To any of the Martin Employees who may read my comment, Thank You, you do a great thing making the world a better place one guitar at a time. I've a JC-16 KWS I purchased new at the turn of the Century. Out of all my instruments that Martin is the most amazing (to me). When fresh strings have been installed the guitar rings out like a Piano! It is an amazing machine with each component and part complimenting the rest. Again, Thank You Great video too.
Hello MM, this brings back memories for me. Back in 1994 I was a college student and as requirement for my graduation I had to make a video. I am an avid guitarist and as my Sr. project and through the courtesy of the Martin company, I produced a video from that tour, so I have seen most of the process and I always was fascinated by how they are made. I have owned several Martins and currently I have a 1956 D-18, and no exaggeration, it sounds incredible. The projection and harmonics are wonderful. To me nothing sounds better than a Martin. It also stays in tune no matter how long I let it sit on it's stand. It was a real treat for me to see this. Thanks.
I’ve done this tour four times. It never gets old for me. I don’t recall if he mentioned during the video but they also have a museum you can check out before the tour.
Didn't anyone in the 30's ever smile at work? Loved this. Buying a new Martin next month and deciding between the D18 & D28 now. Just a legendary guitar I look forward to not being able to put down. I already have vacation planned for that entire week. Great video. Amazing how many hands a single guitar goes through in the factory. Thanks!
Thanks so much for posting this, Maury. As you're aware, I took the tour last month but it seemed several folks were on lunch break so the stations were empty, LOL Really cool to see the Martin folks doing the hand crafting.
Would love to see him take us on a tour of the Custom Shop where they use hide glue. I visited the factory back in 1962 when they were at the original location. What a difference in the factory atmosphere and the number of guitars made. Back then one had to wait over a year for a guitar after the deposit. The factory was really crowded and the strong smell of wood filled the air as the drying wood racks were overhead as I remember. Yes they did so much by hand then and they were making fine guitars and continue to do so. I was there to bring my fathers 1945 D-18 that he had purchased new in Lock Haven, Pa. They replaced the nut and the lower frets for free as he was the original owner and guitar was guaranteed for his life time. A month later I picked it up and was surprised that they even gave it a thin coating of nitrocellulose. It looked like a new guitar. Back then one could not visit all the factory because i think, they’re was not enough room in the factory. This tour is one of my favorite. He covers all in a very professional manner and it is great to have this tour while I sit here in Daejeon, South Korea. I have 8 martins that date from 1870’s to 2014 and all have that Martin sound. My father passed away back in 1969 and his 1945 is being played by his grandson as I passed it on to Bruce back in 2003 when I moved to South Korea. It was a smart move as he forwards the guitars I purchase on to me here, as many people will not send a guitar overseas. The point I wish to share is that these guitars are so prized that they pass down through generations of a family and their sound only improves with time! Thanks for the tour.
@@MaurysMusic it’s because it’s the lowest prices all wood construction guitar I assume. But I did misname it! It’s a special D. Sounds fantastic with a great feel.
Great video...nice MC too...I thought it was interesting that in the sound room there looked like a couple Taylor's, a Guild hanging, some guitars on the floor with side sound ports....😃Martin Guitars are still the best production guitar ever! Their custom guitars are as good or better as any, at any by anyone. Thank you for staying the tradition!
Just a point. The rest of the world generally pay more for Martin guitars but DON'T get an unlimited warranty, it's only the USA and Canada from what I can gather. We get one year in UK. So American buyers, be grateful. Fortunately my 2008 D-28 and 000-28 have been flawless, so thanks to these excellent craftspeople, their skills are much appreciated.
Blows me away how refined all the workstations are from jigs to hand methods etc. you can tell they been doin this for a while. Very interesting. Thank you!
Brilliant tour. Recently got a 000-28 Ec. Not a huge fan of signature guitars. But this is totally amazing. It has the v shape neck which fits into my palm really nice. Well done Martin . Mark Liverpool UK
I have been playing guitar for 41 years. For close to 7 years now I've driven a Fiat 500..yeah, as a man. Imagine how that felt. In June I bought a Chevy LT Trail Boss for some V8 power, sold the Fiat for $6,300 and finally bought, after all these years a Martin. It was a tough call. I wanted a D35, but I'm left handed and the D28 was easier to find. It will be at my house tomorrow. I can't wait. Martin is literally the only classic American brand I've never owned. All these years of listening to Page, The Beatles, and CSN and I never owned one. I've been debating for a few days now what will be the fist thing I play on it??? Oops..EDIT, cool video, thanks.
