Martin Guitar Tour

  • Thread starter Thread starter gvarko
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gvarko

gvarko

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I was on vacation last week and did something I always wanted to do, tour the Martin Factory. My website is down for a redesign so I put photos from my tour up there for your enjoyment.

Here's a few Martin quick facts from the tour:

They ship on average 250 guitars a day, M-F.

They build every model every day, they don't do specific runs on select days.

Every new Martin comes with a hard case. If the dealer is telling you otherwise they are lying.

They do not sell seconds or damaged items, they are destroyed.

Employees are allowed to purchase one guitar per year at a substantial discount.

Once a guitar is done it goes in it's case and on a rack for 8 days. It is brought down and re-checked before shipping. They do this for every guitar they ship.

The body and neck get serial numbers at the earliest possible stage of building. They travel different paths to completion and are matched up at the end.

The quality control is outstanding. They have a recording studio in the factory and will routinely pull a guitar off the line and lay down a track to insure quality.

The setup department is the only area where you are required to know how to play a guitar.

They have a machine shop on-site and make some of the custom machinery you see in the pics.

Enjoy the tour:

www.woodguarden.com
 
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tour ?

i have been wanting to take there tour for years .... i just went by there about a hour ago ...... just cant seem to find time to stop in .......
 
dave..... said:
i have been wanting to take there tour for years .... i just went by there about a hour ago ...... just cant seem to find time to stop in .......
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Same here, I am 20 minutes from Nazareth on the Jersey side. I was off last week and decided to finally do it. I highly recommend it if you can find the time. When I went it was about 2:30 and most workers had already left. The tour guide said they start early and finish around 2:15. I like those hours!
 
Thank you for posting those facts and pictures. It looks like a fascinating place to visit.

ps. make sure the 'stabilization' mode is ON when you take pics :)
 
michaelst said:
Thank you for posting those facts and pictures. It looks like a fascinating place to visit.

ps. make sure the 'stabilization' mode is ON when you take pics :)
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Sorry, the stabilization problem is my kids. I let them take the museum pics. When I go back I will make sure to get some clearer pics. The kids loved the tour, they had wireless headsets so you could hear the guide nice and clearly. That was a nice feature.
 
The last time I was out there was 1990, so things where a bit different than it is these days. Back then they were still shaping all there necks by hand, and hadn't gotten into the CNC thing yet (then again, no one had). By the by, they don't make all their own MACHINES, thought they may make some of them, but their machine shop makes all of their jigs and such, but their big machines (table saws, CNC machines, sanders, etc.) they purchased just like anyone else. It doesn't make any sense to do it any other way.

At any rate, it would be interesting to get back out there to see how things have changed.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
By the by, they don't make all their own MACHINES, thought they may make some of them, but their machine shop makes all of their jigs and such, but their big machines (table saws, CNC machines, sanders, etc.) they purchased just like anyone else. It doesn't make any sense to do it any other way.
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No doubt, I was refering to the custom stuff you see in the pics. The hydraulic guitar holders with suction cups are all their own custom creations. I wasn't suggesting the larger stuff was made in house.
 
I toured the Martin factory in the late '70s . What a fine time...I love the smell of rosewood in the morning. Another great tour was the old Gibson factory in Kalamazoo Michigan. I don't think they had a formal tour set up, but one of my guitar bud's knew someone so we got shown thru the place.
The coolest area was the custom benches where they were building Super 400's and Byrdlands. Oh for the old days....lol


chazba
 
i'd like to know what they listen for when checking out a guitar in their in house studio.
 
Thanks for sharing! I would love to go see where my D35 was made. Probably never make it out there though :(
 
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