C . F . MARTIN & CO .
A WRINKLE IN TIME
That vintage 1953 Martin OM you ’ re playing ? It didn ’ t sound like that when it was built . The reason for that is expressed in the simple equation : wood + time = happiness
The problem , of course , is the variable time . They ’ re not making 70-year-old guitars anymore . So , what ’ s really going on with these older instruments that makes them so special , so desirable ? Chemistry . And botany .
The old saying goes , “ the woods are made of wood .” But what , exactly , is wood ? In short , wood is an organic material comprising cellulose fibers ( the main constituent of plant cell walls ), lignin ( complex organic polymers ), and hemicellulose ( diverse sugars having a propensity to crystallize ). Fascinating as this chemistry may be , only Mother Nature can synthesize those elements into a tree . But it takes time to transmute those elements into material suitable for crafting musical instruments . The only remaining question , then , is , can we speed things up ?
All wood gradually loses hemicellulose to evaporation over time . In the process , it becomes lighter , but remains just as stiff — two very desirable qualities in a soundboard . With less mass to move , the wood vibrates more freely , resulting in an increasingly resonant instrument . The crystallization of sap inside the wood over time also contributes to the process . Lignin , on the other hand , changes as it is exposed to sunlight , imparting that familiar yellowish tint characteristic of so many vintage instruments .
As any woodworker knows , the use of seasoned wood is paramount in
FAST – FORWARD 70 YEARS AND IT SOUNDS EVEN MORE AMAZING .
the success of any building project . Its reduced moisture lends stability as dry , well-seasoned stock resists shrinking , expanding , warping , and cracking .
In Martin ’ s earlier days , spruce would be seasoned at the North Street factory , stored up in the rafters for ten years or more as Father Time worked his magic to cook out much of the moisture-laden cellulose . Only then would the material be considered sufficiently aged for use as a soundboard . Fast-forward 70 years and it sounds even more amazing .