a 2014 NAMM Show Special
exclusive to the Canadian marketplace.
Designed in collaboration with Martins
Canadian distributor, Kief Music, the
SSC-D35-14 features a Canadian red spruce
soundboard with certified cherry sides and
back wings with Pacific big leaf flamed
maple center wedge. The cherry is toned
in red, giving the illusion of the Canadian
flag and logo. A matching maple heel cap
includes a laser engraved maple leaf. An
uncirculated Canadian beaver nickel is
inlaid and encased as ornamentation for
the ebony veneered headstock.
www.martinguitar.com/new
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30 | MARTIN
Offered as a 2014 NAMM Show Special limited
to no more than 30 premium instruments,
the SS-000S-14 is a breathtaking traditional
12-fret design crafted with rare, highly figured
Claro walnut top, back, sides and neck. A classic
floral and vine inlay motif is executed in thin
veneers of tonally viable aluminum, beautifully
designed and engraved by master engraver Tira
Mitchell. A thinly dimensioned top, supported
with Adirondack red spruce bracing and hide
glue body construction, yields a surprisingly
balanced and brilliant fingerstyle sound.
www.martinguitar.com/new
2014 NAMM SHOW SPECIAL SS-000S-14
SHOW SPECIAL
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31 | MARTIN
2014 NAMM SHOW SPECIAL SS-000S-14
D-15M BURST
15 S
ER
IES
The D-15M Burst, constructed with
genuine mahogany top, back, sides and
neck, is accented with beautifully toned
prewar mahogany-top shading.
www.martinguitar.com/new
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32 | MARTIN
Based on a pristine 1921 000-28K from the
Martin Museum collection, this slotted-head
12-fret is a completely faithful re-creation of the
original, featuring flamed Hawaiian koa top,
back and sides, hide glue construction and a
hand-shaped neck without a truss rod. It is
offered with Martin Silk and Steel strings.
www.martinguitar.com/new
000-28K AUTHENTIC 1921
MA
RQ
UIS
CO
LL
EC
TIO
N
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33 | MARTIN
D-28 AUTHENTIC 1937
Perhaps the most revered vintage
D-28s are the ones created in 1937 with
forward-shifted, hand-scalloped X-bracing,
Adirondack red spruce soundboard
and a 1" neck width. This addition to
the Authentic Series is a re-creation
of the original 1937 model offered with
Madagascar rosewood back and sides.
www.martinguitar.com/new
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34 | MARTIN
Martins groundbreaking Retro Series
represents the most significant advancement
of our era in amplified acoustic sound. Based on
a beautiful 1940 14-fret 000-18 donor guitar
from the Martin Museum collection, this 24.9"
short scale model produces clear and expressive
response for stage or studio use. With modern
performance and playability, the 000-18E
Retro offers the visual and tonal integrity of the
mahogany auditorium guitars from the prewar era.
www.martinguitar.com/new
000-18E RETRO
RE
TR
O S
ER
IES
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35 | MARTIN
Chris Martin's vision for the Retro Series is to
perfectly capture the mystique and tonal emotion of
priceless, pristine and well-aged Martin guitars. With
electronic imaging contributed from a 1967 vintage
D-35 donor guitar, the resulting acoustic and
amplified tone is projective, balanced and resonant.
Classic and enhanced D-35 appointments include a
three-piece back, black pickguard, ivoroid bindings and
a certified European spruce soundboard with thin "
width bracing. The visual appeal of the original D-35 is
captured and blended with a High Performance Neck
taper for easy action and enhanced playability.
www.martinguitar.com/new
D-35E RETRO
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36 | MARTIN
GPCPA4 SHADED
PE
RF
OR
MIN
G A
RT
IST
SE
RIE
S
The GPCPA4 Shaded (left) and DCPA4 Shaded (right)
Grand Performance and Dreadnought cutaway models
are warmly shaded-top versions of the Performing Artist
Series GPCPA4 and DCPA4 models, respectively.
www.martinguitar.com/new
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37 | MARTIN
DCPA4 SHADED
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38 | MARTIN
ROAD SERIES
The DRSGT (left) and 000RSGT (right) additions to
Martins affordable Road Series feature 14-fret neck-to-body
construction with polished gloss Sitka spruce tops. Each
comes equipped with Fishman sonitone electronics with
USB. The USB port allows for easy plug and play with
todays computer based recording packages. Both models
feature solid sapele back and sides and necks carved from
sipo, a close relative of mahogany. These newly evolved
models emulate the appearance, integrity and tone of the
Martin Style 18 models. www.martinguitar.com/new
DRSGT
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39 | MARTIN
000RSGT
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40 | MARTIN
Picture a grayed Woody Guthrie addled by shaking
hands and quivering vocal chords, stewing in the dingy,
sunless corridors of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital.
