Why Are Martin Guitars So Expensive?
If you’re a guitarist or collector looking to add a new or vintage Martin guitar to your collection, you’ve no doubt noticed how expensive many of them are.
You can purchase a Martin guitar for under one thousand dollars, but these instruments are the company’s “budget” guitars; there are Martin brand guitars worth thousands, and even tens of thousands of dollars.
If you’re wondering why many Martin guitars are priced so high, you’ve come to the right place.
In the following article, we’ll look at why Martin guitars are priced as they are, and whether or not they’ll likely represent a good buy for you.
What Do We Mean By Expensive?
Before going any further, it might be helpful to define what we mean when we say expensive, as it relates to a guitar. Though Martin makes acoustic guitars almost exclusively, some companies, like Gibson and Fender, make electric guitar models that cost tens of thousands of dollars.
So, when discussing how expensive Martin guitars are, it’s important to keep two things in mind: one, the idea of a quality instrument costing ten thousand dollars or more is hardly unheard of and, two, Martin is only expensive when compared to other high-quality acoustic guitar models.
Taylor guitars, for example, are often comparable in price to Martin offerings. Until 2020, Taylor manufactured the 810, which was Taylor’s answer to Martin’s D-28. The two guitars were within a few hundred dollars of one another; it may or may not be telling that Taylor has since discontinued the 810.
Why Are Martin Guitars So Expensive?
When you purchase a Martin guitar, you can be certain you’re getting your money’s worth; you aren’t paying simply for a well-established and respected brand, but for the quality and consistency the brand promises.
For close to two hundred years now, Martin has produced guitars many believe represent the high-water mark in acoustic guitar production. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons Martin guitars are so expensive:
Unique Quality Materials
One reason Martin guitars are expensive is the quality of materials they use. Martin uses only the highest quality tone woods like Adirondack spruce, East Indian rosewood and mahogany, etc. which adds to manufacturing costs.
Many quality guitars use these top-end woods, though, and while they certainly add to a guitar’s cost, they don’t tell the whole story of why Martins cost more.
Since the company’s inception, Martin guitars has been an innovator, continuously improving the design, tones, and playability of their guitars.
One of Martin’s more notable innovations is the dreadnaught guitar body, which has become far and away the most popular version of the modern acoustic guitar. Other innovations, though less commonly known, have also vastly improved the guitar as we know it today.
The development of innovations such as new synthetic tone “woods” like High Pressure Laminate (patented in 1998 for use in Martin’s X series guitars) and LUXE BY MARTIN energy-reflecting bridge pins are another reason Martin guitars cost so much.
Innovations like these improve the sound, looks, and playability of Martin guitars, but they can add to manufacturing costs.
Martin’s use of only the best quality components extends to their choice of tuners, bindings, and fingerboard inlays. Throughout their history, Martin has fitted their fourteen-fret guitars with either Grover, Kluson, or Waverly tuners, depending on the year and model.
Initially, Martin used white pearls for their fingerboard inlays; now, the company employs a variety of different pearls for the purpose.
Craftsmanship/Attention To Detail
Another reason Martin guitars command such a high price is, simply put, their quality. Most Martin guitars are manufactured using a process that includes both ultra-high-precision machining and handcrafting.
Martin guitars feature solid wood construction and the vast majority of them use wood that has been quarter sawn. The quarter sawn technique of cutting tone woods is beneficial in a number of ways.
For one thing, quarter sawn wood retains more of its natural tones than does traditionally cut wood. Another benefit of quarter sawing is that it improves the overall stability of the instrument; for example, quarter sawn guitars are better at handling the stresses of thicker gauge strings.
To facilitate the most accurate measurements possible, Martin utilizes Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software to run their CNC machines.
Another machining process involves what is known as fret-dressing. Using a Plek machine, Martin is able to level and shape fretboards with incredible precision.
Machines, however good, can only do so much, though, and many of Martin guitar’s more notable aesthetic touches are skillfully and painstakingly applied by hand.
Exacting standards of quality control is another reason Martin consistently produces guitars of the highest caliber. Martin guitars are inspected many times during the manufacturing process, and only those guitars worthy of the Martin name ever make it past quality control.
Brand Reputation
There’s no getting around the fact that part of what makes Martin guitars so expensive is brand reputation and recognition. Having been around so long, and having a reputation for producing consistently excellent instruments, the Martin name alone carries value.
Unlike many other high-end brands that produce luxury goods, though, Martin is a tough act to counterfeit.
Throw a FILA tag on a budget t-shirt or a PRADA label on a low-quality bag, and nine out of ten buyers likely won’t know the difference; should someone be dishonest (and foolish) enough to try and pass an inferior guitar off as a Martin, most guitarists and collectors will know better just by looking at it.
Innovation
We touched briefly on the role innovation has played in Martin’s legacy, but it would be hard to overstate the degree to which Martin has changed the guitar for the better.
Aside from creating the dreadnaught body guitar, Martin also engineered the X bracing, a giant leap forward in guitar stability now incorporated in many guitars made by competitors and other lesser known guitar manufacturers.
To find out more reasons why Martin Guitars so expensive, check out the full article: https://guitartopreview.com/why-are-martin-guitars-so-expensive/