Vintage instrument timeline
(most entries pertain to Martin, unless otherwise noted)
1796: Christian Frederick Martin was born into a long line of guitar and violinmakers in Markneukirchen, Germany.
1833: Christian Frederick Martin left Germany to take up his craft at 196 Hudson St., NYC.
1838: Martin had a formal partnership with Charles Bruno and marketed guitars marked C.F. Martin & Bruno on a paper label. John Coupa is mentioned many times in the 1830's sales books. He was a guitar teacher who had guitars made with Martin & Coupa on the label at least through 1851.
1839: C.F. Martin moved his family and business to Pennsylvania. Henry Schatz was a friend of C.F. Martin from Saxony, Germany. Schatz preceded Martin to Pennsylvania in 1835 and was probably a large influence in the Martin family moving to this area. Schatz worked with Martin in Pennsylvania, although there is no record of a legal partnership, there were guitars made with the Martin & Schatz label.
1840s: Some unusual features from this time period include a shield shape piece of wood inlaid in the back with the brand. Other guitars from the 1840's had a strip of wood marquetry around the center of the sides, dividing the sides into upper and lower halves. Martin first started experimenting with the X-bracing that has become the standard strutting pattern for almost all modern steel-strung guitars.
1852: Martin standardized body sizes. The largest was Size 1, the smallest Size 3.
1854: Larger and smaller sizes, size 0 and 4 respectively, were added.
1856: Martin early style designations appeared. With these style designations every Martin acquired a two-part model name with size number and style number separated by a hyphen.
Style 17 had rosewood back and sides and a spruce top with coloured wood purfling around the soundhole and several layers of wood binding with rosewood on the outermost layer. Style 18 was also rosewood back and sides with only slightly fancier marquetry. Style 27 had a pearl sound hole ring with top edge trimmed with coloured wood inlaid in a diagonal pattern and outside binding of elephant ivory. Style 28 had a pearl sound hole ring and herringbone purfling (top edging). In the early days, the style number was also the PRICE!
1867: Martin took on partners and incorporated. The inside center strip stamp now read: "C.F. Martin & Co., New York", The headstock stamp did not change, and neck block stamp changed shortly thereafter. Even after Martin moved to his new home in Cherry Hill, near Nazareth, PA, his guitars were still sold through only one representative (Zoebisch) in New York, so the New York stamp remained. (All of the Martin neck block stamps were upside down from the first until about 1893, with the exception of some early Martins with a Spanish foot.)
Saidel tuners appear at about the time of incorporation. Labels were made for Martins in coffin cases at this point, when the "& Co." was added. No labels in cases before that time. The labels listed the Size and Style designations of the guitar; this info was not stamped anywhere inside the guitar until much later. Martin made the coffin cases. There were three grades of cases: Common, Fine, and Very Fine. Common usually went with Style 17, 18, and 20 guitars and had simpler hardware. Fine cases had "bolsters"; shaped blocks at the waist of the guitar. Very Fine cases had upgraded hardware. Cases were lined with an early type of flannel. Martin cases lined with patterned fabric are the higher grade cases only. The black finish on the cases was a combination of shellac and lamp black. It is thought that the cases were sometimes discarded because of their somewhat morbid "coffin" appearance.
Early 1870s (perhaps even the late 1860s); Martin was using Cuban mahogany for the bridge plates.
1870's: Maple bridge plates appear again as a regular feature sometime in the 1870's.
1873: C.F Martin Sr. dies.
1875: First banjos from A.C. Fairbanks.
1877 - early 1900s: The Martin factory foreman would often initial and date the underside of the guitar's top. (The best way to read this is to take a photo from the inside and then to flip the photo with Photoshop.)
1888: C.F. Martin Jr. dies. Company is now run by young Frank Henry Martin.
1895; Martin started buying celluloid sheets for pick guards. Pickguards were special order until 1930.
1898: NY City Zoebisch distribution deal ends. Martin company begins stamping their guitars "C.F. Martin & Co Nazareth, PA." and numbering their guitars (stamped on the neck block), beginning with number 8000, because they estimated that they had built 8000 instruments up until that time.
