Martin CEO on embracing radical change.

[dwalton]

Originally Posted by Gryf

Did he discuss the radical change of keeping Martin binding from separating?

Perfect. Made my day.

[phavriluk]

Just one more bean-counting cipher.

[Annie B]

I'm surprised that the majority of posters have reacted to this article, or informational promo, with cynicism and criticism of Martin. Martin & Co has proven for generations that it consistently makes some of the best acoustic guitars, if not the best, in the world. Martin guitars, for generations, have contributed to an incredible amount of the best-written, created, and produced music our world has been lucky enough to hear. It's a fantastic American company which I am very proud of. Because the company is made up of human beings, it is flawed and has screwed up many times. But good lord, I support the direction it's moving in and celebrate it. Let's hope Martin continues to manufacture guitars whose sound is uniquely and unutterably fabulous.

[dwalton]

Originally Posted by Annie B

I'm surprised that the majority of posters have reacted to this article, or informational promo, with cynicism and criticism of Martin. Martin & Co has proven for generations that it consistently makes some of the best acoustic guitars, if not the best, in the world. Martin guitars, for generations, have contributed to an incredible amount of the best-written, created, and produced music our world has been lucky enough to hear. It's a fantastic American company which I am very proud of. Because the company is made up of human beings, it is flawed and has screwed up many times. But good lord, I support the direction it's moving in and celebrate it. Let's hope Martin continues to manufacture guitars whose sound is uniquely and unutterably fabulous.

You apparently really like Martin and their guitars. Others don't feel that way, for a lot of reasons.

What's so surprising about that?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by zoopeda

...Thomas has actually built guitars, start to finish, as a hobby prior to joining Martin...Reportedly he’s also a genuinely great person, which helps to know as well.

For a 20+ year stretch, from the late '80s through the early 2010's, I used to bracket-race my daily drivers as a hobby, and picked up my share of trophies in the bargain...

Nothing prepared me for when I put the hammer down on my first test pass in a dragster - and merely having done so doesn't qualify me for either a driver or crew chief position on an NHRA Top Fuel team...

Hobbies are cool but whether cars or guitars, I have a healthy respect for the real professionals who can compete successfully long-term in either arena...

Originally Posted by phavriluk

Has that 'genuinely great person' ever spoken out on his company's sloppy binding installations?

Met and spoke to CFM IV on a couple occasions...

Nice enough guy in person, but the whole crapstorm that ultimately resulted in the present state of affairs in Nazareth - binding issues, twisted necks, incorrect necksets, bad finishes, excessively thin body woods, et al. (all expounded ad infinitum/ad nauseam here on the General subforum) gradually unfolded over several decades on his sole watch, which leads me to:

Originally Posted by zoopeda

...The binding problem was already massive by the time [Ripsam] took over. CFM is still chairman at Martin, and clearly Tom is following the company's policy as they've been advised by their legal and repair departments. I hate the binding problem and wish they'd done more to acknowledge it and make it right for folks...

Don't know how anyone else feels about it, but to me this doesn't sound like a company that has a vested interest in/long-term plans for its future as a guitar maker on American soil...

I'm thinking that if you can afford (or beg/borrow/steal the funds to afford) one of the Authentics, now may be your last chance to grab the genuine article before they too go the way of Brooklyn Gretsches, New York Epiphones/D'Angelicos, Boston Strombergs, and the like: other than a very limited-output Custom Shop (which will most likely charge prices usually associated with AAA-list individual luthiers), if things continue the way they're going right now the bicentennial-commemorative Martin[s] they'll be introducing at Winter NAMM 2033 will almost certainly be of Mexican and/or Chinese origin...

[SRL]

It's cool they're trying something new. Or at least new for them, since skeletal bracing (Ryan), relief routes (Taylor), and fully sustainable sourcing (Breedlove) have been done by many others.

But Martin needs to get its own house in order first. None of its competitors seem to be having the same quality control issues, and most of them innovate at a faster clip than Martin too.

The old silicon valley adage is "go fast and break things". But Martin seems to be doing "break things, then try to go fast".

[Annie B]

Originally Posted by dwalton

You apparently really like Martin and their guitars. Others don't feel that way, for a lot of reasons.

What's so surprising about that?

Nothing surprises me about that. I know many don't care for Martins for a variety of reasons, but that has nothing to do with my point. My point was that it surprised me that so many in this thread were critical, dismissive, and cynical about a company that is so successful and that, in general, produces, and has produced, some of the world's greatest instruments. It strikes me that you gotta respect that even if you don't like Martins, or have problems with the company. I don't care for Taylor guitars, e.g., but I respect what the company has accomplished. I think the overwhelming majority of guitarists respect Martin so it's weird that this thread attracted so much hostility.