He finds himself involuntarily committed to a state asylum
in New Jersey, separated from his wife and kids (for their
protection, precautionary), and ponders everything that
came before. He remembers the dust coming off the
quaint prairie hills of Okemahthe house that burned, the
sister who burned. He remembers a black woman and her
son, lynched and hanging beneath a bridge. He recalls his
own fathera member of the revived Ku Klux Klan who
had helped that mother and son hang from that bridge
being burned by a coal-oil fire before taking off toward better
things in Texas. And he remembers his own mother being
taken away to the Oklahoma Hospital for the Insane to be
treated for the same nervous disorder for which he has
been committed, the Huntingtons disease never to leave
and the mother never to return. And now, unable to hold
a pen or a guitar or to even rightly swallow, Guthrie is
lifted only by the occasional trip to the outside world to
commiserate with family and friends. Memory is a queer
sort of thing, both for its blessing and its curse, the way
it whispers toward us of an old life derived of sweeter,
less bitter times. Picture Woody Guthrie, a man who had
grabbed folk music by the throat with a brimming country
heart and a mahogany guitar etched with the words This
Machine Kills Fascists, waiting for an orderly to come or for
a visitor to arrive, for anything that would pass the time.
180 Zoom in. Take a seat. Scroll through the archives.
by daniel long
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41 | MARTIN
North Street production, circa 1958. Fitting the neck to the body dovetail joint is
perhaps the most difficult job in the making of a Martin guitar. Here the neck of a 00-17
is being final fit by Walter Kist before hide gluing. Photo courtesy of Sonja Zapf-Learn.
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42 | MARTIN
And now picture young Robert Zimmerman,
a liberal arts student and fraternity pledge
at the University of Minnesota, killing the
clock by leafing through a borrowed copy
of Guthries autobiography, Bound for
Glory. Born to a Jewish familyhis father
owned a furniture store but had been a
semi-professional baseball player before
contracting polioZimmerman borrows
not only books but also cigarettes and
clothes, whatever his friends will spare.
As the semester goes on, the freshman
spends less time studying and more time
performing folk music under the stage name
Elston Gunn, a name he hopes will capture
the American imagination. Zimmermanor
Gunn or whatever we might know him to be
calledis increasingly less inclined to pick
up his homework, despite his admiration for
the poet Dylan Thomas, and more inclined
to pick up his guitar or flip through the frank
autobiography of the Oklahoman troubadour.
In a few short months, he finds himself as a
college dropout in New York City, not going by
Zimmerman or Gunn but by a new moniker
he has been workingBob Dylanas he
announces the following to a sparse crowd
at the Caf Wha?: I been travelin around
the country, followin in Woody Guthries
footsteps. In fact, by all accounts, Dylan has
made the move to New York City particularly
to meet Guthrie, whom he knows to be on
his last legs at the psychiatric hospital. After
making new friends in Greenwich Village
and visiting the home of Guthries wife and
children in Queens, Dylan is invited up to
meet Guthrie on one of the fallen stars
weekend excursions away from the asylum.
Woody Guthrie owned many Martin guitars, among them
the occasional mahogany topped model of the type popular
during the post depression years. This photo was taken in
June of 1940 at the Highlander Folk School in Kentucky.
Photo courtesy of The Woody Guthrie Archives.
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M A R T I N G U I T A R .COM | 43
By all accounts the two hit it off, and after
their first meeting, Guthrie hands Dylan
a card scrawled almost illegibly with the
simple words I aint dead yet, inaugurating
a deep relationship that lasted until Guthries
death. Not long after meeting, Dylan shared
a song he had been working on, Song to
Woody, and the decaying Guthrie was so
taken by the song that the tune became
one of only two original compositions to
find a home in Dylans 1962 debut. Woodys
behavior and general state of health were
in such a decline that, in those last years,
Dylan became unsurprised by either praise
or harsh admonishment; but in the end Dylan
had this to say about his mentors effect on
American music: The songs themselves had
the infinite sweep of humanity in them[He]
was the true voice of the American spirit. I
said to myself I was going to be Guthries
greatest disciple. So great was Guthries
influence on Bob Dylan that the younger
musician copied everything from Guthries
harmonica holder to his hair to his political
inclinations to his rich country twang, leading
Guthries daughter Nora to point out that
many of the quirks and traits that Dylan
imitated on stage did not coincide with her
father as a performer, but were more in line
with the jerks and impediments of speech
or behavior that characterized the disease
that took her fathers life. And it is on this
grand stageart imitating life, life imitating
death, and young musicians trying to escape
the harsh anxiety of influencethat we look
at a new project by C. F. Martin & Co. that
intends to bring American music alive to a
new generation of enthusiasts.