1900: Thin shellac finishes on Martins. (pre-1900: French polish finishes)
1901: Martin stopped making wooden coffin cases and started using hand-tooled leather cases (or canvas cases for lesser models). The leather cases were branded "M&W" a brand that would later become Harptone. The design of this era case involved the case opening from the bottom. The nickname they were given is "bottom dumper" and many guitars ended up cracked after falling out of the bottom.
January 1, 1902 (0 size cases were $3.50 and 00 were $3.75).
in 1904: Martin began purchasing economy "duck" canvas cases
1901: A.C. Fairbanks introduces the Whyte Laydie banjo tone ring
1906: Style 17 was reintroduced around 1906 as the first cataloged style with mahogany back and sides, and a one-piece Spanish cedar neck with no diamond volute. Style 18 followed soon after in 1909.
1907: Martin built its first Ukes, without sales success. Originally these were quite "overbuilt" and heavy.
1914: Start of WWI, July 28.
1915: Change to non-reverse tuners (tuner shaft and button above rather than below the gear.)
1916: Martin tried ukuleles again, riding the crest of the wave of the Pan Pacific Exposition and modeling their Ukes after the proven, successful Nunes instruments. These Ukes were all Mahogany, with corresponding Koa models appearing in 1920. A tremendous number of ukuleles were sold in the fifteen years of the initial fad, and increasing demand prompted Martin to add a new wing to its North Street factory in 1925. Production peaked in 1926, with Martin making over 14,000 ukuleles that year alone, allowing the funding of a second story to the new wing of the factory in 1927. Uke sales then tapered off in 1928, before slowing to a trickle as the Depression deepened in the early 1930s.
1916: Sears purchases the Harmony musical instrument company.
1916-1965: Martin switches to "long" or "through" saddles on bridges, likely for production efficiency. Prior to 1916 and after 1965 they used the shorter "drop in" saddle.
1918: End of WWI, November 11.
1918: Martin starts supplying "keratol" hard shell guitar cases. Leather cases are soon phased out.
1918: First Gibson banjo, the tenor.
1919: Martin no longer stamps the company name on the neck block with the serial number.
1919: Semi-gloss shellac, also experiments with sitka spruce (darker, tight grain) tops.
1919: less expensive guitars style 21 and below got rounded headstock slots.
1919-1920: Bridges on some styles (like 0-18K) could be pyramids in rosewood. Rosewood fingerboards too.
1920's: Bridge pins are Bakelite, with no collar under the head. They are short, and have a 3 degree taper. Martin also begins to use hardshell black cases in the early '20s.
1920's: Martin did not have enough "curly" figured koa wood for all Hawaiian style guitars. So they used the figured wood for the higher styles. 18 style instruments often got plain koa which more resembles mahogany.
1921; Production of the size 1 in styles 21 and above ended.
1921: Gibson employee Ted McHugh, a woodworker who had previously sung in a group with Orville Gibson, invents two of the most important innovations in guitar history – the adjustable truss rod and the height-adjustable bridge. To this day, all Gibson instruments are still equipped with McHugh’s truss rod, and traditional jazz guitars still utilize the bridge he designed.
1922: Style 17 guitars now made with mahogany tops.
1922-1924: The Loar era at Gibson. Musician and "Acoustic Engineer" Lloyd Loar was tasked with reviving demand for Gibson mandolins, and attempted to do so by drastically improving the mandolins and the entire product line. Loar oversaw the introduction of longer scale instruments with carved/hand-voiced tops and violin-style f-holes vs. oval central sound holes. While his innovations were eventually heralded as game-changers, that was long after he was dismissed from Gibson. His design changes were expensive and he was unsuccessful in the (likely impossible) job of extending the dying mandolin orchestra craze. His last attempted innovation at Gibson was to try to interest them in electrified instruments. They didn't bite.
1923: High-gloss shellac finishes on Martins.
