About Martin
C.F. Martin & Co. was founded in 1833 by German immigrant Christian Frederick Martin, who opened a guitar-making shop on the Lower East Side of Manhattan before relocating the company to Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1838, where it remains headquartered today. Martin is the world's oldest surviving guitar manufacturer and the largest producer of acoustic guitars in the United States, and it has stayed continuously family owned and operated for six generations, now led by Chris Martin IV. Founder C.F. Martin Sr. invented X-bracing, the internal structural pattern that gave acoustic guitars the strength and voice modern players still build around, and in 1931 Martin introduced the dreadnought body under its own name, the shape that became the standard for the entire steel-string acoustic industry.
The Nazareth factory produces roughly 200 guitars a day, with artisans carrying each instrument through more than 300 individual steps by hand. Beyond guitars, Martin also manufactures its own line of acoustic strings, including the Retro Monel set, a revival of the nickel-copper alloy Martin used in the 1940s and 50s, brought back at the urging of flatpicking legend Tony Rice for its warm, dry, vintage voice. Martin's affordable HPL (high-pressure laminate) X Series, including the Little Martin travel guitar, has put a genuine Martin in the hands of far more players than the solid-wood Standard Series alone could reach — Ed Sheeran built much of his early touring career on a Little Martin.
Brand website: martinguitar.com
What Martin makes
Martin's catalog runs wider than the gear we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
X Series (HPL Acoustic-Electric Guitars)
Affordable, road-tough dreadnought and travel-size guitars built with high-pressure-laminate back and sides, including the Little Martin and the D-X1E — featured on House of Octave
Acoustic Guitar Strings
Phosphor bronze, 80/20 bronze, and the revived Monel alloy sets built at the same Nazareth facility as the guitars — featured on House of Octave
Standard & Modern Deluxe Series
Solid-wood dreadnought, OM, and Grand Performance guitars built at the higher end of Martin's US-made lineup
Custom Shop
Made-to-order, fully custom instruments built at the Nazareth factory
Ukuleles
Concert and soprano ukuleles built using Martin's own tonewood and bracing know-how
Cases & Accessories
Hardshell and gig-bag cases, straps, and care products sold alongside the instrument lineup
Why we recognized Martin
The House of Octave Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose gear consistently stands out in our player-tested category guides. Martin earned it on the strength of the products below, judged the same way every product on this site is: assessed on build, tone, and playability, weighed against what players actually report over years of use, and ranked on merit.
Martin gear we rated highly
Martin LX1E Little Martin Acoustic-Electric Guitar
A genuine Martin with a solid Sitka spruce top in a Modified-0 travel body, carrying the real Martin voice in a small, plug-in-ready package. Mahogany-pattern HPL back and sides shrug off heat and humidity swings that crack solid-wood guitars, and the short 23-inch scale makes it comfortable for small hands and travel.
Read the 8 Best Acoustic Guitars of 2026 (Every Budget & Body) guide →
Martin D-X1E Figured Mahogany Acoustic-Electric Guitar
A full-size Martin dreadnought with a figured-mahogany-pattern top that pairs the iconic Martin dreadnought projection and bass response with a warm, woody character, at a fraction of the cost of the solid-wood D-series. Onboard Fishman MX electronics with a built-in tuner make it stage- and studio-ready out of the box.
Read the 8 Best Acoustic Guitars of 2026 (Every Budget & Body) guide →
Martin Retro Monel MM12 Acoustic Guitar Strings, Light 12-54
A solid nickel-copper Monel alloy Martin used in the 1940s and revived at the request of flatpicking legend Tony Rice, giving a warm, dry, midrange-forward voice unlike any bronze string. The tone is even and broken-in from the first minute, and Monel's natural corrosion resistance holds that tone longer than an uncoated bronze set.
Read the 8 Best Acoustic Guitar Strings of 2026 (Every Player & Budget) guide →
Martin Authentic Acoustic SP Phosphor Bronze Strings, Custom Light 11-52
Martin's flagship uncoated string, built with high-strength SP core wire that holds tuning and resists breakage better than standard sets — the premium phosphor bronze most likely to come stock on a serious acoustic and to be recommended by its maker. Rated 4.6 stars for its rich, full, tuning-stable voice.
Read the 8 Best Acoustic Guitar Strings of 2026 (Every Player & Budget) guide →What earned Martin the recognition
- The world's oldest surviving guitar manufacturer, founded in 1833 and continuously family owned and operated for six generations from its Nazareth, Pennsylvania factory
- Inventor of X-bracing and the dreadnought body shape, the two innovations that still define how the modern steel-string acoustic guitar is built and voiced
- Two Martin guitars are among our top picks in our acoustic guitar testing, spanning both a full-size gigging dreadnought and a small-body travel instrument
- Two Martin string sets are among our top picks in our acoustic string testing, including the Retro Monel set revived at the request of flatpicking legend Tony Rice
- Martin's HPL-built X Series, including the Little Martin, puts a genuine Martin-voiced, Martin-branded instrument within reach of travel and budget players — the same guitar line Ed Sheeran built part of his career on