Martin CF-1

Excellent

Great jazz guitar for the price.

Very good set up.

Martin Customer Service very helpful.

OUTSTANDING!

One of the individuals listed that he had problems with the finish showing black from the case lining. I had this problem and contacted Martin Customer Service. They immediately exchanged my guitar with another new one. They had UPS pick up mine from my house and shipped a new one back to me.

I would be very careful with the Martin's Customer Support!!

I bought this CF1 from Dallas and took it back with me in Italy!

My Problem was/is:
The case stained my whole guitar body! On the warranty booklet it says: KEEP THE GUITAR IN THE CASE IF YOU NOT USE IT! Well my guitar was in the case in my bedroom and after 8 months, when I got back from my tour, I open it and found the body all stained black from the case!

That is a big problem in the case you bought this guitar as a collectable as I did!

I had to sent it back to the States for a check one month ago after several emails written by my lawyer coz they never wanted to be blamed from this trouble!

The postagge costed me 200 Euros!

After a month I am still waiting an answer. January 6 2008

Please God help me!

This is a beautiful guitar natural finish, large body with one Artitian cutaway. Grover style tuners made with ebony. Ive had mine for a couple of years now, its got a laminated top with a floating pickup right at the base of the neck. The only thing that I would like is a tone control. No tone control?????

Suites my style just perfect, finger style jazz guitar is what I enjoy playing. Big rich sound, simi-bright. The electric sound is very close to the acoustic sound. If you want variety you need to color it with your EQ. I'm gonna check in to trying to get a tone control without voiding the warranty.

Action was not bad but I like very low action. Truss rod needed to be tweeked a bit. I had a bit of a buzzing problem in the begining. I'm still searching for the right string set. I like flat-wounds on archtop guitars. Light strings do not work well with this guitar, I'm using a medium set of Fender strings which is not too metallic sounding which is good for my sound. Finish is a beautiful natural wood grain. Beware of the tweed case that it comes in. The black die from the case stained my beautiful guitar right where the neck rest and on one side of the guitar. No good for a Martin product. This is a $200.00 dollar case.

It's a Martin, it will last a long time if you take good care of it.

I had some adjustments made, it's under warranty but I still had to pay. Martin has a lifetime warranty. I asked them about a tone control and they referred me to a pickup company. They never did help me with the staining from my guitar case either.

I've been playing since the 60's, I have too much to list here as far as gear. I certainly wish that I knew that the case would stain my instrument. I compared this guitar with a Gibson ES175D, an Epiphone Regent, Ibanez Artcores, Joe Pass Epi, and this was the better choice.

Got the natural finish. Bought it new off Ebay ..some sort of store buy out -not sure of the year. Dig it. Like the pickup. I don't like the volume control. It's located in a bad place -at least for me. My hand brushes against it and slowly turns the pot, lowering the volume. A much better design would have been a thumb roller just under the lower edge of the ebony pickguard. I'm sure I'll be making that retrofit real soon ! ...Just have to figure out a decorative way to cover the hole I'll be revealing in the top of the pickguard. Laminated top doesn't bother me on an archtop -may even make it better. All I know is, it works on this puppy ! Pickup seems to give me the sound. I also really like the 1 3/4" nut width -one of the chief buying points for me- and the somewhat stout neck. The guitar is very light also.

Great. Fits my music well. Has a big warm juicy sound, particularly through my Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Classic, Reverend Goblin and custom speaker arrangement...

Perty... very perty... Action needed work. In fact, I couldn't lower the bridge enuf because the screw holes weren't drilled deep enough into the bottom of the bridge. I had to drill -very carefully- a bit deeper to allow the bridge to settle lower upon its screw mounts. Then I also tweaked the truss rod a smidge. Now its purrfect...! Tuners are real classy... not Grover Imperials, but fit the guitar nicely.

I sure wouldn't drop it or drool too heavily on it, but I think it'll hold up nicely. Not a head banger's axe.

Don't know...