1923: Martin began designating the lower end models (Style 17) as: "Regulated for Steel Strings." Largely this was a matter of making the tops just a hair thicker and altering the nut (thinner slots). Martin's process was to change the less expensive guitars first and then the change was eventually incorporated into higher models. By 1928 all guitars were built for steel.
1923: Around this time an ebony bar reinforcement was added under the fingerboard, probably to help with the added tension of steel strings.
1924: Martin built some guitars for Wurlitzer. From March 1922 to December 5th of 1922. They had no serial number, no Martin stamp, and some models differed slightly from standard Martin production specs. After 12/5/22, the Wurlitzer guitars had Martin stamps and serial numbers, and conformed to production specs for existing Martin models.
1926: The plain wing rectangular bridge replaced the pyramid bridge on Style 18 Martins.
1926: (some models), 1929 (most models): Clear nitrocellulose lacquer finishes. The transition from shellac to lacquer started in 1926 with O-17H.
1927: In an effort to make a louder guitar, John Dopyera invents the resonator and starts hand-building tricones with his brother Rudy. National Guitar Co. is soon formed.
1927: Martin 17H introduced; made exclusively with a high nut and flush frets for slide playing.
1927: Martin bridge plates are now slightly thicker to help withstand steel strings.
1928: Martin made 72 Paramount Model "L" resonator guitars with serial numbers that ranged from 100 to 170
1928: Martin 40H introduced; made exclusively with a high nut and flush frets. Flush bar frets continued on Hawaiian style guitars after other models were changed to T frets and steel neck rods.
1928: ebony neck reinforcement was beefed up. (still less than half the size of the wartime rods.) The compression created by the bar frets kept the neck straight, not the ebony bar.
1928-1929: Gibson experiments with "A" and "H" bracing in their new flat top acoustics. Eventually they decide on X bracing for the upper-end guitars. Lower-end guitars are "straight braced" (ladder braced.)
1929: Production pickguards introduced.
1929: Plain-wing rectangular bridge replaces the pyramid on Style 21 Martins.
Late 1929: pyramid replaced by belly bridge on styles other than 17. Bridgeplates do not change.
1929 september; U.S. Stock market crashes.
1929 All Martin tops just a fraction thicker.
1929-1931: Twelve 000-18 guitars were made with mahogany tops: 4 in 1929, 7 in 1930 and one in 1931.
1929-1934: All the new 14-fret neck models have a 1 3/4" wide neck width at the nut (prior to this all 12 fret neck models had a 1 7/8" wide neck width).
1929: Gibson re-vamped their banjo line, and starting using a 1-piece flange vs. the “tube and plate” 2-piece design. Flat head tone rings were also introduced in '29, though very few banjos have them.
1930 to 1933 belly bridges have a compensated saddle 1/8" from the font on the treble side, and 3/16" on the bass side.
1930: All Martin styles have nitrocellulose lacquer finish.
1930, April: OM model bridges change from pyramid to belly after serial number 42070. The first (and only) OM-18 guitars with "straight" bridges (style 18 did not get pyramid bridge) were serials 41034 and 41035. There were 102 OM-28s and 2 OM-45s made with pyramid bridges. The first OM-28 with belly bridge is 42070. The first OM-45 with belly bridge is 42125.
1930, Oct.: first time size & model number stamped on neck block. Happens sometime after serial number 43900 and before or at 44362.
1931: Rickenbacker had success with the “frying pan” which likely was the first electric lap steel guitar ever produced.
1931, March: The transition to the large pickguard on Martin OM's; likely towards the end of the month. Serial 46020 stamped on February 27 has a small pick guard.
1931: The first "Dreadnaught" guitars were marketed. Production was extremely limited, and all were 12-fret-to-the-body guitars until 1934.
1931, June: Switch from banjo to side tuners on Martin OM, late June 1931.
1931; celluloid bridge pins introduced. Longer pins with a collar; 5 degree taper. The bridge pin round head diameter from 1931 until mid-1939 was about 0.320".
