Martin
The C.F. Martin & Company is a US guitar manufacturer established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin. Martin is highly regarded for
its steel-string guitars, and is a leading mass manufacturer of flattop acoustics with models that retail for thousands of dollars
and vintage instruments that often fetch six figures at resale. The company has also made several models of electric guitars and
electric basses.
For many years, Martin has used a model-labeling system that consists of an initial letter or a number or series of zeros that
specifies the body size and type (5 being the smallest and J being the largest) followed by a number that designates the guitar's
ornamentation and style, including the species of wood from which the guitar is constructed. Generally, the higher the number,
the higher the level of ornamentation. Additional letters or numbers added to this basic system are used to designate special
features (such as a built-in pickup or a cutaway).
Martin also periodically offers special models. Many of these have a limited production run, or begin as a limited-production guitar
that sells well enough to become regularly produced. Many of these special models are designed with, endorsed by, and named after
well-known guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Merle Haggard, Stephen Stills, Paul Simon, Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, and many others.
In 1997, Martin launched its Women in Music series which then was followed in 1998 by the Joan Baez Signature guitar, a replica
of the 0-45 with which Baez began her career.
Roger McGuinn worked with C. F. Martin & Company to develop a seven-string folk guitar. McGuinn's guitar, the D7, is tuned the same
as a standard folk guitar with steel strings, but the third (G) string is augmented with a harmonic string one octave higher.
The intention was to afford the six-string player the chance to play jangly twelve-string style lead guitar.
Probably the most popular Martin acoustic model is the D-28. The Martin D-28 14-fret dreadnought guitar first appeared in 1934.
With a solid sitka spruce top braced with a standard X pattern and mahogany neck, the D-28 differs mainly from the popular D-18 in
its use of east Indian rosewood instead of mahogany for the back and sides. Known for its power, the D-28 owes its large booming
sound both to the dreadnought shape—a wider waist and deeper body—coupled with rosewood for the back/sides. Players such as
Hank Williams, George Jones, Elvis Presley, and Paul McCartney have used the D-28.
Until around 1945, Martin scalloped the braces
for added response and lows. Today, the Martin HD-28 provides the scalloped braces. High quality materials like bone and tusq
are used on the nut and saddle respectively. The guitar was built with Brazilian rosewood until 1969 when the wood became too expensive.
The D-28 was selected as one of seven guitars that change the way we play in an article in Acoustic Guitar Magazine’s November, 2008 issue.
Other musicians who have played the D-28 include Jerry Garcia, Johnny Cash, Beck, Eric Clapton, Doc Watson, and Steve Earle.