My son and I took the Martin tour today. They had quite a few mandolins on display in their museum. Thought I’d share some pics.
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My son and I took the Martin tour today. They had quite a few mandolins on display in their museum. Thought I’d share some pics.
Be interesting to have a play on that harp mandolin!
Indeed. All were safely stored behind glass. Neat place and worth a stop if you’re in the area.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tavy
Now, if we could only talk Martin into re-introducing the Style A...
There are always a few used ones floating around . . .Quote:
Originally Posted by allenhopkins
I haven't been there in several years. The factory tour is great as well, I hope you got to do that. Here are the pictures I took in 2003 or so.
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...eum-Circa-2003
I'd be happy if someone could just introduce a case for the Style A's. Those seem to always be in demand here.
Yes, did the tour and hung out in the high-end room (or whatever they call it) and played some absolutely wonderful guitars. The two D-28s on the wall were just flat out amazing instruments, as well as the OOO Clapton model. It was my oldest son’s 19th birthday and the Martin stop was his birthday present. He enjoyed the tour but still loved his Larrivee afterwards and is content with it. The Martin staff was great and it’s a truly impressive factory and facility. Any guitar/mandolin junkie would have a blast there.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton
I took several pics but am particularly proud of this one:
That is a good photo, Caleb. Thanks for sharing.
Picture 2 of 3, that 2 point on the left — I’ll have that one.
If you are going there, be sure to sign up ahead of time to take their upgraded tour (Behind the scenes, I think they call it). It is limited to six people per tour guide, it is long and detailed, and it carries a really cool swag bag. Very worth while, not that exp naive and much better than the free tour. I plan to do it again this winter.
Nice, I've been wanting to do the "tour" for a long while now, is their museum part of it or an entire separate type tour? Is this an appointment type tour or a stop in anytime thing? I see above was mentioned an upgraded tour? My Cousin and myself wanted to go and take his boy this past summer but something always seemed to come up. I've heard its really great and informative! I guess I could just look it up but first hand info from you guys that have been would be better!
The museum is not part of the tour but is in the front of the building outside the lobby. One could opt to do the museum and not do the tour. There are two places to play guitars (and buy them direct—a high end room and one with lower end stuff, all surrounding the lobby). The gift shop is there in the lobby too and it’s where the tour puts you at the end (obviously). One could also just go in there without doing the museum or tour, but it’s all in the same starting point.Quote:
Originally Posted by William Smith
I didn’t know about the detailed tour. Honestly, the regular one is about an hour and was way more detailed than I expected. It seemed a bit long to me but there’s a lot of info to cover. Jim (I believe) was our guide—a super nice guy and very knowledgeable about all-things Martin. The guitar building process there is really something to behold. I don’t see how they could do it any better or fine-tune things any more than they have them. It’s pretty amazing.
My experience has been to take the Behind the Scenes Tour, scheduled in advanced and paid for, and then visit the museum. The museum is right there where the tour begins, next to the picking room. The museum is self-guided and free. You can spend as much or as little time as you want. We spent lots of time in there.
The behind the scenes tour is a few hours long and I believe it is never the same twice. It is very dependent on the knowledge of your tour guide, and mine was beyond fantastic. You interact with the people making th instruments. My tour about a year and a half ago was guided by a guy who worked in the plant for forty years. He knew everything and everybody. He asked the people in my group what Martin instruments they have and told my buddy that he was probably the person who set the neck on his 1970's guitar. Pretty cool.
We spent lots of time in the wood inventory area, which is huge. We were turned over to the guy who is in charge of it and he was very knowledgeable and personable. If I remember correctly, they could build at their current rate for the next 12 years just with inventory now in-house. He showed us all types of wood and spoke about them very informatively. We were lucky to connect with him as we were taken into that area. He answered all of our many questions. The trip was worth it just for that part of the tour.
I don't know if the swag bag changes over time, but we were all given high quality Behind the Scenes Tour baseball caps. Worth the tour fee all by itself.
If you can get there, do this tour. You will not regret it. It is not always easy to schedule. We tried many times before we could find an open time that worked for us. If you can't schedule at first, keep trying. No exaggeration, this is a fretted instrument enthusiasts dream come true.
And here is a thread about 10 years later than Mike's visit. The first time I went to Martin the museum was just a few cases in the gift shop. When I went back in 2013 it was a full-fledged museum. I spent a good hour or more there.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeEdgerton
Yeah, I have an early one (1918). Sweet little mandolin, and I'd speculate Martin could still sell a fair number of 'em.Quote:
Originally Posted by rcc56
And, as Mike E points out, mine has an "approximate fit" hardshell case; close as I could get.
My son and I did the museum tour a few years ago after hiking around Bushkill Falls. My favorite parts of the museum weren't the collected Martin Xth Guitar or the mandolin relics (although I did really dig the old luthier tools) rather, it was Martin's collection of other interesting instruments on display. This is certainly worth the stop if you're in the area. You can see all of the museum in 15 minutes or so so if you want to travel to it, maybe arrange to do the factory floor tour as well.
Jamie
My favorite part of the museum was the old shop display with old tools and things. Made me think of how the shop must’ve looked once upon a time.Quote:
Originally Posted by JEStanek