1932: June; headstock logo began. This is gold metallic ink only. Silkscreened.
1932: The bridgeplate widened from 1" to 1 3/8" and changed to hexagonal (clipped back corners) (My late'32 1-17 has this clipped corner plate.)
1932: Some 17 series models transition to 14 frets clear of body with solid headstock.
1932; Sunburst offered. Production of the size 1 in style 17 ended.
1932 "The Gibson" headstock logos and hand-rubbed Cremona Brown finishes are largely discontinued. (But you never know with Gibson...)
1934 March; The Martin headstock decal transfer, gold with black outline, became standard on all guitars. Shortly after, a smaller size two color decal transfer was made for use on slotted headstocks, mandolins and ukuleles.
late 1934; Martin went to T-frets and added a steel T-shaped steel bar inside the neck. Hawaiian style guitars kept bar frets until at least 1938. T frets were introduced on a lot of 00-17 guitars #57305-57329.
mid 1930's; Martin moved the bass end of the saddle back to 1/4" from the front of the bridge on belly bridge guitars. The straight rectangular bridges remained at about 3/16" on the bass end.
1934: 14 fret neck standard on all flat tops models except the 000-21 (it became 14 fret in 1938).
Early 1934: Most models were changed from a 12-fret-to-the-body with a slotted peghead to a 14-fret with a solid peghead around 1934 (except the OM series, which went 14 fret in 1929/1930 and the style 17 and 18 models which were available in 14 fret style in 1932). Basically if the guitar has a 14 fret neck, it will have a solid peghead. If it has a 12 fret neck, it will have a slot peg head.
1934: Style 18 specs: 000-18 reintroduced (replaces OM-18) with 14 frets clear of the body, 24.5" scale. Early '34 000-18 had long scale. Dreadnaughts are now made with a 14 fret neck and become the only long scale guitar. "D" size guitars start to be produced in larger quantities: 51 D-18's and 62 D-28's produced in 1934.
1934: Black plastic binding replaces wood on styles 18, 21.
April 5, 1934: The first 14 fret D-18 guitars were made under shop order 578 (serial numbers 55921-55923)
1934: The Dopyera Brothers ("DoBro") secured a controlling interest in both National and Dobro and merged the two companies.
March 1935: switch to rosewood fretboard and bridge for 00-18. (switch back to ebony in 1936; X-brace changed to the "rear shifted" position in 1936; popsicle brace beginning in 1939; switch back to rosewood fretboard and bridge in 1940.)
1935: The first Gibson amplifiers were built in Chicago by Lyon & Healy Company and were sold as companions to the early electric Hawaiian guitars.
1935: Martin stamp in back of peghead discontinued.
Around 1935, On Gibson banjos, a new flattop tone ring was designed with a top portion deeper than that of its predecessor. Because the “tone chamber” portion was larger, it was not interchangeable with the arch-top tone rings. The flattop tone ring was available as an option, but not promoted as a standard tone chamber system until the announcement of the top-tension models. These had 20 holes although some have been found undrilled. The flat top tone ring has become a holy grail for banjo players since being adopted by Earl Scruggs.
1935; Style 15 guitars are switched from a flat matte finish to dark gloss. Only offered in size 00 until 1940. The full pre-war production of 0-15 Martins ran from March, 1940 to October, 1943."Tortoise Fiberloid" was standard for 0-15 headstock veneers from their first run in March, 1940 until at least March, 1943, which would mean at least 1,680 tortoise headstock 0-15's were made.
1935 -1936: Martin Style 18 guitar specs: 0-18, 00-18, 000-18: most with rosewood fingerboards (some with ebony). Tortoise outer body binding used on some Style 18 models. Body size 000-18 and smaller used tortoise first, with D-18 models getting tortoise outer body binding around 1938. But either black or tortoise can be seen in 1936-1938 on Style 18 models. 000-18 guitars in 1936 can be found with either ebony or rosewood fingerboards/bridges.
