Martin D-CFM-50, made in Mexico, Why?

[The Bard Rocks]

The guitar looks odd to me in that there is an incredible amount of bling on the headstock and fingerboard. But it stops dead there. A very simple rosette and minimal purfling.

[TheGITM]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

The guitar looks odd to me in that there is an incredible amount of bling on the headstock and fingerboard. But it stops dead there. A very simple rosette and minimal purfling.

Well, it's a very scaled back version of this one that's being made out of Nazareth... while this one out of Nazareth definitely has a more over-the-top bling approach, it's priced at $50,000.

[Murphy Slaw]

Originally Posted by cdkrugjr

Don’t forget they’ve been luthiers in Mexico building amazing guitars, along with the vast variety of fretted instruments, for longer than Martin has existed.

In Mexico, Martin is the “New Upstart.”

And yet, no name actually comes to mind...

[TheGITM]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

And yet, no name actually comes to mind...

Here is one... and there are many more...

https://fructuosozalapa.com/index.ph...uctuoso-zalapa

[lowrider]

I don't mean to knock the Mexican made Martin's. I still have my Mexican made Road Series GPC and play it all the time.

I'm questioning this guitar, any why they thought it was a good idea, and who thought it was a good idea.

They don't say anything about the finish or the bracing but to me it's an overly blinged out D-10 or D-12. If the idea is to show that you can make a great guitar in Mexico, just make a great guitar down there, not this thing.

[Murphy Slaw]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

pure speculation, but this could be the beginning of their transition to building more , or most, of their guitars in Mexico. Fender did it, so why not them? Look, they now have a 15 series model that's MIM, so I'm sure the rest will follow at some point.

This is more likely, than not.

[jimmy bookout]

Originally Posted by Sadie-f

The quilt sapele, flame maple bound, figured mahogany neck, Waverly tuning machines, and yes the inlay ... that's a pretty high spec guitar.

For comparison, -45 inlay runs $4-6000 from whatever builder / factory is producing it.

Specs from Martin list the binding as "Black Boltaron"

[Br1ck]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

I'll make a few more guesses:

• You're definitely looking at the future of CFM IV & Co.: with the exception of Rickenbacker - and more power to them - every major "American" brand either has an offshore/outsourced manufacturing subsidiary or has shifted completely (or nearly so) to non-American production;
• The Nazareth facility will eventually serve as US corporate offices, a regional visitors' center, an expanded museum, a central CS call center (Heaven help us all... ), a repair facility (ditto...) and a small-scale Custom Shop for the ever-decreasing number of players who understand - and can appreciate - what a "real" Martin is and can/should be, and are willing/able to pay the price;
• The mystery of that massive warehouse will finally be solved as rank-&-file line personnel displaced by the move of production to Mexico (and, I strongly suspect, China as well) will be offered first option of continued employment in various aspects of warehousing/distribution (likely at lower, unskilled-labor wages) - historically a powerful incentive when you live in a one-industry town during difficult economic times;
• Cheer up, you'll still be able to get an approachably (if not necessarily affordably) priced Martin made with traditional tonewoods - it's just not going to be made in Nazareth;
• In the absence of an in-house "guitar person" with a strong presence a la Mike Longworth or Dick Boak, you're going to see some real oddballs rolling off the assembly line (the good Mr. Ripsam can call them whatever he wants - the current buzzword appears to be "radical change" ), and say what you might about Bob T. or Andy Powers, there was always a method to the madness that generally resulted in both a better product and a certain grudging respect from the competition - by contrast there hasn't been a significant, lasting Martin innovation since Prohibition;
• With no family tradition of hands-on lutherie for nearly a century there's going to be increasing product-line diversification under an amorphous "music" umbrella (viz., the new limited-edition Martin turntable) and transition to a "lifestyle" brand - a strategy that failed miserably for certain competitors, which leads me to:
• The Martin name is a highly-saleable commodity, a win-win situation for one (or more) with no vested personal interest in either the product itself or the heritage of the brand, and those who would jump at the opportunity to legally acquire the marque and "go legit" on the international market; funds derived therefrom, along with due ongoing compensation as President/COO of Western Hemisphere distribution (possibly a "legacy" position to be reserved for future descendants, to provide a public appearance of continuity), would provide the foundation of a comfortable lifestyle for generations to come, without the messy obligations of a true family-owned/directed business...

So you like it, right?

[Sadie-f]

Originally Posted by jimmy bookout

Specs from Martin list the binding as "Black Boltaron"

That's the body binding, from the product page specs

"Fingerboard Binding Material: Flamed Maple"

I wrote:

"flame maple bound, figured mahogany neck" .. probably should have expressed it as "figured mahogany neck with flame maple binding.

And that said, I think it's pretty weird to be using different binding on the body and neck. Of course, wood binding on a body is a lot harder to do than wood binding on a fingerboard.

[lowrider]

I you look at the pictures, there's no binding on the neck;



Martin has been known to list things incorrectly on the website. I curious to see the bracing and the finish. To see it there is really anything worth trying about this guitar.

[lowrider]

I got the specs for this guitar from Martin. It has A-frame bracing and gloss poly finish. It's a regular Road Series Dread with an ebony fretboard, some wild inlay work, and upgraded tone woods that probably don't affect the tone.

I don't think that this guitar is any sign that Martin is moving any of the Standard Series or better guitars south of the border. I think it's just somebody's idea of a special guitar. I hope this wasn't the new guy's idea.

You can get a D-41 for only $200 more. Or you can get a Satin D-18 and a Satin D-28 for less. I just don't get it.

[TheGITM]

This is literally just a scaled-down, more affordable version of the 50th anniversary edition coming out of Nazareth. Both guitars are limited to a run of 50... the one out of Nazareth is $50,000 and the one out of Mexico is $5,000.

I really don't think that there is anything more to it than that.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by lowrider

I got the specs for this guitar from Martin. It has A-frame bracing and gloss poly finish. It's a regular Road Series Dread with an ebony fretboard, some wild inlay work, and upgraded tone woods that probably don't affect the tone.

I don't think that this guitar is any sign that Martin is moving any of the Standard Series or better guitars south of the border. I think it's just somebody's idea of a special guitar. I hope this wasn't the new guy's idea.

You can get a D-41 for only $200 more. Or you can get a Satin D-18 and a Satin D-28 for less. I just don't get it.

From this promo video of the two 50th anniversary guitars, it seems pretty clear that the MIM guitar celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Navajo factory was Chris Martin’s idea (starting at around 3:15):



At the end of the video, CFM IV says that he thinks the guitar is a lot of guitar for the money. These special edition collector guitars do nothing for me, so I wouldn’t buy one, but there only needs to be 50 people who think differently. I suspect that Martin will sell 50 of these before they sell 50 of the D-50s.

[sinistral]

Oops, double post.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by sinistral

From this promo video of the two 50th anniversary guitars, it seems pretty clear that the MIM guitar celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Navajo factory was Chris Martin’s idea...

Not surprised...