Collectible Guitar C.F. Martin & Co. / Special Edition | Page 31

THE CUSTOM SHOP EXPERIENCE

THE CUSTOM SHOP EXPERIENCE

Martin ’ s Custom Shop has come a long way since its beginnings — back when “ custom ” meant offering a handful of standard options from a tri-fold brochure , and then building the guitar in the regular factory , not in a separate shop .

Today ’ s dedicated custom shop didn ’ t come into being until 1979 when the vision was fully realized with craftspeople making only custom guitars and with a much wider selection of options and possibilities . Spurred in part by the growing number of boutique makers building custom instruments based on traditional Martin shapes , the company was determined to demonstrate that nobody could build a Martin better than , well , Martin . Additionally , the company wanted to make the point that while there are indeed a great many highly skilled luthiers operating under their own shingles , Martin , being a larger company , is uniquely able to bring more resources to bear with its manifold technologies , highly skilled craftspeople , and large stocks of select materials that would otherwise be very difficult for others to match . In other words , in its Custom Shop , Martin is bringing together the best of both large and small worlds .

And now for the differences .
COLLECTIBLE GUITAR | 31