Discount Guitars Online

By John Coutts

Martin acoustic guitars can be traced back in the USA to 1833 when C. F. Martin Sr. arrived in New York from Germany with his family and set up his luthier shop in the city. The legendary Martin guitars were born.

The company also made mandolins for a time, as well as ukuleles and steel-stringed Hawaiian guitars when these instruments were popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, their mainstay was and continues to be guitars. Martin acoustic guitars lead the way, but now there are many electric guitars too in the Martin range.

One of the first American singing stars to have a Martin acoustic guitar built specially for him was Jimmy Rodgers. In 1928 Martin made the “Blue Yodel” 000-45 guitar for the man who was known as “The Singing Brakeman.”

Jimmy Rodgers was at the top of his career at that time and arguably the most popular singer in America. The movie he made that same year, aptly titled “The Singing Brakeman,” features Jimmy Rodgers singing and playing the “Blue Yodel” 000-45 guitar made specially for him.

The Singing Cowboys of the 1930s movies were the next to be attracted to Martin acoustic guitars. Gene Autry had the first D-45 created for him in 1933, 100 years after the company was started.

In the 1940s and 1950s it was Country Music that took up the Martin guitars in a big way. Stars of the Grand ‘Ole Opry in Nashville are seen on stage playing Martins. Among the big names of the time are Hank Snow, Lester Flatt, Ernest Tubb, and the biggest star of them all, Hank Williams.

Modern day country rock singer, Neil Young, actually bought an old guitar that had once belonged to Hank Williams. He plays it regularly on stage believing that even a guitar that has gained iconic status as a result of having once been played by a superstar should be used. It’s a 1941 Martin D-28 with herringbone purfling, and Neil believes it sounds as good now as it first did.

In the 1950s country music gave over to rock and roll. Elvis Presley was the young man taking the world by storm. As soon as he could afford a new guitar, Elvis chose a 1942 D-18. It wasn’t long before he decided to get a bigger guitar, and in 1955 he bought a 1954 D-28, a big bodied guitar with a big sound. All of Elvis’s famous Sun Sessions were recorded with this guitar.

Folk music was also big in America during the 1940s through to the 1960s. Legendary singers like Woodie Guthrie played Martin acoustic guitars, as well as other popular groups such as The Kingston Trio, Pete, Paul and Mary, and the Weavers.

In 1990 the 500,000th Martin guitar was produced. It was a HD-28 and it was signed by all employees and placed in the factory museum. Four years later in 1994, Martin went into space when the Shuttle carried a small Backpacker and orbited the earth.

The 1,000,000th of the Martin acoustic guitars was produced in 2004. Two years later the company had the grand opening of the Martin Guitar Museum and Visitors Center, and two years after that in 2008, C.F. Martin & Co celebrated 175 years in business and the oldest surviving makers of guitars, Martin acoustic guitars, in the world!

John Coutts has been writing online since 1995. He loves guitars and guitar music. he also has a site that details a cure for asthma.

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Need help to restring your guitar let us show you how with these great videos that give you step by step advice and get you playing in no time.

How To Restring Your Guitar

By Nic Red

There are many reasons guitar strings need replacing. They get worn out. This happens more quickly the more often you play. It also has a lot to do with your body chemistry. Sweat is acidic and can cause them to blacken and lose their shine, they will eventually break. Wiping them down with a cloth after playing can extend the life of your strings.

Guitar strings should be replaced every three months. You should also replace them if they lose their sharpness or clarity, become blackened or rusted and if your guitar won’t stay in tune. Classical strings (nylon) don’t break as often as steel. You will get the most enjoyment from playing your guitar if you regularly change your strings as this keeps your guitar sounding fresh and sharp!

Work on a clean flat surface. It helps to put a towel down to prevent the body of the guitar from being scratched. Support the neck of the guitar with a rolled up towel or a support device. First you will need to remove the old strings from your guitar. Do this by slowly turning the tuning keys clockwise to loosen them. They should be loose enough that they wont snap when you cut them. Use a pair of wire cutters to cut the strings in the middle (around the sound hole). Do this to all six.

Remove the strings by unwinding them from the tuning keys and pull them from the holes with a pair of needle-nosed pliers, use the same pliers to loosen them from the bridge. Steel string guitars have bridge pins holding the strings in place, these can be removed by twisting and pulling them gently with the pliers.

To Put The New Ones On

Check your packet of guitar strings so you are sure you know which is which. Most have colour coded ends to show which string it is. Insert each one into the bridge in the correct order. Take the end of the string and place it in the groove of the bridge pin. Press the bridge pin down and then give your string a slight tug to make sure it is locked in place. If you have a classical guitar the strings can be secured to the bridge with a fairly basic knot.

Start with the low E (the thickest string). Pull it through the first tuning key. Leave enough slack just below the key to ensure it can make a maximum of three wraps around the tuning key. Cut off the excess string. Now turn the tuning key to tighten, counterclockwise for the top three strings and clockwise for the bottom three. Be careful not to make them too tight. Repeat all of the above with the rest of your strings, working your way from the thickest string to the thinnest.

Now you are ready to stretch your new strings, this is necessary because new strings can at first be a bit tight and so cannot stay in tune. To do this, first tune your guitar. Starting with your low E string, firmly pull the it away from the body of the guitar, around the middle. Now tune to pitch. Stretch it again and again re-tune it. Stretch and re-tune until the string remains in tune. Repeat with the other five strings.

Your guitar is now ready to be played!

As soon as you pick up a guitar and pluck your first string you are a guitarist, but to become a great guitar player you need to sacrifice your time and energy for the love of music.

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