THIS HAS TO DO WITH HOW A PERSON OR A GROUP CAN PLACE FINGERS AGAINST STRINGS, STRIKE A CHORD, AND CREATE A TUNE SO POWERFUL THAT THE REVERBERATIONS ACROSS THOSE STRINGS ARE FELT ACROSS PEOPLE AND ACROSS TIME TO SETTLE INTO THE HEARTS OF MUSIC LOVERS FAR REMOVED.
More a student of Dylan Thomas than of Bob
Dylan, a literary editor of great historic merit
once told me that the greats have a way of
finding one another, of communing with one
anotherof speaking to one another across
the bounds of both space and time. Just by
our conversation, he assured me, we were
like one of those parlor games that teenagers
will play to count the degrees of separation
from one Hollywood actor to anotheralone,
neither of us was more than four degrees
from Ernest Hemingway or David Foster
Wallace or Toni Morrison. What he was trying
to say, I think, was that the world of making
art is surprisingly small, and that for every
anecdote of a young Bob Dylan meeting
his Oklahoma idol, we are confronted with a
large family lineage of American musicians
and influencers who are shaded by one another,
entangled, separated by a smaller degree
than might be rightly imagined considering
the wide range of American music. Woody
Guthrie, for example, was able to deeply
influence a young Bob Dylan, who, in turn, is
credited by some biographers as introducing
the Fab Four to marijuana. Jimi Hendrixno
stranger to cannabis himself, if archival footage
from Paris is to be believedrelated to Rolling
Stone that he was originally supposed to be
on the Magical Mystery Tour, and it is well
known now that Hendrix sent a telegram
to Paul McCartney asking him to be part of a
super group featuring Hendrix, McCartney,
and the young jazz icon Miles Davis. Hendrix,
in turn, had a surprising but tangible influence
on The Beastie Boys, whose frontman Adam
Yauch went on to inspire Eminem, who later
discovered and signed the rapper 50 Cent.
Within a handful of turns, the careful student
of music is able to identify a tangible link
between Woody Guthrie and 50 Cent, paying
no mind to other connections such as Guthries
friendship with Lead Belly Ledbetter, who
was a primary influence of Janis Joplin as well
as Nirvanas Kurt Cobain, who covered In the
Pines during the bands 1993 MTV Unplugged
performance. It pays no heed to the fact that
Dylan was the lover of Joan Baez for a time
and makes no mention of any of the young
musicians with whom Dylan toured or rightly
inspired at the height of the Urban Folk
Revival. Despite all evidence to the contrary,
however, this article has very little to do
with deifying or rectifying the legacy of one
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie or his immaculate
student. This has to do with how a person or a
group can place fingers against strings, strike
a chord, and create a tune so powerful that
the reverberations across those strings are
felt across people and across time to settle
into the hearts of music lovers far removed.
THE POWER OF INFLUENCE
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44 | MARTIN44 | 180 YEARS OF MUSIC TRADITION
This intersection of musical influence and
history is where an exciting new project by
C. F. Martin & Co. is beginning to take shape to
reach a whole new spectrum of music lovers.
With the help of music historians, performers,
and guitar aficionados, Martin is developing
an online, interactive archive featuring the
last 180 years of American musical history.
Part family tree and part interactive historical
map, this online feature begins with both the
British Isle roots and the African-American
roots of American music and branches off
to show how both the blues and rockabilly,
for example, paved the way for the British
Invasion. This first-level map illustrates how
genres branched away or converged toward
one another, decade by decade, to help music
lovers better understand some of the musical
connections that are often unknown to the
casual fan. Some music fanatics, for example,
understand the importance of steel guitars
in the history of blues and country music but
overlook that these steel instruments largely
found their way into popular culture as a
result of country and blues musicians sitting
in clubs, waiting to take the stage, and
admiring the Hawaiian slack-key slide guitar
at the height of Hawaiian musics popularity
in the early 1900s. It follows the path from
African-American spirituals to the rise of
Gospel to the beginnings of R&B, perhaps
illuminating the reason why many of Americas
greatest R&B singers (from Sam Cooke to
Aretha Franklin) were actually the sons and
daughters of ministers, who grew up singing
the songs of their parents and grandparents,
but who also sought to imbue those sounds
with fresh, contemporary meaning.