1935; bracing on 00 and smaller guitars is shifted to the rear (this happened in late '38 on 000 and D sizes.
1936: The average wage for hourly workers in manufacturing was $23/week. (A Martin D-28 sold for $100 without a case. That's 4-1/2 weeks pay to pay for a D-28.)
1937: Martin model 18H (H for "Hawaiian") introduced; made exclusively with a high nut and flush frets. even though other models now had T-frets and steel rods.
1937: Grover G-98 tuners on Martin guitars change from 6:1 to 12:1 ratio.
1937-39: shift back to ebony bridge and fingerboard for 000 and smaller.
1938: Change to rear-shifted X-bracing (D-18 #71539 has the rear-shifted X-brace with no popsicle brace.) The transition to rear-shifted bracing on 000's and D's was in September of 1938, somewhere in the serial range of 71100-71300.
1939: D-28 #71968 has the rear-shifted X-brace with no popsicle brace Popsicle brace first appeared on 14 fret dreadnought Martins in mid 1939, between serial numbers 72618 and 72702. Earlier 12fret guitars had always had the popsicle brace.
1939: Martin switch to narrow nut width (1- 11/16") at serial #72740 for 000 and D models. Style 17 models with 14-fret body may have changed earlier. In mid-1939 the round head of bridge pins was reduced to about 0.300", and this size was used until the unslotted pins ended in 1945. The shaft size was slightly increased at this time too. The pre-1939 style pins have a more bulbous head, where the 1939-1945 style's head is more slender.
1940-41: Bridgplates switch from hexagonal to modern trapezoid, both 1- 3/8" wide, but the trapaziods are now thicker than the hexagonal plates were.
1940; an 0-sized style 15 guitar is now offered in a semi-gloss finish
1940: Style 18 specs: 0-18, 00-18, 000-18: rosewood fingerboard standard (D-18 still uses ebony).
1940: Les Paul began experimenting at the Epiphone guitar factory workshop in their after-hours. Using a length of common 4″ x 4″ pine lumber with a bridge, guitar neck, strings and pickup attached. He later added “wings” from an old Epiphone hollow-body guitar, sawn lengthwise with “The Log” in the middle, that allowed it to be played sitting down. This achieved his two main goals, no feedback and more sustain. This was possibly the first solid body electric guitar that was designed for "Spanish" (not Hawaiian lap style) playing.
1941: USA enters World War II in April.
1942: Ebony neck reinforcement started to be implemented during WW2 (serial #80585) due to steel shortages. Wartime ebony bars are twice the size of those found in pre-1934 bar fret necks, as the bar frets added enough tension to hold the neck straight.
Between 1942-1945: Gibson employed women to manufacture guitars. “Women produced nearly 25,000 guitars during World War II, yet Gibson denied ever building instruments over this period,” according to a 2013 history of the company. Gibson folklore has also claimed its guitars were made by “seasoned craftsmen” who were “too old for war." This period is known as the Banner headstock period, with "Only a Gibson is Good Enough" emblazoned on the headstocks. The instruments were also characterized by big necks (some in 1943-44 without truss rods), 1-3/4" nuts, small rectangular bridges, and lots of variation in specs due to shortages (some with mahogany tops, some with maple back/sides, etc.)
1942: Last Martin pre-WW2 style 45 guitar, serial #83107.
1943: Style 21 bridge pins (black plastic with white dots) were now slotted.
1944: CMI (Chicago Musical Instruments) buys Gibson.
Late 1944: serial #89926 = According to Martin, this is the approximate last scalloped braced guitar made. Though some models have been seen after this number with scalloped braces, and before this number with tapered braces.
Late 1944 to about 1949: Martin bracing was now tapered (slightly shaved/shaped) instead of fully scalloped. Braces were tapered less and less each year and gradually evolved into "straight" braces by 1949. This is why 1945-1949 Martins are still regarded as "better" than their 1950's and later counterparts, but not as good as the 1944 and prior scalloped-braced guitars.