Great video. I wish the bindings on Martins would stay in place! :) Had to repair a couple of them due to loose binding and heard from my Luthier that it's not unusual.
Really very interesting presentation and thanks to the team at Martin. When you have a “highly valued customer” who plays your guitars professionally, do you have a separate production line or are their guitars made by an individual luthier? I’m thinking, for example of Eric Clapton .
I shouldn’t answer for Martin but all guitars pass through the regular channels except custom shop instruments. Some of those procedures are only done in the Custom Shop.
I notice Martin is using striped ebony for their fingerboards/bridges.... even the standard series which traditionally have been all black. Is this because of shortages in supply? deforestation? Curious to know if this is something that will change the Martin standard line forever....
A nice tour, and Mike seems a pleasant man. Regret that this tour doesn't stack up well with the Musician's Friend/Harmony central series of 10 or 12 years ago. Lacks the charisma and knowledge of DIck Boak, the sense of history in that tour, and, most importantly, the input from actual Martin employees. Thanks, though - nice to see something so up to date.
Thanks Robert. Dick Boak is a legend and I don’t blame you for holding him in such high regard. Michael is extremely knowledgeable too, but for this video we just asked him to quickly show us around. We both had to get back to the museum for our video shoot with Spoon Phillips.
Cool vid, nice to see how things are crafted and put together. Your bud is not the right one to do the factory tour, just the panache factor, as for understanding of the process, a Homer 9 thumbs up
Martin should get into making carbon fibre guitars, find and work on a process to make them efficiently at a reasonable price for the average person!!! Won’t split crack shrink warp expand like woods do.
Guitarras muy bonitas y buenas, lamentablemente so muy caras.......entiendo que la madera no es nada barata, pero la empresa Martin puede obtener terrenos y cultivar su propia madera....de esta manera las guitarras Martin podrian ser mas accesibles para la gente y de seguro vendiera mucho mas, es solo un comentario personal......
@@MaurysMusic And they are! As I said in a main post, it's a shame we didn't see more of the hand work on this tour. These are wonderful guitars, still made in relatively small quantities by a committed workforce.
@@MaurysMusic True. Taylors and Gibsons especially. Even Fenders have gone up, but they seem to be able to not completely overprice what they're offering. Martin and Gibson have been called out on this repeatedly.
I made the mistake of buying one of those D76 martins. Sorriest Guitar I ever owned. I sold The sorry thing for 300 dollars and bought an Epiphone J200 sounded and played 10 times better than that Martin D76
@@MaurysMusic Groan. I had the same question. Yet here I am watching them being made in the USA. I do not believe (for example) that use of Gotoh machines or imported bridge pins, etc, means they are not made in the USA. Incidentally, I'm British, so I don't have an axe to grindin this matter. They're American guitars.
Im looking at my GPC 16 and it says CF MARTIN and Company, Nazareth, PA. Then it says Crafted in Nazareth PA, USA, of Materials sourced around the World.
it is all because of a law that applies only in CA. Lawyers in CA have used this law to extract a lot of money from companies thru lawsuits. If Martin had chosen to not ship to dealers in CA then they wouldnt have had to change the label. It is only small parts like tuners that arent made in the US. The law dates to 1961 but I cant help but think that it has something to do with the current lib fad of diminishing the influence and power of the USA.
Generally I like watching these type of video documentaries. I didn't finish watching this one. The narration is poor, the guy walking backward is dumb. This is not up to Martin Guitar standards.
Book YOUR tour today at www.martinguitar.com 👍
Spotting a left handed Martin in the wild is like seeing bigfoot. One day Martin!!! One day!!!
To any of the Martin Employees who may read my comment, Thank You, you do a great thing making the world a better place one guitar at a time.
I've a JC-16 KWS I purchased new at the turn of the Century. Out of all my instruments that Martin is the most amazing (to me).
When fresh strings have been installed the guitar rings out like a Piano! It is an amazing machine with each component and part complimenting the rest.
Again, Thank You
Great video too.
Very kind, HK! I'm going to share this with some high-level employees at Martin and ask them to help spread your message.
For someone who never used to like to talk much, Mike handled himself rather well. Very informative! Good job on the video Maury!
Thanks Ken!!
