by admin on December 27, 2009
C.F. Martin & Company 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 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.
Here is what people have to say about their Martin Acoustic Guitars.
About the Martin HD-28 Acoustic
Simply, the guitar sounds amazing. Very well balanced, bass, mids, and treble all come out very clearly but don’t step on each other at all. Sounds especially nice capoed up a few frets. I got the guitar about 2 and a half years ago and I have noticed it starting to open up since I play it a lot.
About the Martin D-18
This is without a doubt the best guitar I have owned or played. Over forty years of playing I have had the opportunity to play many guitars. I can’t think of one that I would consider trading for my D-18 including my 1962 Stratocaster purchased from the same music store as my Martin. The strat is long gone but the D-18 is still here…thank God.
Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to Buy Guitar and learn Guitar Playing Techniques. Visit our site for over 60 Free Guitar Lessons and Information about playing Guitar.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_McRea
by admin on November 21, 2009
I think the heart of every guitarist falls in love instantly upon seeing a Martin 1833 logo decal upon an acoustic guitar’s headstock, no matter how it looks there’s something that makes it irresistible to play and hear how it sounds. Although the factory may not put as much time and effort into every guitar they build these days they still are capable of producing wonderfully beautiful instruments and in this article we’re going to have a look at the Martin D-35. It’s got a price tag so is worth it?
Well the first thing that strikes you is it’s appearance with a 3 piece rosewood back, it looks gorgeous enough to eat! Adding to it’s overall appearance is a bound ebony fretboard. It’s a dreadnought and with such a huge top the bass in its sound is strong and punchy without being overbearing. To balance this Martin have used ¼” bracing which actually makes the treble sing out more.
Let’s take a quick run down of the woods behind much of this guitars beautiful tone. There’s a spruce top and 3 piece rosewood back, the sides are also of rosewood and the fingerboard is ebony. Like any good acoustic guitar maker Martin take much care in their wood selection and the quality is consistently good across the range.
Martin guitar cases are always of a high quality and the case which comes with the D-35 is a deluxe case. The guitar fits into it perfectly and of course anyone who owns a Martin acoustic guitar and case will know what I mean when I mention the smell! Delicious right? It’s something only us devoted guitar players can understand and appreciate.
So if you’re looking for a Martin dreadnought be sure to add the D-35 to your list of models to check out.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Payo_W_Perry
by admin on September 29, 2009
Percussion Instruments | Vintage Gretsch Drums | History of Gretsch Drums
That’s the sound, the anthem that began when Friedrich Gretsch, an immigrant from Mannheim Germany, founded a small shop in Brooklyn in 1883. He was to create a dynasty lasting to this day. Yet Friedrich Gretsch died unexpectedly in 1895 before he could see it bloom.
Fredrich Gretsch passed away while on a trip to his homeland leaving the company to the enterprising mind of his teeneage son still in school, still in knickers. When young Fred Gretsch, Sr. entertained customers at a nearby restaurant, the waiter took the drink order but quickly advised the boy:
“No matter what you order, you’re
going to drink milk!”
Energetic as he was enterprising, Fred Gretsch, Sr. built the business on a reputation for precision and quality. Two decades after he had assumed direction as the boy in knickers, he had moved the operation to a mammoth 10 story building at 60 Broadway in Brooklyn, where it remained until the company moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1972.
Fred Gretsch, Sr. retired from the company in 1942, his attire now the pressed suits of a successful businessman. His sons, Fred, Jr. and William “Bill” were well prepared to assume leadership. Both had been active in the business since 1927.
From these headquarters he responding to the growing demand for more and more spacialized guitars: The first acoustics becoming popular with country western performers, the age of electronics.
Gretsch Factory 104 South Fourth Street, Brooklyn. NY
In 1935 Duke Kramer, joined the company. Today Duke Kramer is still a valued counsel to the company, the string that ties the generations together. He says, “That distinctive sound was our product, the sound that energized the market for decades.”