Been playing since the paleolithic period. Other than the volume pot and the easy (for me) bridge tweaks, I'm real happy. This is my best axe and I hope to keep it for a (long) lifetime...

I'm aware of one option. Sunburst (extra $500 list) or natural. I opted for the natural finish model, over the sunburst. Odd looking sunburst, seems to me.
Aesthetics: My local shop (Acoustic Roots in Bryn Mawr) has had a couple of these during the last year or so, and while I had been very pleased with the acoustic sound and playability, I balked at what seemed to me to be an ugly sunburst, and oddly plain look of the natural. At first glance, my wife thought the natural looked like "an albino" - (w/ apologies to any albinos reading this, but read on). Maybe so, but it's plain look has really grown on me - I'm just used to established ornamentation on archtops. My (non-guitarist) colleagues have been impressed by the looks (and amplified sound) of the thing. But I will say that the rather cheap looking labeling on the headstock has not grown on me. Reminds me of a metal tag/label on a pair of pants.

I can't believe its not butter. Laminated top? I'm a vintage guy, (I'm lucky enough to have a late 20's 16" L5 - the holy grail, as well as a '37 17" L5), and also own a Zeidler archtop, a simply fabulous guitar. This guitar is remarkably well balanced, has a very lively but not harsh acoustic sound - I'll assume that anybody reading this is interested in jazz guitar. I'm satisfied to play this guitar unamplified, chord-melody stuff, as well as lines. But AMPLIFIED, this guitar surprised me. In the shop it seemed a little trebly (my initial thought was to get a gigging, reasonably priced -maybe laminated archtop). I compared it with the Eastman Pisano - a few hundred less in price, but the Martin/Unger was superior in sound (I did like the Pisano neck, though, and liked the 16" feel).
I've now played out with the guitar a couple times, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the range of uses for this guitar. With an organ trio, w/ '65 Fender vibrolux, was perfect, and loud as I could please w/o feedback, and retaining a clarity from bottom to top that I've not experienced with an archtop. Then w/ a piano/vibes quartet w/ upright, the guitar did just as well - this time w/ an Acoustic Image/Raezer's Edge set up. (Which also sounded very good w/ some solo guitar stuff). I don't hear any trebly/brightness mentioned here. And I'm sticking for the moment w/ the issued strings (I thought I'd change them to something heavier, but they are working quite well).

Well made, well finished. No blemishes. Right out of the case and played beautifully. Maybe I dropped the bridge a little bit. The neck is a kind of wide "D" - I like the width, especially for chord-melody work, and for use of pick and fingers in the right hand.

Seems to be very well made, durably built. I bought it, in fact, for the purpose of having a guitar that I could play out of doors when required, and for smoky clubs, cramped spaces, and clumsy patrons. Laminated top and back ought to take the punishment.

Martin is well-known for customer support. A friends Martin that she bought 35 years ago - neck reset, no charge, perfectly done and back in a couple of weeks. I have no doubt that I'll be satisfied. In fact, the fellow in Thailand ought to consider sending his back if he's bothered by the blemishes in the wood. I'd bet he could swap it out in a flash.

I've been playing (gulp) 40 years, and I've had, and have, some excellent instruments during the last few years. (keep your day job, you'll get there). As I said, I'm a vintage guy, but this guitar seems to me to be a bargain at the price, and it is a good deal more than the working guitar I expected. I thought I'd go for one of the Eastmans, maybe the Pisano, which also seem like good values. But I don't think you can compare the quality, and the sound.

A overall well made guitar!

Definately for jazz playerswith a rich/full sound! Just fantastic!

I can't find a fault and it's very reliable in its tuning! It is brilliant!

I just bought it from Dallas USA (February 2006) and took it back to Italy! I believe that at the moment I am the only guitarist with this guitar in here!!!! Definitely I'll use this guitar as soon as I start my working season next month here in Italy! I bet it will last for a long time coz it looks so solid and the hardware seems top quality too.

The label says lifetime warranty!!! We will see!

I have been playing for the past 20 years and I always plug my guitars straight to the mixer. A long faded delay and reverb, that's what I use!
I only wish that this guitar had a tone control but no big deal!