Hi Michael, nice to see you❤❤
Mike's the best
Hello MM, this brings back memories for me. Back in 1994 I was a college student and as requirement for my graduation I had to make a video. I am an avid guitarist and as my Sr. project and through the courtesy of the Martin company, I produced a video from that tour, so I have seen most of the process and I always was fascinated by how they are made. I have owned several Martins and currently I have a 1956 D-18, and no exaggeration, it sounds incredible. The projection and harmonics are wonderful. To me nothing sounds better than a Martin. It also stays in tune no matter how long I let it sit on it's stand. It was a real treat for me to see this. Thanks.
Absolutely superb - and I love his droll sense of humour.
Thanks. Yeah, he’s a riot off-camera. :)
I’ve done this tour four times. It never gets old for me. I don’t recall if he mentioned during the video but they also have a museum you can check out before the tour.
Didn't anyone in the 30's ever smile at work? Loved this. Buying a new Martin next month and deciding between the D18 & D28 now. Just a legendary guitar I look forward to not being able to put down. I already have vacation planned for that entire week. Great video. Amazing how many hands a single guitar goes through in the factory. Thanks!
Thanks, RJ!
Did you get an 18 or 28 yet? Curious as to see which one you decided on.
I had the same dilemma a few years ago and went with the d28. Love it. Then last year I bought a d18. Also love it.
@@bobsmith-ji2uh I have had 2 D18s with an Adirondack top. Just couldn’t bond with the guitar. Is it the 18 series? Is it the Adirondack top? 🤷🏻♂️
@@edmondlau511 no both my D-28 and D-18 are standard series. So both are Sitka spruce.
I took the tour in 2007, on my way to the Philly Folk Festival. It's great to take it again. Time to get out the D28 Custom! Thanks Guys!!🎶🎵🎶
Wow that was a good day!!
Yes it was!!@
Thanks so much for posting this, Maury. As you're aware, I took the tour last month but it seemed several folks were on lunch break so the stations were empty, LOL Really cool to see the Martin folks doing the hand crafting.
Anytime, Rohit!!
@driftwood guitars = here's the long version of the Martin Factory Tour you wanted to see. 😎
Would love to see him take us on a tour of the Custom Shop where they use hide glue. I visited the factory back in 1962 when they were at the original location. What a difference in the factory atmosphere and the number of guitars made. Back then one had to wait over a year for a guitar after the deposit. The factory was really crowded and the strong smell of wood filled the air as the drying wood racks were overhead as I remember. Yes they did so much by hand then and they were making fine guitars and continue to do so.
I was there to bring my fathers 1945 D-18 that he had purchased new in Lock Haven, Pa. They replaced the nut and the lower frets for free as he was the original owner and guitar was guaranteed for his life time. A month later I picked it up and was surprised that they even gave it a thin coating of nitrocellulose. It looked like a new guitar. Back then one could not visit all the factory because i think, they’re was not enough room in the factory.
This tour is one of my favorite. He covers all in a very professional manner and it is great to have this tour while I sit here in Daejeon, South Korea. I have 8 martins that date from 1870’s to 2014 and all have that Martin sound. My father passed away back in 1969 and his 1945 is being played by his grandson as I passed it on to Bruce back in 2003 when I moved to South Korea. It was a smart move as he forwards the guitars I purchase on to me here, as many people will not send a guitar overseas. The point I wish to share is that these guitars are so prized that they pass down through generations of a family and their sound only improves with time! Thanks for the tour.
Thanks- the custom shop is briefly shown at the end of this tour.
We need smellovision before they do the hide glue tour !!
Nice to see a new factory tour...
Thanks. It’s SO worth doing in-person if you get the chance.
Thanks for doing this! I just purchased a new HD28 and couldn't be happier. From fit and finish to intonation it is flawless.
You’re very welcome. Congrats!
That robot buffing room should be in the next James Bond movie:)
Right!?
Maybe polishing a Bond girl 😆
Thanks Maury!
Our pleasure
Thank you for this Maury.
Trust me- it’s my pleasure. :)
Excellent tour! Thank you!
Our pleasure!
Love my Martin custom D
I’ll bet! What’s custom about it?
@@MaurysMusic it’s because it’s the lowest prices all wood construction guitar I assume. But I did misname it! It’s a special D. Sounds fantastic with a great feel.
I'm not sure what the real name of your guitar is but we're glad you like it!