This first-level map of genres, however, is
just the beginning. The online interface of the
musical family tree is designed much like the
online maps we use at home when navigating
to and from a desired destination. The user
can click on an area of the musical family
tree (for example, where rock n roll and
popular country intersect) to zoom in and
find information about individual performers
or groups and how they changed the face of
music. A click on the timeline between folk
and the urban folk revival, circa 1940-1950,
will give the viewer an option to click on
Woody Guthrie or his friend Pete Seeger
to learn more about their lives and musical
stylings. This rollover feature will provide bios
and pictures as well as musical samplings
from most of the performers included. Along
the way, the viewer will also find Martin Guitar
Historical Landmarks, such as Elvis Presley
bursting onto the music scene, playing his
1942 D-18 or Martins 1916 design of their
first Dreadnought guitars. This family tree
of American musical history coincides with
C. F. Martin & Co.s 180th anniversary, but
make no mistake: This is a gift for all music
lovers, regardless of instrument or guitar
affiliation. For every reference to a performer
like Woody Guthrie (who favored smaller
mahogany guitars like the 000-18, 0-18,
or 0-15) or Eric Clapton (who favors Martin
000-sized guitars almost exclusively), there
are a host of others who favored the quivering
strings of pianos or vocal cords or rival
guitars. Who can deny the greatness of Lead
Belly, whose iconic Stella Jumbo 12-string
made him a hit (but who also dabbled with a
Martin six-string on more than one occasion,
just for the record)?
Hank Williams D-18 Martin Guitar, 1947, Serial #98611
Its likely that Hank Williams personally purchased this distinctive Martin D-18,
featured in many of his promotional photos, from Arts Music Shop in Montgomery,
Alabama, in March of 1947. Already having attained a degree of fame with the Drifting
Cowboys, Hank performed with this guitar in his subsequent shows on the Louisiana
Hayride and later during his famed years in Nashville. Photo: C. F. Martin Archives
CREATING MUSICS FAMILY TREE
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M A RT I N G U I TA R .COM | 45
adding electronic components to a Martin,
leading to the proper birth of the electric
guitar. You cannot blame C. F. Martin & Co.
for taking heart in John Lennon and Paul
McCartney playing D-28 guitars while in
India as Paul looks to an interviewer and
says, Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da, Braaa, La-La how
the life goes on. Thats all there is so far. We
dont have any of the words yet. At every turn
in American history, Martin finds itself there in
tight strings and rosewood: Elvis Presley and
his leather-covered Dreadnought used on most
of his early recordings for Sun Records. Hank
Williams and his D-28. Joan Baez with her 0-45,
playing her name into lights at the Newport
Folk Festival. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
thinking of Kent State as they strum out the
song Ohio. A young Kurt Cobain, struggling
to make rent, beating out songs that will
rouse a generation on his D-18 named
Grandpa. Don McLean stringing a Martin
while he thinks of friends taken too young,
his heart falling as if from the sky as he sings
himself into history. And then the youngsters
like Dave Matthews and John MayerDierks
Bentley rising from the heat of Arizona. But
this sort of cataloguing is both insufficient and
too much, and one is mindful of the scroll-cut
plaque Frank Henry Martin hung above his
shop: Non Multa Sed Multum. Not many,
but much, or Quality, not quantity.
C. F. Martin & Co.s creation story is well
known and does not bear repeating, but, at
the heart of this musical timeline, it is clear
Martin believes that music is the result of
one generation influencing another and feels
pride in helping that process along. It is very
possible that no American guitar can make
such a sturdy claim to the development of
American music, and you cannot blame the
company for taking great pride in pictures
of Bob Dylan playing a Martin D-28 at the
concert for Bangladesh in 1971 or images of
cowboys like Tex Ritter and Gene AutryRoy
Rogers playing his OM-45 Deluxe. Leo Fender
www.martinguitar.com/music
MAKING MUSIC, MAKING HISTORY
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46 | 180 YEARS OF MUSIC TRADITION
When one looks at the age of wiretapping
and electric-fast communication, the age of
security scares and profit shares and banks
that are too big to fail, it is increasingly hard
not to wonder what Woody Guthrie, with his
humble drawl and guitar designed to kill
fascists, might sing about this land he told
us was ours. One may wonder where those
hippies went who swayed to Joplin and Jimi
Hendrixwhere those vast protesters who
sang about love and civil disobedience and
the end of unnecessary war wentto gather
and age before waking up in a world altogether
different from everything they believed before.
