CF Martin

  • Tuesday night at Roberts

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    “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the undisputed home of traditional country music!" declared Brazilbilly’s Jesse Lee Jones, to wild cheers at Robert’s Western World in downtown Nashville on Tuesday night, September 25. As part of IBMA’s World of Bluegrass week,

  • Martin introduces new Retro Series models

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    The C.F. Martin guitar company has generated quite a buzz in the six string community this past two months with the announcement of their new Retro Series acoustic/electric models. These are standard Martins, utilizing the new F1+ Aura pickup and

  • Three from ’37

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    The folks at Fretboard Journal posted this video shot during Wintergrass 2012 at their jam suite in the hotel. As it happened, a trio of 75 year old steel string flattop guitars wandered in while the incomparable Kenny Smith was hanging

  • More from NAMM 2012

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    This report from Winter NAMM comes from Dan Miller, publisher of Flatpicking Guitar magazine. The 110th National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show was held in Anaheim, California, from January 19th to the 22nd. There were 1441 exhibitors and 95,709 registered

  • Pre-war Martin video

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    CF Martin has posted a video that captures an interesting part of the mystique that surrounds their celebrated guitars built prior to World War II. It contains footage shot in 1939 at the old Martin shop on North Street, which was

  • Chris Martin on the D-45

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    Chris Martin (CF Martin IV) just posted a video about the return of the model D-45 to the Martin catalog, in the form of the D-45 Authentic 1942. It's quite a story, which includes an admission that when Martin decided to

  • Bogus Martin guitars in China

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    WFMZ News in Allentown, PA is reporting that CF Martin has run into a frustrating roadblock as it attempts to start marketing their guitars in China. It turns out that a Chinese company has already registered the right to build and

  • Gryphon founder interviewed in Collectors Weekly

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    Richard Johnston, co-founder of the venerable Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, CA, was recently interviewed by The Collectors Weekly web site. Johnston has earned a reputation as a luthier, and particularly as an historian and appraiser of vintage acoustic instruments.

  • Exhibit Hall Impressions

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    This year's trade show exhibit hall seems to have noticeably fewer booths than in past years. (This picture labeled "Where's Gibson?" demonstrates this point admirably. Other long-time exhibitors notably absent are Huber Banjos and The Murphy Method.) Walking through the