1945: Either Adirondack Red Spruce or Sitka for guitar tops. (Supplies of appropriately-sized Red Spruce had dwindled due to wartime use in airplanes/gliders.) This goes for Gibson and Martin. Red Spruce can often be distinguished from Sitka Spruce on Martin guitars by the appearance of lighter sapwood, which could be placed at either side, but was generally placed by Martin at the middle of the top, forming a light colored band. Sapwood never appears on Sitka. Sapwood is seen most often on Martins from the 1940's, when more larger guitars were built. The Red spruce trees were quite small, as opposed to the relatively giant Sitka trees, so it became difficult to find enough wide enough logs to accommodate 000 and Dreadnaught guitars without using the sapwood.
1945: World War II ends, 14 August (V-J Day), the formal surrender of Japan (September 2).
1945: Brass frets common (shortage of steel due to the war).
1945: Bridge pins now slotted.
1945: Transition back to steel reenforcement rods; "T" bars, in the necks. Some say these were the same bars used for the blades of kids' sleds.
1946: Last year of possible 1-3/4 nut on a Gibson guitar.
1946: Gibson guitars no longer have the "Only a Gibson is Good Enough" headstock banner, but the Gibson name is still in the script (earlier era) font.
1946: As supplies of their preferred sources of Adirondack spruce dried up, (even the last smaller pieces used to create four-piece tops,) Martin began using Sitka spruce from the Northwest. The Sitka used in this first year of 1946 has a distinctive dark brownish tone, and tends to have the distinctive light swirls in the wood known as "bear claw."
1947: Gibson switches to block letters on headstock logo. Early '47 still uses the script.
1947: Rosewood fingerboard and bridge replaces ebony on Martin D-18.
1947: Rosewood neck heel cap replaces ebony on all Martins. (Prior to that, the caps can be lighter colored and mistaken for rosewood, but they should be ebony.)
1947: Last Herringbone D-28 #98233 in 1947 99992-100240 = Last style 28 guitars made with a "zipper back" center seam (mid 1947).
1948: last year for Gibson rectangular bridges.
1948: Bridgeplates are no longer notched into ("tucked under")
the X-braces. Braces are no longer fully tapered.
1949, Winter: B.B. King played at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. The hall was heated by a burning barrel, a fairly common practice at the time. During a performance, two men began to fight, knocking over the burning barrel and sending burning fuel across the floor. The hall burst into flames, and the building was evacuated. Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside so he went back into the burning building to retrieve his beloved $30 Gibson guitar. King learned the next day that the two men that started the fire, had been fighting over a woman named Lucille. King named that guitar, and every guitar he subsequently owned "Lucille", as a reminder to never again to do something as stupid as run into a burning building or fight over a woman.
1950: Gibson peg heads now have even thickness instead of being tapered.
1952: Gibson introduces the Les Paul Gold Top to compete with Fender's solid body electrics.
1953: Some Martin guitars (133352-133376, 133427-133451, 133577-13360, 133727-133751) made with ebony neck rod due to steel strike in '52. Also, an estimated 20% - 35% have 'mystery' tops (CF Martin III said Martin used Engelmann Spruce in 1953, but other evidence strongly suggests Red Spruce. Red Spruce is indicated by wider grain lines that vary greatly in width as viewed across the top. Sitka grain is usually tighter and more regularly spaced.)
1954: A Gibson acoustic guitar now has laminated sides, so would no longer have side support strips inside.
1954: Fender introduces the Stratocaster.
1955: The transition year from teardrop to the larger 2-point pickguard on Gibson guitars
1955: At Gibson, Seth Lover invents P.A.F (Patent Applied For) Humbucking pickup. These were standard on Gibson Les Pauls in 1957. This innovation in pickups became the flagship pickup design most associated with Gibson. These pickups had a different sound, and reduced the hum associated with the single coil P-90 pickup, which had been used up until then.
1955: Bracing changes to unscalloped on Gibson Guitars. This has a big effect on the tone.
1955: Bracing on Martin "D" guitars is shifted farther reward (3/8") in '55. Does not effect value greatly.
