- [Narrator] C.F. Martin Sr. came to the United States in 1833 from Germany.
The family moved into town, they built a factory,
they occupied that building more than 100 years.
The design and construction of the Martin guitar has changed very little.
In 1843, Martin invented the X-brace pattern
that virtually every guitar maker in the world uses.
In 1930, we introduced the first 14-fret instruments,
and virtually every acoustic guitar these days is based on that design.
The custom shop was started in 1979.
What happened is people started to do repeat orders of certain custom guitars,
and we realized that this was, in effect, kind of our own R&D department
to produce exemplary instruments.
- The difference between the custom shop guitars and the standard models is,
you know, if you take a walk through the custom shop, it's kind of like
physically taking a step back in time.
A lot of the methods they use are old school.
They build the bodies with hide glue like they used to do in the '20s and '30s.
- The hide glue definitely has a different sound with the instruments,
the way it transfers between all the parts of the guitar.
This is a in-house body press we designed.
It has heating, so it allows us to put bodies in, and get them out a lot quicker.
- [Emily] You see them over there with their draw knife, shaping the necks.
- Different shape of the neck coincides with what the customer wants.
Depending on if you got skinny hands with small fingers, you'll want something smaller
than a wider fingerboard or a wider neck.
- The braces can really effect the sound.
You know, dimensions of the braces and placement,
for example, if this X-brace was moved up, it's gonna sound different, even a half an inch.
I've gotta make sure that the bridge is gonna land in the right spot.
More importantly, that it's not gonna sound bad.
It's gonna sound like an awesome guitar, still so
there's a bunch of different factors.
I worked in stringing for two and half years.
I learned about the final setup of the guitar, and you get to
play guitars all day. How cool is that?
- The time period between 1920 and 1944
is really considered the golden age of guitar building.
This is the dreadnought, the D-45.
They became sought after for their tone by musicians like
Crosby, Stills, and Nash,
and probably worth about a half a million dollars.
Throughout Joan Baez's career, she played an early 1920s O-45,
a beautiful little parlor guitar.
- I think it cost $250 in 1963.
It was my first serious folk guitar.
I had a Goya with gut strings, and I had a gigantic Gibson
which hung down around my knees,
and I've never been able to deal with a really large guitar at all.
So this one just became home, you know.
♪ Oh freedom ♪ ♪ Oh freedom ♪
It has been everywhere with me.
The first dangerous situation that I remember is at an anti-nuclear rally
with Pete Seeger, and they started pelting us with tomatoes and eggs.
And I took the guitar and put it behind me, 'cause I didn't care what happened to me,
but I didn't want the guitar to get hurt.
Pete, meantime, was getting bashed with all the vegetables and fruit.
♪ There's no more mourning♪
People say music changes the world, and it does,
but the guitar and the songs have to be backed up by action.
♪ no more mourning ♪
I always have been happy, really, when I'm wearing
political and musical hats at the same time. Then I'm happy.
♪ And before I'll be a slave ♪ ♪ I'll be buried in my grave ♪
- [Narrator] Because of the interest in Joan Baez,
Martin decided to initiate a special O-42 guitar, much like Joan Baez's guitar.
- I've been here for 42 years, and I build guitars from start to finish.
The guitar that I'm working on now is the Joan Baez model.
These guitars really sound good because of the size of the body.
Being handmade, I think it adds a little bit more uniqueness to it.
Every one is different, has just that little different sound, little different quirks.
♪ Well, you burst on the scene ♪ ♪ Already a legend ♪
♪ The unwashed phenomenon ♪ ♪ The original vagabond ♪
♪ You strayed into my arms ♪
To make the new ones, they had to take this one all apart,
and see the structure and so on.
I mean, I can't imagine how they did it. But when they went in there,
they found written on the inside, on one of the pieces of wood,
"Too bad you're a communist."
Whoever was the person before, who had fixed it, not Martin,
had apparently written, "Too bad you're a communist," in there, so
when they made the special edition, they wrote it in every guitar.
♪ Now you're telling me ♪ ♪ You're not nostalgic ♪
♪ Well, give me another word for it ♪ ♪ You who are so good with words ♪
♪ And at keeping things vague ♪ ♪ 'Cause I need some of that vagueness now ♪
♪ It's all come back too clearly ♪ ♪ I once loved you dearly ♪
♪ And if you're offering me diamonds and rust ♪ ♪ Well, I'll take the diamonds ♪