[phavriluk]

'Martin' is NOT a synonym for 'guitar' and is not a standard for judging other factories' products, no matter what their worshippers profess.

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

For a 20+ year stretch, from the late '80s through the early 2010's, I used to bracket-race my daily drivers as a hobby, and picked up my share of trophies in the bargain...

Nothing prepared me for when I put the hammer down on my first test pass in a dragster - and merely having done so doesn't qualify me for either a driver or crew chief position on an NHRA Top Fuel team...

Hobbies are cool but whether cars or guitars, I have a healthy respect for the real professionals who can compete successfully long-term in either arena...


Met and spoke to CFM IV on a couple occasions...

Nice enough guy in person, but the whole crapstorm that ultimately resulted in the present state of affairs in Nazareth - binding issues, twisted necks, incorrect necksets, bad finishes, excessively thin body woods, et al. (all expounded ad infinitum/ad nauseam here on the General subforum) gradually unfolded over several decades on his sole watch, which leads me to:


Don't know how anyone else feels about it, but to me this doesn't sound like a company that has a vested interest in/long-term plans for its future as a guitar maker on American soil...

I'm thinking that if you can afford (or beg/borrow/steal the funds to afford) one of the Authentics, now may be your last chance to grab the genuine article before they too go the way of Brooklyn Gretsches, New York Epiphones/D'Angelicos, Boston Strombergs, and the like: other than a very limited-output Custom Shop (which will most likely charge prices usually associated with AAA-list individual luthiers), if things continue the way they're going right now the bicentennial-commemorative Martin[s] they'll be introducing at Winter NAMM 2033 will almost certainly be of Mexican and/or Chinese origin...

Thing is, Martin guitar sales have INCEASED every year since the binding issue became known. You and I can be pissed they're not handling it the way friends would, but to a business, at the end of the day what matters is sales. I imagine it's easy to tell your R&D department, on one hand, to get to fixing that binding issue, and on the other, tell yourself clearly people are loving Martin guitars more and more as reflected in record-breaking sales numbers year after year. If people were pissed enough about the binding issue, they'd stop buying Martins; yet that's clearly not happening. Numbers don't lie. I have to imagine, as businessmen, Chris and Tom take comfort in that.

[Pickcity]

I believe a new direction is good for any well known maker IF the product is high quality, and IF it remains a feasible choice for prospective buyers, price wise.

$4k? They will sell some, sure, to the most loyal, but of all the $4k guitars out there, why this one? I don’t see the appeal, but that’s just me.

Martin QC issues are nothing new. I turned off from them more than a decade ago because of friends who had major problems with newer guitars. This happened to several, yes several friends and acquaintances over the past 15 or so years. Binding was the major issue. Surprise…But not the only issue.

Martin could solve their issues with a few tweaks, but first, they must admit (to themselves) they have some issues that need tweaking.

I have played Martins that were truly great guitars. I have come extremely close to purchasing newer Martins as well as vintage. I just see them as high maintenance tools, and I don’t want my tools to be high maintenance. I can have high quality tools that require very little maintenance. Never mind the name on the headstock.

Domestic, sustainable wood sources have been proven to be a winner by both Gibson and Taylor for years. They are widely accepted. No reason Martin can’t join the party.

[Leocino_2804]

Just a glorified cash grab, trying to make as much margin from left over wood as possible.

[PineMarten]

Originally Posted by SRL

But Martin needs to get its own house in order first. None of its competitors seem to be having the same quality control issues, and most of them innovate at a faster clip than Martin too.

Montana Gibsons in the past 10-15 years have regularly had issues with the bridgeplate area not being as well made as it really should be - bridge pin holes roughly drilled with tearout, a hole for an alignment dowel that on some models encroaches on the ball end positions, excess glue etc.
It's obviously less visible than something external like binding, I only became aware of it when I picked up my G45, got curious about the alignment hole, did some searching and found threads on the Gibson forum. But it is an example of a similar recurring, unresolved production issue.

[Murphy Slaw]

Follow the money.

[davidd]

I don't care about them anymore... I'm done with them. Their lack of admitting culpability is tantamount to being a company headed by liars.

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by davidd

I don't care about them anymore... I'm done with them. Their lack of admitting culpability is tantamount to being a company headed by liars.

You gonna sell that D-16 then?