@@MaurysMusic thank you
this is a great company to make the best guitars in the world
We feel the same way!
Excellent sir, thank you.
Most welcome!
That huge guitar is incredible! 👌
Haha!
Wow!!!
Great video...nice MC too...I thought it was interesting that in the sound room there looked like a couple Taylor's, a Guild hanging, some guitars on the floor with side sound ports....😃Martin Guitars are still the best production guitar ever! Their custom guitars are as good or better as any, at any by anyone. Thank you for staying the tradition!
Thanks, Bart!
Thank you for a great video, this is on my bucket list!
You’re very welcome.
Thank You for the tour, I purchased my first Martin model GPCPA4R after watching Spoon Phillips and Tony Polecastro reviews
You’re very welcome !
Fascinating
Thanks, we think so too.
It would be good to see all the different finished woods, to see what you like and/or discuss then. I guess that would be the sales person's job.
👍
Just a point. The rest of the world generally pay more for Martin guitars but DON'T get an unlimited warranty, it's only the USA and Canada from what I can gather. We get one year in UK.
So American buyers, be grateful. Fortunately my 2008 D-28 and 000-28 have been flawless, so thanks to these excellent craftspeople, their skills are much appreciated.
Thanks, Brian
Blows me away how refined all the workstations are from jigs to hand methods etc. you can tell they been doin this for a while. Very interesting. Thank you!
Our pleasure! Yes they have it down to a science.
Brilliant tour. Recently got a 000-28 Ec. Not a huge fan of signature guitars. But this is totally amazing. It has the v shape neck which fits into my palm really nice. Well done Martin . Mark Liverpool UK
Thanks, Mark!
I would love to get there one day👍👍
#2557230.....probably being made right about then- OMG thank you for this thing of beauty
Our pleasure!
I have been playing guitar for 41 years. For close to 7 years now I've driven a Fiat 500..yeah, as a man. Imagine how that felt. In June I bought a Chevy LT Trail Boss for some V8 power, sold the Fiat for $6,300 and finally bought, after all these years a Martin. It was a tough call. I wanted a D35, but I'm left handed and the D28 was easier to find. It will be at my house tomorrow. I can't wait. Martin is literally the only classic American brand I've never owned. All these years of listening to Page, The Beatles, and CSN and I never owned one. I've been debating for a few days now what will be the fist thing I play on it??? Oops..EDIT, cool video, thanks.
Thanks, Twin! Yeah CSN was my intro to martin, too.
Congrats...!
I like how he was hesitant to say sniff the sound hole
Haha!
Thanks for a great tour very interesting an informative
Glad you liked it!
Just bought Nazareth made OMC-16E in Finland and its awesome. :)
Score!!
Nice tour. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
This is awesome thank you and thank you all Martin employees for what you do I love my Martin
Thanks, Scott
If someone has a degree at walking backwards you better listen closely. All jokes aside great tour that was awesome.
Haha thanks, Oscar!
Great video. I wish the bindings on Martins would stay in place! :) Had to repair a couple of them due to loose binding and heard from my Luthier that it's not unusual.
Who’s your luthier?
Great video. I will be doing a tour at some point.
Thanks Larry!
Really very interesting presentation and thanks to the team at Martin. When you have a “highly valued customer” who plays your guitars professionally, do you have a separate production line or are their guitars made by an individual luthier? I’m thinking, for example of Eric Clapton .
I shouldn’t answer for Martin but all guitars pass through the regular channels except custom shop instruments. Some of those procedures are only done in the Custom Shop.
no showing the VTS or torrefaction process? or the custom shop? I have a Martin w/VTS from CS so Im curious 😅😉
No torrefaction on this tour.... but we did show the custom shop at the end.
Question: I have a Martin with the serial # 316097 Acquired it in 1978...But there is no model # stamped inside...Why is That?
This is cool
Thanks, Drew!
Nice tour
Thanks!
I notice Martin is using striped ebony for their fingerboards/bridges.... even the standard series which traditionally have been all black.
Is this because of shortages in supply? deforestation?
Curious to know if this is something that will change the Martin standard line forever....
Yes it’s because of supply shortages and environmental responsibility.
👏👏👏
Thanks, LImmon!
A nice tour, and Mike seems a pleasant man. Regret that this tour doesn't stack up well with the Musician's Friend/Harmony central series of 10 or 12 years ago. Lacks the charisma and knowledge of DIck Boak, the sense of history in that tour, and, most importantly, the input from actual Martin employees. Thanks, though - nice to see something so up to date.
