AIN ’ T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery , then Martin can consider itself quite flattered . Its foundational architecture has become the de facto platform — the pattern from which all else followed . Indeed , Martin is the original , with a capital O . We take for granted ,” says Fred Greene , “ that the modern acoustic guitar was created here in Nazareth .” Martin is , in fact , the oldest guitar manufacturer in the United States by far . “ We were making guitars before the Civil War ,” Greene says . “ It ’ s hard sometimes for us to fathom those amazing craftsmen of old making guitars by candlelight , no electricity . We have those guitars in our museum , and they still play . They ’ re still cool guitars . And we ’ re still inspired by them .”
Martins old and new do indeed possess an enduring quality — they were and are meant to last generations . “ That ’ s such a different concept ,” Greene continues . “ In today ’ s disposable world of electronics , where before you even learn how to work the current version , they ’ ve already come out with the next version . And the operating system no longer works . That ’ s not what we do . We make something that a hundred years from now will perform even better than it does now . Who does that in this world today ? Nobody . It ’ s the very opposite of planned obsolescence . At some point people start to understand that kind of value . There ’ s not much in the world that gets better as it gets older . Martin is one of the few things that does .”
Speaking of old , among the most coveted of any instrument of any type is the pre-war Dreadnought — a Holy Grail objective of collectors and players alike . Greene quips , “ When people speak of pre-war Martins ,
COLLECTIBLE GUITAR |
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