Command was again passed to Fred Gretsch, Jr. and the Navy veteran led the company into a new age of prosperity. The age of rock. It was the explosion of the music market begun by Elvis Presley and continued by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and many artists of the day.
Fred Gretsch, Jr. managed the operations briefly, then left the company to serve with distinction as a commander in the Navy, and Bill Gretsch became president. Duke Kramer recalls, “Bill was a man with a subtle talent for inspiring people to do their best and a genius for constructive counsel. His sense of humor was irresistible. When he passed away in 1948, a legion of individuals felt they lost their best friend.”
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Determined to return the company to family ownership, it was in 1985, when Fred W. Gretsch, the great-grandson of the company founder, made good on his promise. The Gretsch Company was once again in capable family hands.
Operations moved to Savannah, where the revitalized company began to offer new, vintage styled, Gretsch guitars and classic Gretsch drums. The success of the new products was immediate and Gretsch instruments were quickly back in demand.
Today there is much to celebrate as the Gretsch Company has truly come full circle now spanning over 120 years and four generations! |
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A career in banking, computer software design and ownership of her own credit bureau prepared Dinah for her far reaching responsibilities at Gretsch. Dinah is Executive Vice President for Fred Gretsch Enterprises and handles all computer and accounting functions of the company as well as artist relations. |
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July 2002; The Gretsch family recently celebrated Fred’s Birthday and another year continuing the tradition of “That Great Gretsch Sound!” Here, Fred and Dinah are joined by their eleven grand children for the annual celebration. Wow, what a difference 2 years makes! |
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From gretschdrums.com |
by admin on September 22, 2009
The size of the Martin Arch Top C-2 body is equal to the 000 size of the flat top type and it is 15” wide. The top is carved but the back is arched. The sides and the back are made of rosewood. The vintage Martin guitar has a trapeze styled tail piece and all its parts are made of nickel.
The scale of arch tops of the C-series was long just like the 000 model, till 1934. In some cases, the arch top was converted into 000 styled flat top in a C model. The conversion of the short scale C-2 will not be similar to the 000 style if it was made after 1934. The neck of Martin Arch Top C-2 creates the entire difference, since it has to be shortened in length to get the desired shallow angle to have a flat top. Thus, the fret of the neck must be 1/3, but the guitar, in the process, gets a 13 2/3 fret. This causes the bridge on these vintage instruments to be at a lower position just like the OM bridge. However, it is not precisely same. Even the back arch and also the back braces are not the same in the Martin C models as compared to Martin 000 models. The arch top contains more arches in their backs and has tall #3 and #4 back braces. The neck inlay is pearloid of the C-2 models that are made in the year 1939 or later. They also don’t have abalone.
by admin on September 15, 2009
The Style 28 Martin guitar includes the D-28, 000-28, OM-18, 0-28, 00-28 models which have a spruce top and a rosewood body. This theme has been the most popular line of vintage Martin guitars since the late 1800s.
It has an awesome sound which is the main reason why these guitars have been the favorite of several big stars as well. All the style-28 models including the D-28 model have been higher-end models which have a rosewood body along with a great sound. All the Martin style 28 vintage instruments models which were made before 1947 have a herribone trim look that appears extremely trendy. All the models which are made from Brazilian rosewood look more sleek and better than the models which are made from Indian rosewood. The number ‘28’ indicates the style of the guitar model. The letters that are prefixed before ‘28’ mark the body size. 0-28 is the smallest in the range, 00-28, OM-28,000-28 are bigger than 0-28 and D-28 is the largest of the lot. Considering today’s music trends, D-28, OM-28 and 000-28 are considered to be the best sized models.
The OM-28 was manufactured between 1929 and 1933 and is a very interesting model because its novel design bears some impressive modern features. There are some other 18 models like the OO-28C (1966-1976), OOO-28C (1962-1966), and OO-28 G (1936-1962), which are actually different from other Martin guitar lines. OO-28K is the coolest of them all and the most desirable. The classical tenor and gut models are especially popular among people throughout the world.