The lesson of history is that it is dangerous to
forget: to forget what it takes, to forget where
we come from, to forget the boon of kindness
that can be shared from one person to another.
In kind, it is important to remember great art
and the unlikely hearts who hurt to make it, the
wandering of their minds and the crumbling
details of their lives. Not long ago I went home
to Oklahoma to visit family, and on the way
back to New York I stopped along the way at
the little hamlet of Okemah so that I could see
the place where Woody Guthrie lived the sort
of hurt that allowed him to sing his life. I had
told family and friendsOklahomans all their
livesand they admitted they hadnt rightly
heard of anyone named anything like Woody
Guthrie. I drove into town to see that place
where Woody had written his name in drying
cement and to see that home he had lived in
while his mother was away and where his sister
had burned, and there was nothing to mark the
way. I stopped in a movie rental placethey
still existin the main part of town, and the
woman behind the counter was happy to
point the direction a few blocks away.
She said, Lots of folks from out of town these
days. Everyone here was shamed for a long
time. They didnt want to be associated
with anything like that. They said he was
a Communist and all. But I guess I never
heard anything like that in those songs. Just
a lot of wanting. And hurt. So I walked the
few blocks to his home and found a grown-
over lot with a lot of stones, built up where
a house might be. I took a rock from what
may have been Guthries bedroom or his
living room or maybe nothing Woodys at all.
So why remember? Why a timeline or a map
of history? Because sometimes there are
big-hearted people who rise from the dust
of somewhere like Oklahoma to sing songs
too truetoo hurtingly shamefulto be
remembered in their time. The old poets have
a legend that when the works of a dead man
are read, something seeps inside his coffin to
warm his heart and rattle his bones. And one
likes to think that, when someone strums
a chord or rattles his vocal cords in song,
some part of that song travels through time
to reverberate in the bones of both the living
and the dead. Let this timeline, this tool of a
modern age, bring musicians back to the heart
of what makes us human, and let music lovers
better understand the hopes and times of the
people who would sing their songs back to
the earth. Woody Guthrie, before succumbing
to illness and being buried in the dirt, gave
Bob Dylan a note to make it clear that he was
not dead yet. And as we explore the history of
American music, we find that the voices of the
mighty dead sing only one song: I am living, I
am living, I am living.
As C. F. Martin & Co. works with historians
and archivists to build a proper learning tool
for students of music all over the world, the
team will look to add many features to expand
both the timelines scope and functionality.
While the initial timeline will include an
exhaustive overview of American music, the
team plans on adding additional music genres
and artists as part of its second phase, to
be released sometime in 2014. They plan on
expanding the information available about
individual artists by including timelines of
instruments and of works by the artist, song
lists, photo libraries, details of connection and
influence, and many other features, including
an expanded audio player. Social media will
be embedded to allow music lovers from
around the world to share and comment
as well as suggest new artists to include on
the timeline. While Martin is proud of its
rich musical past, it is mindful of how that
past influences both the present and the
future. History tells us that sometimes the
greatest innovations in music and in culture
(from the urban folk revival to the historical
European Renaissance) occur when
people take a look at their roots, at their
struggles, at everything that came before.
Much like a young Bob Dylan looked to the
songs of Woody Guthrie to inject humanity
and meaning into the music of a different
ageand much like Martin has occasionally
retooled its operations by looking back
to rediscover what it adds to American
musicone can hope that this interactive
timeline can play some small part in creating
better listeners, in creating better musicians,
and creating a world in which innovation
begins with a simple but burning curiosity.
AND AS WE EXPLORE THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSIC, WE FIND THAT THE VOICES OF THE MIGHTY DEAD SING ONLY ONE SONG: I AM LIVING, I AM LIVING, I AM LIVING.
Dierks Bentley at The Station Inn with his well-worn
Martin D-28. Photo courtesy of Jimmy Williams.
HISTORYS LESSONS
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47 | MARTIN
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48 | BUDDY GUY
BY
: M
AR
SH
AL
L N
EW
MA
N
BUDDY GUY TAKES THE BLUES FULL CIRCLE
The blues have taken Buddy Guy from
rural Louisiana to downtown Chicago, from
guitar iconoclast to guitar legend, and from
sideman to star. They also made him a member
of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a six-time
Grammy and twenty-three-time (the most of
any artist) W.C. Handy Blues Award winner
and a Kennedy Center Honoree. As far as the
blues have taken him, Buddy Guy has taken
the blues full circle, back to the acoustic
roots where it, and he, began.