This is a beautifully designed and beautiful 2005 blonde wood/ebony, laminate top and side guitar with a single Kent Armstrong floating bridge pickup. The CF-1 is designed so that everything possible on it is wood - even the tuning peg knobs - with the mimimum possible number of holes drilled in the body (that's why the floating pickup is attached to the neck, that's why the end pin is also the input jack for the pickup, and also why there's no binding on the body and no fret markers on the face of the guitar).

Maybe the best feature on this guitar is its designer, Dale Unger, with whom I corresponded through the American Archtop website on several issues. Dale worked with Benedetto for a while - he responded quickly to my questions and gave very good advice - for example, he recommended trying Thomastic "Bebop" strings (which are round wound) instead of the La Bella strings that come with the CF-1 (after trying the Bebops, I settled on Thomastic "Swing" strings, which are flat wound). He also suggested various ways to address the feedback issue that pops up when I use this guitar in various bands - ultimately, I had a great guitar tech make ebony f-hole covers for me, they completely eliminated the feedback issue).

I play chord melody jazz on the CF-1 in my own personal miserable imitation of Joe Pass - the CF-1 is perfect for that style music.

I've played the CF-1 through a Fender Hot Rod Deville (which gave it a surprisingly pleasant sound, but was a little too bright, even after EQing), through a Polytone Mega-Brute (which didn't sound very good to my ear, but that's mostly because the amp has a small speaker and not much power) and, most successfully, through a Gibson Goldtone - the combination of the CF-1 and the Goldtone is overwhelmingly beautiful.
The amplified sound of this guitar is warm and rich.

I'm not as pleased with the acoutic sound - but I bought this to gig with, and always need an amp for that. My rating would be ten on amplified sound, 8 on unamplified sound..

The CF-1 was ready to play off the musicstore wall. It does have some color variances, and there is a seam on the top of my CF-1 that's a little too visible - but, on hearing this guitar, I bought the CF-1 seam and all the first time I saw it. Subsequently I've lowered to action a little, but that's a personal adjustment that one should expect to make with any instrument.

I use this guitar at gigs without backup. The tuning pegs are a little difficult sometimes - I end up turning them alot to get just a little variation in pitch - but I think that's a benefit. There's not much that could fail on this...

Martin warrants all guitars forever to the original owner. My Martin M-35 once fell victim to my failure to properly humidify it, and the Martin company bent over backwards to repair the thing (it came back sounding better than it had ever sounded - but the guitar was gone for three months or so while Martin removed and resanded the top!). I have a great deal of confidence in Martin's repair policy. And, as I mentioned above, Dale at American Archtop (Martin's partner in making this guitar) has already been a great help.

I've been playing for 30 years, currently play a Fender "Danny Gatton" custom shop telecaster, a Grestch Duane Eddy 6120, a Martin M-35, assorted Deering banjos, a mid-70's Hamer fretless bass, an electric Clevinger stand-up bass, Baldwin piano, Yamaha P-90 electric piano - no kidding, the CF-1 is my favorite of the lot. It's just a joy to play, the amplified sound just blows me away.

Not sure if mine was made in 2004 or 2005. Just bought it in July 05 from a store in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a very nice looking archtop guitar with floating neck pickup, single volume knob. No binding simply makes its natural color more outstanding. A little surprise, it did not come with flat wound string. Besides, Martin recommends round wound strings for this model. Not sure whether it is because Martin does not make flat wound one. Do most people use round wound strings with archtop guitar?

My major concern before making a decision is that Martin CF-1 is laminated-top & back guitar. I read a lot of articles. A few people said laminated top guitar could sound better after tens of years. Most said it sounds good at the beginning then the sound quality would drop over years. Not sure which is correct but there are not many archtop guitars to choose from in Thailand.

Neck/scale well fit with my hand. My left hand grip length is 7".

The tweed case seems durable and is quite heavy. The case itself weighs more than the same style case (with Washburn J-10 inside) does.