1957: Supposedly some 'mystery' spruce used at Martin in this year.
1957: CMI, which has already bought Gibson, buys Epiphone (mostly for their basses).
1957: First year of "ADJ" (Adjustable) bridges on Gibson guitars. These are deemed undesirable as they add a great deal of weight to the bridge area and provide a less direct connection between the strings and the guitar top. (But the Beatles' Gibsons had them!)
1958: Gibson Les Paul models first major design changes. The new model, called the Les Paul Standard, featured a new cherry-red sunburst finish. The “burst” was born. These Les Paul guitars from 1958-1960 are now considered the best Les Pauls Gibson ever made. Only about 1,700 Standards were actually made. (It is not uncommon to find a vintage Les Paul Gold Top that has had the gold finish removed and refinished to look like a burst.) In actuality, the 1958-1960 Les Paul Standards were not anywhere as successful as Gibson had hoped. They were considered to be too heavy and old-fashioned, and they initially did not find favor amongst guitarists. Gibson was marketing to an older, jazz-oriented audience rather than younger players. It was not until later, when these guitars were able to be purchased used, that many heavy rock players realized just how good they were.
1958: Still feeling the pressure from Fender, Gibson produced two new designs: the Explorer and Flying V. These were very modernistic guitars that Gibson hoped would appeal to the younger players. The original run for these guitars were done in Korina wood. Both did not sell well initially.
1961: Due to lack of sales, The Gibson Les Paul model was radically changed to the SG ("Solid Guitar") styling. Les Paul did not approve of the new look and demanded that his name be removed. It was, by 1963.
1964: 196228 = Last guitar made at Martin's North street factory June 25, 1964. (new factory July 6, 1964)
1964: The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. John played a Rickenbacker 325 Capri, George had his Gretsch Country Gentleman and Paul was playing the now iconic Hofner violin shaped bass. This one appearance had a major impact on the bottomline for these three guitar makers almost immediately.
1964: Sept.: Martin switched from hide glue to white glue.
1965: January: Fender is officially sold to CBS.
1965: Martin switch to "drop in" bridge saddle vs. "long" saddle; SN 200601 was the recorded switch, early 1965.
1966: Ted McCarty leaves Gibson.
1967: Gretsch is bought by Baldwin. Production moves from NY to Arkansas
1968: Small maple bridgeplate (1 3/8") replaced by small rosewood bridgeplate at serial #235586
1968: Les Paul returned to the Gibson as endorser in 1968 and with the new Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. Gibson was trying to respond from players looking for the 1958-1960 style Les Paul models they were seeing their rock heroes play. Unfortunately the new Gibson Les Paul Deluxe not only did not have the same finish, and it did not have Gibson P.A.F. Humbuckers. Instead, Mini-Humbucker pickups were used in order to use a surplus supply of Epiphone Mini-Humbucker pickups. This was not that popular with players at the time. So you'll find many vintage Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitars routed out for full size humbuckers.
1969: Large rosewood bridgeplate (3-1/4") replaces small rosewood bridgeplate at serial #242454 on Martin D models. Smaller guitars had small rosewood plates for some time after that.
1969; Indian rosewood back and sides replaces Brazilian (last Brazilian rosewood model- serial# 254497). For most collectors, 1969 marks the end of Martin collectability.
1969, December: Gibson parent company, Chicago Musical Instruments, taken over by the South American brewing conglomerate ECL. Gibson remained under the control of CMI until 1974 when it became a subsidiary of Norlin Musical Instruments. This began an era characterized by corporate mismanagement and decreasing product quality.
1970: Epiphone production moved to Japan and Korea; indicated by 7 digit serial #.
1970; Elephant ivory discontinued in bridge saddles and nuts on Martin guitars.
1971- 1976: Martin bridges were placed in the wrong spot on the tops. Intonation is sharp.
1989 Don Young and McGregor Gaines started the National Reso-Phonic Guitar Company in 1989 after doing restorations for a number of years on vintage Nationals.
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