Being a master showman, Buddy Guy today
plays a Martin guitar much fancier than the
Harmony acoustic (now in the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame) on which he learned to play.
Created with assistance from C. F. Martin
Artist Relations Manager Chris Thomas in
2006, his Martin JC Buddy Guy Blues Guitar
features a cutaway jumbo body, Sitka spruce
top and East Indian rosewood sides and three-
piece back, a plethora of polka dotsa Buddy
Guy signaturein turquoise composite on the
fingerboard, rosette, bridge and bridge pins,
matching turquoise composite C. F. Martin
headstock inlay, his initials at the 12th fret,
and Fishman VT electronics with volume and
tone knobs mounted on the top. Anything but
traditional, the Martin JC Buddy Guy Blues
Guitar is among the rarest of all Martin Custom
Artist Editions, with only 36 built. For Buddy,
his namesake Martin is a tool, which, in recent
years, he has played regularly on tour.
Guy knowsmore than mostthe
advantages and perils of being an original.
When he first arrived in Chicago in the late
1950s, his incendiary live performances
made him a favorite among blues greats like
Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Little Walter,
and Koko Taylor, but his early record labels
used him mostly as a session guitar player
and limited his own blues recordings to a
handful of singles until the late 1960s.
Admiration for his guitar playing and
performing style by the likes of Eric Clapton,
Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan (all of
whom adopted elements of both) propelled
his career in the early 1970s; but the late
1970s and 1980s were tough, and, for several
years, Guy was without a U.S. record label.
He survived by touring nearly nonstop, both
in the United States and Europe. After
opening his Buddy Guys Legends nightclub
in Chicago in 1989, his career again took
off; he released a series of superb albums,
won five Grammy Awards, and gained a new
generation of fans. In 2005 he was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Guy has stayed busy since the Martin JC
Buddy Guy Blues Guitar debuted in 2006.
In late 2006, he made guest appearances at
two Rolling Stones benefit concerts in New
York that became the movie Shine a Light.
He recorded and released three albums:
2008s Skin Deep, 2010s Living Proof, which
won him a sixth Grammy Award for Best
Contemporary Blues Album, and 2012s Live
at Legends, recorded in 2010 just prior to the
nightclub moving to larger quarters nearby.
He appeared in Eric Claptons Crossroads
Guitar Festivals in 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013
(he is one of a handful of performers to play
all four Crossroads Festivals).
He wrotein collaboration with David
Ritzhis autobiography, When I Left Home:
My Story, which garnered excellent reviews
when published in 2012. In February that
-
year, he joined Mick Jagger, B.B. King, Keb
Mo, Gary Clark Jr., and Trombone Shorty
at the White House to celebrate the blues
during In Performance at the White House:
Red, White and Blues. In December, he
received a Kennedy Center Honor in a
presentation that featured tributes and
performances by Morgan Freeman, Bonnie
Raitt, and Jeff Beck and Beth Hart.
Last, but by no means least, he released
a new album, Rhythm & Blues, on RCA in
July 2013. Produced by Grammy Award-
winning producer, songwriter, and longtime
collaborator Tom Hambridge, this double
disc masterpiece features first-time studio
collaborations with an A-list of performers,
plus Guys own powerful lyrics, heartfelt
vocals, and mesmerizing guitar licks. In
short, its pretty impressive, especially for
a man who will be 78 this year!
We caught up with Buddy Guy at the
beginning of his 2013 summer tour, which
hit more than 30 cities in the United States
between June and October. He talked candidly
about his new album, his music, playing
acoustic and his protg, Quinn Sullivan.
Photo courtesy of
Mike Tomaskovic
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50 | BUDDY GUY
MA
RT
IN &
BU
DD
Y G
UY Martin Tell us about the new album.
Guy We recorded it down in Nashville. We had so much material we finally divided it into
two discs: The Rhythm and The Blues. The Rhythm is full-throttle rhythm and blues-style
blues; I got to record Junior Wells Messin with the Kid with Kid Rock, One Day Away with
Keith Urban, and What You Gonna Do About Me with Beth Hart. The Blues disc is classic
blues and includes some of my favorites. I recorded Evil Twin with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry,
and Brad Whitford of Aerosmith and Blues Dont Care with Gary Clark Jr.
The new material on Rhythm & Blues was written with my producer, Tom Hambridge. Id be
talking, reminiscing, and he would stop me and say, Thats a song. Wed work out the details
and head into the studio. This album features electric guitar, but if it does well, I plan to put
some acoustic on the next one.
