C. F. Martin & Company
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| Industry | Musical instruments |
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| Founded | 1833 in New York City, New York, United States. In 1839, relocated to current location. |
| Founder | Christian Frederick Martin |
| Headquarters | Nazareth, Pennsylvania, United States |
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Key people
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Christian Frederick Martin IV (CEO) |
| Products |
Acoustic guitars Ukuleles Guitar strings |
| Website | martinguitar |
C.F. Martin & Company is an American guitar manufacturer established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin. Martin is highly regarded for its steel-string guitars and is a leading manufacturer of flat top guitars. Martin instruments can sell for thousands of dollars, and vintage instruments occasionally command six-figure prices. The company has also made mandolins as well as several models of electric guitars and electric basses, although none of these other instruments are currently in production.
The company's headquarters and primary factory are situated in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, located in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. The building includes the Martin Guitar Museum, which features over 170 guitars made by the company over its history. Visitors can see pictures of famous guitar owners, try out some guitars, or take a factory tour.
Martin also manufactures instruments in Navojoa, Mexico. Martin produced 182 instruments during 1901, increasing to 56,422 in 2000.
The company has been run by the Martin family throughout its history. The current chairman and CEO, C.F. 'Chris' Martin IV, is the great-great-great-grandson of the founder. The firm was the first to introduce many of the characteristic features of the modern flat top, steel-string acoustic guitar. Influential Martin innovations include the Dreadnought body style and scalloped bracing.
C. F. Martin was born in 1796 in Markneukirchen, Germany, and came from a long line of cabinet makers and woodworkers. His father, Johann Georg Martin, also built guitars. By the age of 15, according to the book "Martin Guitars: A History" by Mike Longworth, C. F. Martin apprenticed to Johann Georg Stauffer, a well-known guitar maker in Vienna, Austria. Martin returned to his hometown after completing training and opened his own guitar-making shop. However, he soon became embroiled in a controversy between two guilds.
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Wikipedia