Pretty much everyone at Portland Music Co. on Broadway is a guitar player. We just dig guitars, and we dig playin' 'em. So, it's kind of convenient that we all work in a music store which has walls that are covered in, you know... guitars.
While there are many fine brands of guitars out there these days, only a select few get to be on the hooks at Portland Music Co. We want brands which offer something that's getting more and more difficult to find these days: VALUE.
When we look for a brand to adorn our walls, we need to be impressed, and we're not an easy crowd by any stretch of the imagination. If we see in a brand value for our customers, we'll pursue that brand. It's as simple as that.
One of the stalwarts of the acoustic guitar industry is, of course, Martin Guitars. Martin opened their doors in 1833, and they've been steadily building guitars ever since. Think about that for a minute. They've been building guitars for almost 180 years. With a track record like that, you can be assured of two things. First, that the company isn't going anywhere. Second, since they've been around since the dawn of musical time (more or less), they know what they're doing (and they do it well).
When you walk into Portland Music Co. on Broadway, you lift your gaze only to be subjected to a full on Martin assault. Hanging high are a plethora of Martin Guitars:
 |
| Just a small portion of the Martins on hand... |
Martin has been the benchmark in the acoustic guitar industry for almost two centuries, and with good reason. They basically created the acoustic guitar. Every company which has come after them owes a not-so-subtle nod to C.F. Martin & Company.
If you're looking for what might be considered a regular production Martin, we certainly have those:
 |
| A Martin 000-15M... |
 |
| This is the acoustic guitar by which all others are judged: The Martin D-28... |
 |
| This D-16 features Mahogany back and sides and an Adirondack Spruce top... |
What we also have are those guitars that you might not find at just any Martin dealer; those special, harder to find Martins. Some are Signature models, and some are full-blown custom models, but they're
all ridiculously nice models:
 |
| An OM Custom in Tasmanian Blackwood and Adirondack Spruce... |
 |
| An abalone lover's dream... |
 |
| Flame for days... |
 |
| A D-42 in Blackwood. And lots and lots of abalone... |
 |
| The back of the Blackwood D-42... |
 |
| A detail shot of the D-42... |
 |
| A 00-DB Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) Signature Model... |
 |
| A Johnny Cash D-35... |
 |
| A Jorma Kaukonen Signature Model... |
 |
| The headstock of the Jorma Kaukonen Signature Model... |
 |
| A detail shot of the Jorma Kaukonen Signature Model |
So, let us lift a toast to the "big dog" on the porch. Let us tip our collective hat to the ones who started it all: C.F. Martin & Company of Nazareth, Pennsylvania...
All text and photos by Steve Parr
No comments:
Post a Comment