Martin Youve played acoustic guitar throughout your career and recorded some classic
albumslike 2003s Blues Singerentirely acoustic. Why does the acoustic guitar appeal to you?
Guy Its the original guitar, before Leo Fender and Les Paul. Its traditional. For some songs,
it sounds better. When Im touring by bus, I play two or three songs on the acoustic each
night. I usually play seatedmy acoustic has a balance and shape to be played seated. But
Ill jump up if Im feeling it. My mother used to say its that old Baptist church thing: if youre
feeling the spirit, you have to get up.
Martin Does your Martin guitar get much attention?
Guy Lots of attention. Kids say wowtheyve never seen one like it.
Martin So your Martin goes on tour with you?
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M A RT I N G U I TA R .COM | 51
Guy Absolutely. When Im the headliner, its there. In the beginning, I took it on tour
everywhere. Now I dont take the Martin on planesI wont risk it. But if Im touring by bus, as
I did this year here and in Canada, I take the Martin with me. If time allows, I play it every night.
On one European tour, when I was still flying with the Martin, the airline wouldnt check it;
they made me buy a ticket for the guitar. I took it on board and managed to put it in the
overhead. Then the plane got held at the gate, and they announced we were waiting
because a passengera Mr. Guitarhadnt checked in! I had to explain to the crew that
Mr. Guitar was already on board.
Martin Youve inspired so many musicians over the years. Who inspires you?
Guy All the players inspire me. I learned nothing from books. I learned from those guys.
Just like everyone who gets their inspiration from me, I get mine from them.
Martin What is the state of the blues?
Guy The blues are being ignored for airplay and it kinda hurts. Kids are being influenced
by what they hear and what they see, and it isnt the blues. It isnt Muddy Waters. The
blues deserve better.
Martin You have a young protg now?
Guy Yeah, Quinn Sullivan. Hes from New Bedford, Massachusetts. I first met him when he
was seven years old. The night I met him, I invited him onstage, and I could not believe his
playing. I unplugged his amp to make sure he wasnt faking. I brought him to some other
people, and they couldnt believe it either. He toured with me and I helped him a bit. He is 14
years old now and just released his first album, Getting There.
...I TAKE THE MARTIN WITH ME. IF TIME ALLOWS, I PLAY IT EVERY NIGHT.
Martin JC Buddy Guy
Blues Custom Guitar.
Photo courtesy of Mike
Tomaskovic
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52 | WORKBENCH
WE
AR
E F
AM
ILY
FROM THE WORKBENCH
CASSANDRA FRANTZ
Cassandra Frantz, or Cassie as we love to
call her, is the welcoming face you see every
day when entering the front doors of Martin
Guitar. She has been an employee of the
company for 42 years and worked in the Sales
and Human Resources departments before
becoming the Martin Guitar receptionist.
Cassie describes Martin Guitar as her family.
She has experienced hardships in her life
during her years of employment and credits
her Martin family for helping her to persevere.
She enjoys waking up each day and coming
to her Martin home, where she is met with
familiar faces as well as new ones daily.
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CHRIS ECKHART
A 19-year employee of Martin Guitar, Chris is the
Custom Shop set up technician. One of the highlights
of Chriss job is being able to play beautifully crafted
instruments before anyone else does. He also finds
it amazing that he gets to set up guitars for artists
such as The Avett Brothers. Chris loves his career
at Martin and thoroughly enjoys playing a part in
making Americas Guitar the best.
MICHAEL DICKINSON
Michael Dickinson is a 23-year veteran of the
company and nicknamed the Martin Oracle.
Michael has worked in numerous departments,
such as the Sawmill and Customer Service, and
is the current buyer of exotic and sustainable
wood. He has traveled to countries like Belize,
Cameroon, and Tanzania for Martin business.
Michael finds that the most rewarding part of
his job is walking through the Custom Shop
or Final Inspection and seeing the wood he
purchased on a finished product.
HARRY VADYAK
You have probably seen the warm
smile of Harry Vadyak during a Martin
Guitar factory tour. He is a two-year
employee of the company who works
as a finish inspector and has also spent
time as a finish sander. Harry finds pride
knowing that his work helps make the
guitars that positively impact someones
happiness. Harry describes the Martin
culture as a family environment that
continuously offers new opportunities
for him and all coworkers.
CHRIS POSTMA
As a final inspector, Chris makes sure the
finished product is perfect before it lands in
the hands of its owner, the customer. He has
been a Martin Guitar employee for a little over
a year and chose his job because of his deep
love of music and the daily teamwork at the
factory. Chris loves knowing that he is bringing
music and joy to the community.