Thanks Robert. Dick Boak is a legend and I don’t blame you for holding him in such high regard. Michael is extremely knowledgeable too, but for this video we just asked him to quickly show us around. We both had to get back to the museum for our video shoot with Spoon Phillips.
@@MaurysMusic Fair enough - in that case he did a fine job.
in this video he states they are not made in usa any more....assembled or something......im confused....looks like USA and says it is filmed in usa
Cool vid, nice to see how things are crafted and put together. Your bud is not the right one to do the factory tour, just the panache factor, as for understanding of the process, a Homer 9 thumbs up
Thx for the kind words but agree to disagree … Mike’s a great tour guide.
@@MaurysMusic Marty all I was saying is he’s a little dry, but obviously knows his shiitake, not trying to be a downer.
All is good Cheers Rik
Stupid question - why not pore fill before the binding is fitted?
Not stupid at all, but the way they do it just makes more sense from a mass-production standpoint.
Martin should get into making carbon fibre guitars, find and work on a process to make them efficiently at a reasonable price for the average person!!!
Won’t split crack shrink warp expand like woods do.
That’s what the Martin X Series is for, but you make a good point.
May I ask Martin how to do tap tone measuring?
Sorry, I honestly don’t know.
@@MaurysMusic Maybe Martin to do tone test in some cooperation university...
That's something that can't be taught...but experience knows best and they have it! 😉
29:53 THOSE LOOK LIKE TAYLORS AND GUILDS!?! whats up w/those? are they for comparison?
I can't confirm or deny that - but it's quite possible.
Guitarras muy bonitas y buenas, lamentablemente so muy caras.......entiendo que la madera no es nada barata, pero la empresa Martin puede obtener terrenos y cultivar su propia madera....de esta manera las guitarras Martin podrian ser mas accesibles para la gente y de seguro vendiera mucho mas, es solo un comentario personal......
Does Martin consider their guitars “handmade?”
Yes they do.
@@MaurysMusic And they are! As I said in a main post, it's a shame we didn't see more of the hand work on this tour. These are wonderful guitars, still made in relatively small quantities by a committed workforce.
@@robertnewell5057 I saw about 70 % handwork actually.
Any good hotels in Nazareth that you can recommend?
Sorry, I'm not sure.
I love Martin guitars, but when they start running the same price as a used car, something is wrong.
Prices are increasing everywhere. Not just at Martin.
@@MaurysMusic True. Taylors and Gibsons especially. Even Fenders have gone up, but they seem to be able to not completely overprice what they're offering. Martin and Gibson have been called out on this repeatedly.
I made the mistake of buying one of those D76 martins. Sorriest Guitar I ever owned. I sold The sorry thing for 300 dollars and bought an Epiphone J200 sounded and played 10 times better than that Martin D76
Sorry to hear that.
Why would it not say "made in u.s.a.??"
A few years back, they had to change the wording to be more literal & PC - as some parts are sourced from outside the USA.
@@MaurysMusic Groan. I had the same question. Yet here I am watching them being made in the USA. I do not believe (for example) that use of Gotoh machines or imported bridge pins, etc, means they are not made in the USA. Incidentally, I'm British, so I don't have an axe to grindin this matter. They're American guitars.
Im looking at my GPC 16 and it says CF MARTIN and Company, Nazareth, PA. Then it says Crafted in Nazareth PA, USA, of Materials sourced around the World.
it is all because of a law that applies only in CA. Lawyers in CA have used this law to extract a lot of money from companies thru lawsuits. If Martin had chosen to not ship to dealers in CA then they wouldnt have had to change the label. It is only small parts like tuners that arent made in the US. The law dates to 1961 but I cant help but think that it has something to do with the current lib fad of diminishing the influence and power of the USA.
Your employees don’t look like they were very happy I haven’t seen one of them look up and smile yet I wonder why?
Many of the “hello smiles” happened before & after the pieces of footage that made the final edit.
I was thinking the same, since I was born and raised in PA, I guess it's just because we don't like people, LOL 😂
Just wonder why all workers look so unhappy, I find it a bit strange.
Generally I like watching these type of video documentaries. I didn't finish watching this one. The narration is poor, the guy walking backward is dumb. This is not up to Martin Guitar standards.
Sorry to disappoint.
🤣