C . F . MARTIN & CO .
business that way . In order to grow , the business has to continue to evolve .”
It ’ s to this point that Greene reminds us that the now-classic D-18s , the 000s , the OMs , the 00s — all are evolutionary products , with their respective seminal forms originating in the early part of the last century . “ The people of the Martin of old didn ’ t just stick with what they had ,” he says . “ They continued to grow and move forward , and that remains our remit to this day . The problem is that now the products are so strong it ’ s hard to convince people to try anything new . And when you do make improvements , the question becomes , is it really an improvement or is it just something different ?”
It ’ s a good question . The old McDonald ’ s slogan “ Change is good ” might have worked well for burgers , but is change also good for guitars ? Plato can help us find an answer here . In short , the philosopher reasoned that if forms degrade with the passage of time , then we must find increasing perfection the further we retreat into the past . “ The good ,” Plato would insist , “ is that which preserves .” Therefore , if the starting point of all change is perfect and good , then change can only be a movement that leads away from the perfect and good ! In other words , the perfect state is the arrested state , fixed in its essentials by immutable laws of historical achievement .
Now let us invert Plato ’ s argument . If Greene is correct in his assertion that Martin ’ s foundational forms are in a state of continuing evolution , then by definition , perfection is yet to be achieved . No amount of gazing into the past will ever reveal such imagined perfection , impressive as those instruments may have been . The idea that the D-28 is the lapidary standard of perfection dooms us , then , to the tyranny of imperfect forms . Such perfection is an illusion . So , Martin — faithful to its DNA — continues to innovate , to discover , to improve . Its venerable past notwithstanding , perfection is yet to come , meaning it can only be attained by looking forward , not backward . When it does , I suspect we ’ ll recognize it .
“ THE PEOPLE OF THE MARTIN OF OLD DIDN ’ T JUST STICK WITH WHAT THEY HAD . THEY CONTINUED TO GROW AND MOVE FORWARD , AND THAT REMAINS OUR REMIT TO THIS DAY .”
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