To get an idea of the C.F. Martin Guitar Company’s incredible historical pedigree, you have to travel back in time and journey across the Atlantic Ocean to Markneukirchen, Germany before C.F. Martin Sr. was even born. Before he was even a gleam in his father George’s eye, the Martin family name was synonymous with excellence in wood-working, and they had been respected members of the Cabinetmakers Guild for generations. Records indicate that George had actually started dabbling in guitar-making right around the time his son was born. Young Christian Fredericks Martin showed an aptitude for the family business, so much so that his father shipped him to study the art of guitar-making with the legendary Johann Stauffer.
To no one’s surprise, C.F. Martin took to making guitars the way a fish takes to water, and he quickly became the foreman of Stauffer’s shop. Armed with his new knowledge, he went back home to Germany to start building under the family name. But, after a lengthy, acrimonious legal battle between his Cabinet Makers Guild and the Violin Makers Guild over who had the right to produce guitars, he decided that his best economic opportunities lay in America. So, in 1833, he moved his operation to 196 Hudson Place in New York City, where he built guitars and ran a music retail shop.
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Serial Number: 2357977
Brand Martin Guitars
Model Custom Shop Grand Performance
Type GP-14 Fret
Adhesive Hide Glue
Top Wood Solid VTS Sitka Spruce
Top Finish Natural
Bracing X Brace - Forward Shifted Scalloped 5/16''
Back & Sides Wood Mahogany
Back & Sides Finish Polished Gloss
Neck Wood 12/4 Genuine Mahogany
Neck Finish Satin
Neck Joint Mahogany Blocks/Dovetail Neck Joint
Neck Shape Modified Low Oval Neck Taper, High Performance Taper
Neck Dimensions .830 1st - .910 9th
Fretboard Material Ebony
Fingerboard Inlays Old Style 18
Frets 20
Scale Length 25.4"
Width at Nut 1 3/4"
Saddle Spacing 2 5/32''
Nut Material Bone
Headstock Solid/Square Taper
Rosette Old Style 18 Black Maple Fiber
Tuners Schaller Nickel GrandTune BB Btn
Saddle 16'' Radius/Compensated/Bone
Case 3-Ply Hardshell with Flat Top