I mainly play jazz solo and chord melody. My favorite players include Pat Martino, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass. The souund of Martin CF-1 suit my ear well although it doesn't sound like that of any of my favorite artists.

Actually, I had a chance to try another CF-1 at the store before it was sold. The one gives a very warn sound, either plugged or unplugged. The one I own sounds a little brighter but is still acceptable for jazz style.

When I play it unplugged, I really feel the sound projection through f-hole under my right hand. It's not loud as my Washburn J-10 which is 1/2" thicker. The sound is quite full. I heard metalic sound of the strings as I changed to flat wound string on the first day. A few days later, it sounds warmer but the metalic sound still remains. I wish I could wait longer before I write this review so that I can confirm if it really give mellow sound. So far, I believe so!

I tried this guitar with a few good amps at the store. They all rendered different good sounds. I plugged it it my small Ibanez amp at home, it sounds warm in spite of new strings.

Touching is great. I later set the action lower so that playing fast solo is easier.

One thing I need to live with is a gray STAIN on the neck near the headstock. It's around 1 square c.m. under lacqure layer. The shop explained that it also happened in other fine guitars they sell. I don't think so. It's ashamed for Martin & American Archtop Q.C. However, I bought it because it was the last one available (out of all 3 imported). Other of its quality can compensate with this flaw.

Another flaw is that the floating bridge was not set perpendicularly to the top. It inclined toward the pick up. When I change strings, it found the poor set up leaves stripe mark on the top surface. That's permanent! Every one considering buying guitar with floating bridge should check out the top surface under the bridge!

It seems durable to me. I'm sure my son will love it if he plays guitar. Now he is 20 months old.

Some people said laminated guitar is less durable. I kind of believe that althought I don't know in fact! So I give it 9 under this.

No experience.

I'd give it 9-9.5. Nice looking, warm sound, Martin brand, what else do you want?

I have been playing for almost 20 years. I own Ibanez s-series (don't remember exact model name), washburn J-10 (archtop style), ovation elite 1868. Every guitar has its own characteristic. I wouldn't compare my CF-1 to other guitar. If I lost it, my next one would be a carved top one. It's not that I don't love this CF-1 but I'm not obssessed with anything, mostly.

As mentioned above I just hate the stain and poor set up of floating bridge. I believe other people who find no flaw on Martin CF-1 would be a happy buyer.

2003 made in Pa, USA. A Benedetto style archtop with ebony fixtures, single volume knob. Even the floating Armstrong pickup has an ebony cover. Designed by Dale Unger for CF Martin. There is NO binding on this guitar, it's built like a violin, i.e. the top is perfectly glued to the sides. No inlay anywhere except the Martin/Unger logo Finished with light low gloss blond finish. Quite a beautiful instrument. I give it a 9 in the aesthetic dept. for simplicity and beauty. I don't like the endpin being the output jack but that's just picking at gnats.

As a acoustic/electric jazz box this is the ultimate inexpensive solution. Action is perfect and low with .12 gauge strings I have no problem playing chord melody on it for several hours with no hand pain. With an amp it's a typical Armstrong pickup sound, slightly muffled as you'd expect from a jazz neck pickup, however it can be EQ's to whatever you like. Straigt acoustic it's still a sweet sound. Mix the pickup with a condensor mic and you've got Martin Taylors sound ... a versitile guitar!

No less than you'd expect from a Martin, there are not flaws and the wood is gorgeous. However the top is a laminate making the price fall significantly. Action is perfect.

Tho is seems very light i think durability won't be an issue, however, i have nothing to base it on other than having played a few very old Martins. Strap button and end pin (the end pin is also the output jack so putting a strap on is a pain in the butt since it's much larger than a regular strap pin) seem durable.

It's a Martin. Large companies are sometimes good, sometimes bad depending on who you get to talk to. I've never had issues with them.

I've been playing for 35 years and playing archtops for about 5 years. After owning this guitar I've sold all my other archtops and ordered a solid wood model from Dale Unger to my specifications. I see no need for any other archtop for my style of fingerstyle jazz.