SKU: HL.1596
ISBN 9781574242799. UPC: 884088651954. 7x11 inches.
The Martin is considered the finest acoustic guitar in the world, a distinction it has held for more that 160 years. Martin guitars have been played by performers Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, Judy Collins, and Johnny Cash, as well as hundreds of thousands of other professional and amateur musicians. In C.F. Martin and His Guitars, 1796-1873, Philip Gura chronicles the career of Christian Frederick Martin from his humble start as an importer and repairman of musical instruments in New York City in the 1830s through his move to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and the founding of C.F. Martin & Company. Gura is the first historian to thoroughly study the Martin company records dating back to the 1830s: Letters, account books, inventories, and other documents. Using this rich archive, Gura establishes how a German immigrant from Saxony's guild tradition became the finest American guitar maker of his time and created a uniquely American business that successfully eclipsed its competition.As Gura shows, Martin's success was based on his successful navigation of the rapid economic expansion and industrialization of his time. The many sketches and hundreds of photographs illustrate how Martin adapted his artisanal craft to modern industrial methods, maintaining quality while meeting increased demand for instruments. Gura traces the network of suppliers who provided Martin with his raw materials and explores the advertising and other methods Martin employed to build a market for his goods. After Martin's death in 1873, the company continued to grow. It thrives today under the leadership of a sixth-generation Martin, producing instruments that are still the most sought after and collectable in the world. Includes an 80-page color section!
SKU: HL.1307773
ISBN 9781574244182. UPC: 196288175988. 8.5x11.0x0.47 inches.
As the Martin Guitar Company approaches its three millionth guitar, this first-ever Martin repair guide details the significant changes over 190 years of production. From the early 19th century small shop builds to the current advanced technological robotics, authorized service technician Patrick DiBurro explains how to identify the evolving joinery and materials. With over 25 annual trips to train in the Martin Repair Department, he explains the timelines of production changes and many of their procedures with photos and detailed steps. This is a must-read for anyone involved in the repair trade and those considering the occupation. While Martin Guitars through the decades may appear similar, many construction methods have been revised, requiring an understanding of the evolving technology. This essential guide will provide you with the tools you need!
SKU: HL.333141
ISBN 9781568527628. UPC: 884088536169. 9.75x14.0x0.756 inches. Text by Dick Boak Foreword by Steve Miller Introduction by C.F. Martin IV.
Martin guitars are internationally revered, collected and played by performers, singers, songwriters and by legions of avid collectors and enthusiasts. This book features more than a hundred of Martin's most desirable guitars, including instruments belonging to Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Sting and Eric Clapton. Dick Boak enthusiastically outlines his experiences as liaison in these collaborations. We also get a sneak preview of Martin's millionth instrument, due in 2004. Dick Boak is the head of artist relations and publicity at C.F. Martin & Co., collaborating with artists in the design of their Limited Edition and Signature Models. A prolific artist, luthier and musician in his own right, he is a founder of the Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans, and has organized numerous national instrument-making symposiums.
SKU: HL.333271
ISBN 9781458405760. UPC: 884088578350. 10.75x11.0x1.067 inches. Edited by Robert Shaw & Peter Szego.
Inventing the American Guitar is the first book to describe the early history of American guitar design in detail. It tells the story of how a European instrument was transformed into one with all of the design and construction features that define the iconic American flat-top guitar. This transformation happened within a mere 20 years, a remarkably brief period. The person who dominates this history is C. F. Martin Sr., America's first major guitar maker and the founder of the Martin Guitar Company, which continues to produce outstanding flat-top guitars today. After emigrating from his native Saxony to New York in 1833, Martin quickly established a guitar making business, producing instruments modeled after those of his mentor, Johann Stauffer of Vienna. By the time he moved his family and business to rural Pennsylvania in 1839, Martin had absorbed and integrated the influence of Spanish guitars he had seen and heard in New York. In Pennsylvania, he evolved further, inventing a uniquely American guitar that was fully developed before the outbreak of the Civil War. Inventing the American Guitar traces Martin's evolution as a craftsman and entrepreneur and explores the influences and experiments that led to his creation of the American guitar that is recognized and played around the world today. To learn more about the history of the Martin guitar, click here to view the video and article from BBC, How Martin Guitars Became an 'American Stratavarius'.
