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Hookani
Lokahi
232 Posts |
 Posted - 06/05/2009 : 11:17:59 PM
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or just really helped them out. Seems that in the early 1900s, Martin wasn't doing so well with sales but got a lot of help from Hawaiian Music. Here's an excert from Acoustic Guitar mag:
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But despite new catalogs and a push to get Martin instruments into music stores on the West Coast, the company's annual sales remained flat. Larger guitars, such as the 000 size introduced in 1902 and the more elaborately inlaid Style 45 which first appeared in 1904, gained little notice. Despite its reputation as the maker of the finest gut-string guitars in the country, it's clear from the company's records of the time that Martin was floundering. Frank Henry must have realized that survival lay in finding new markets for more popular instruments rather than in clinging to the cultural high ground with gut-string guitars. A craze for Hawaiian music swept the nation in 1915, and it proved to be Frank Henry's ticket out of stagnation, but he still needed help in catching the wave.
Starting in 1916, Martin began making steel-string guitars for Hawaiian-style playing, but the first of these new models were sold under other brand names, not as Martins. Guitars made of Hawaiian koa, with koa tops, were made for the Southern California Music store chain, while three sizes of an odd, wide-waisted guitar shape, also intended for Hawaiian-style playing, were made for the Ditson stores in New York and Boston. (The worst-selling Ditson model was an oversized behemoth called the Dreadnought, which would become Martin's signature body shape decades later.) Around the same time, Martin introduced a line of ukuleles and a new, flat-back style mandolin that was far easier to build than the earlier, bowlback style. The little ukes and plainer mandolin models were cheaper than a guitar with similar appointments, but the large numbers sold more than made up the difference. In 1920, for instance, the company sold about 1,500 mandolins and more than 3,000 ukuleles, a year in which its mandolin sales alone exceeded the sales of Martin guitars. These new instruments allowed the company to find the growth and prosperity that had long eluded it, and in less than five years after the radical change in direction Martin's gross sales figures had increased sevenfold.
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Interesting.
Aloha,
Ho'okani
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Ke Kani Nahe
YouTube
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sm80808
Lokahi
347 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2009 : 01:09:26 AM
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Very interesting D.
I know for my Dad and Uncle's generation it seemed like Martins were the "must have" guitar. In fact, my dad's wedding present from my mom was a D28 and a Martin Tenor uke. (Lucky guy eh?...)
It seems like local musicians gravitate towards Taylors these days.
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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2009 : 04:27:06 AM
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I got to tell ya, for off the shelf (major mfg) guitars I think Martin is still on top. The resonance and tone of a good Martin turns my head. Ozzie's very old Martin has that fabulous Martin sound for instance and it is a joy to listen to.
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Bob |
Edited by - RWD on 06/06/2009 04:29:07 AM |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2009 : 04:33:59 AM
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Youse guys are going to get Unko Paul thinkin' about a new guitar. Nip it, nip it, nip it. Nothing wrong with Simon & Patrick.
But they do sound good for the most part. Except for them backpacker things. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2168 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2009 : 04:34:15 AM
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| It must be the residual Bluegrass in me that keeps me satisfied with my D-18. It feels like vacation every time I play it. |
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2009 : 06:47:04 AM
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| I've been a long time Martin fan. First, a 000-18 (1960), which was stolen. Then, a 000-28 (1972) which I had to sell for fincancial reasons. Then a D-18 (1978), and, most recently, a beatiful 000-28 (2008 Xmas), which thumbstruck plays every time he gets his hand on it - a sweet sounding guitar. I'm predjudiced, obviously. |
keaka |
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2009 : 10:55:02 AM
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I ALWAYS think about a new guitar. It's just how I am. GAS is infectious. I expect to build my next instrument, though. Already got one HUGE gourd in the room here with me. Much cheaper than rosewood, mahogany, spruce, even cheaper than yellow pine.
Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
Edited by - rendesvous1840 on 06/06/2009 10:55:34 AM |
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sirduke58
`Olu`olu
USA
993 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2009 : 6:30:32 PM
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quote:
originally posted by haole-boy
Ozzie's very old Martin has that fabulous Martin sound for instance and it is a joy to listen to.
Hey Bob that old gnarly lookin' Martin that Ozzie has used to be Sonny Chillingworth's guitar. Sonny was Ozzie's kumu. Retired Judge Tom Kaulukukui Jr who played 2 tunes on Ozzie's latest CD "Ho'ihi" is a collector and has a bunch of old vintage Martins. He even has one that looks like the guitar on the CD cover! |
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Bd1
Lokahi
USA
114 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2009 : 01:53:29 AM
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Hey Gang,An old friend who owned a music store Kaliponi told me a story about Martin guitars. It seemed Mr Martin determined that the wood in Church Pews was good for making his guitars.Sweated on,P----- on and rubbed. If he couldnt buy the pews he would buy the Church and land. After he died the estate found that the Martin Guitar company was a large land holder thruout the Southeastern part of the country. Not sure if this Gospel but a good tale nonetheless.. |
BD1 |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2009 : 03:42:18 AM
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| Why else would they be headquartered in Nazareth, PA???? |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2009 : 11:04:05 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Bd1
Hey Gang,An old friend who owned a music store Kaliponi told me a story about Martin guitars. It seemed Mr Martin determined that the wood in Church Pews was good for making his guitars.Sweated on,P----- on and rubbed. If he couldnt buy the pews he would buy the Church and land. After he died the estate found that the Martin Guitar company was a large land holder thruout the Southeastern part of the country. Not sure if this Gospel but a good tale nonetheless..
You can check tales like this by joining and posting at the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum: http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/
I'd bet a new Martin that the story is without basis. Martins have been made of five woods almost exclusively (at least until the late 70s) - rosewood, mahogany, koa, ebony, and spruce. None of those are going to show up in church pews (well, maybe koa in an old Hawaiian church).
Fran |
E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
Edited by - Fran Guidry on 06/07/2009 11:05:02 AM |
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Bd1
Lokahi
USA
114 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2009 : 12:59:46 PM
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| Fran,As I said Iam not sure if this true...........It was told to me by a Music Store owner who sold Martins. I will do further due diligence as I would love to have you send me a Martin !! (used OK ) |
BD1 |
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