Ukulele
C.F. Martin & Company is a U.S. guitar manufacturer established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin. Martin is highly regarded for its steel-string guitars and is a leading mass-manufacturer of flattop acoustics. Martin instruments can cost thousands of dollars and vintage instruments often cost six figures. The company has also made several models of electric guitars and electric basses.
The company’s headquarters and primary factory are in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, located in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. Martin also manufactures instruments in Mexico. Martin produced 182 instruments during 1900, increasing to 24,085 in 2000.
When my wife and I were on vacation in the French Quarter of New Orleans, I was searching for a local music store. After going to a couple closed down locations, I was lucky enough to find one on the other side of the mighty Mississippi river in Algiers Point.
We took a ferry across and found out that the store was actually in a musician’s garage because of local “inventory tax.” Oh well, I thought “maybe he still had some decent instruments?” Thankfully and surprisingly, he has been a Martin dealer for over 30 years. After scanning through his massive collection of guitars, I decided to get the Martin S1 soprano type ukulele. It will be perfect to use to teach my four year old how to play the ukulele, while she plays her own, which is a concert type, at the same time.