JOE MURANTE
At the young age of 13, Joe Murante fell in love with
Martin Guitar while on a factory tour. When he walked
into the plant, he remembers the smell and how much
everyone enjoyed their work. He started his career
at Martin Guitar right out of high school in 1969. He
feels so at home while at work that he says, If you
love what you do, you never work a day. He currently
works as a neck fitter, but has been a part of many
departments during his 44-year tenure.
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54 | MARTIN
INVENTING THEAMERICAN GUITARTHE PRE-CIVIL WAR INNOVATIONS OF C. F. MARTIN AND HIS CONTEMPORARIESBy: Peter Szego
Most Martin guitar aficionados know that C. F. Martin Sr. arrived in New York City
from his native Saxony in 1833, and that he began making European-style guitars
with distinctive scroll headstocks and elegant decorative elements in the style of
his acknowledged mentor, Johann Georg Stauffer of Vienna. Equally well known is
that by the outbreak of the Civil War, Martins guitars had evolved into the iconic
American flat-top played by millions around the world today. However, the creative
path that Martin followed to invent the modern Martin guitar has remained a
mysteryuntil now. This is the story of how the mystery was unraveled.
November 6, 2013, marked the 180th anniversary of C. F. Martins arrival
in America. Among the celebrations is the launch of a major book and museum
exhibition that gives Martin lovers an opportunity to learn in detail how Martin
created his signature guitars. The book, Inventing the American Guitar: The PreCivil
War Innovations of C. F. Martin and His Contemporaries, was published by Hal
Leonard in October. The exhibition, Early American Guitars: The Instruments
of C. F. Martin, will open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in
January 2014 and continue on view throughout the year.
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55 | MARTIN
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56 | INVENTING THE AMERICAN GUITAR
In 2003, Philip Gura published his definitive
biography of C. F. Martin, C. F. Martin &
His Guitars 17961873. As I devoured the
chapters of Guras book, I was surprised
to discover that the period spanning the
transformation of Martins earliest European-
style guitars to his fully developed flat-top
guitars was remarkably brief, substantially
less than two decades. I began to wonder
about the process Martin went through to
create his uniquely American instrument.
What were his inspirations? His influences?
Guras book, which is primarily an in-
depth biography and cultural and trade
history rather than a study of the guitars
themselves, did not address these questions.
In addition, I realized that answers to
these questions would not be found in
the extraordinarily rich collection of C. F.
Martins business journals housed in the
Martin Archives, because, as Gura pointed
out, the journals provided only minimal
descriptions of Martins early guitars.
Furthermore, since no journals spanning the
critical ten-year period between 1840 and
1850 survive, it became obvious to me that
something more than conventional scholarly
research would be needed to unlock the
mystery of Martins creative journey.
I discussed my interest in how the
design of Martins guitars evolved with
Philadelphia musical instrument dealer
and Martin expert Fred Oster. We quickly
came to the conclusion that the path to a
better understanding lay in studying the
instruments themselves, and we set out to
track down as many significant examples of
Martins early guitars as possible. Our first
step was to create a list of all the high-grade
preCivil War Martin guitars that we could
locate in publications, museums, and private
collections. But we discovered that guitar
books, articles, and catalogs repeatedly
pictured the same few guitars. What we
initially hoped would be a database of scores
of instruments ended up consisting of less
than thirty significant early Martin guitars.
Our next step was to gather as many
early Martin guitars as possible and to invite
a small group of Martin expertscollectors,
dealers, restorers, and scholarsto inspect
and document these instruments. Our
objective was to come up with a hypothetical
chronology based on the guitars evolving
designs and construction. We anticipated that
once we were able to evaluate Martins early
guitars in chronological order, we would
be able to identify and understand each
step in his creative process.
We held two mini-conferences at Fred
Osters Vintage Instruments shop in
Philadelphia and C. F. Martin & Co.s
offices in Nazareth in 2008 and 2009.
Fred and I were joined by Martin experts
Richard Johnston of Gryphon Stringed
Instruments, Jim Baggett of Mass Street
Music, Matt Umanov and Tom Crandall of
Matt Umanov Guitars, Marc Silber of Marc
Silber Music, and luthier Steve Kovacik. The
other participants included C. F. Martin &
Co. archivist Dick Boak; Ashborn guitar
scholar David Gansz; guitar maker and
Spanish guitar scholar David LaPlante; Arian
Sheets, the curator of s