These arched antecedents aside, the F-series of the '60s was an entirely new initiative for Martin. These models didn't compete especially well with their Gibson counterparts, and their production ended in the early '40s along with the changes in American manufacturing brought about by World War II. In the 1930s-the same decade that saw the unveiling of Martin's classic dreadnought models-the company launched the C series and the R series, as well as a very limited crop of F-series archtop acoustics. These guitars were not the first f-holed archtops built by Martin. This side view displays the guitar's dimensions-a 2' depth that made the F-55 comparable to thinline Guild and Gibson electric semi-hollow models. For Martin, this ambition manifested in a new series of archtop electric guitars: the F-50, F-55, and F-65. Demand was on the rise, and so was Martin's business.ĭespite this success in the acoustic market, the leadership of Martin decided in 1961 that it was the right time to get into the electric market and compete with the likes of Fender and Gibson for the attention of rock, country, and, eventually, folk-rock players.

A simple glance at the Martin serial number chart shows that 4,642 guitars were built in 1960, with the total reaching 12,880 in 1967. Folk music was hitting a peak in the popular consciousness and Martin guitars-like the stalwart D-18 and D-28 dreadnoughts-claimed a reputation as the essential tools of the genre. The early 1960s must've been an exciting time to work for C.F.

Dearmond guitars serial numbers