- Joined
- Jan 30, 2023
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 9
- LOCATION
- Central NJ, USA
Hello Everyone,
New Member here, and I come bearing a gift
www.martinshenandoahguitars.info
As many of you here know, the individual fates of Tokai Gakki Company Ltd of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture Japan and C.F. Martin & Co of Nazareth, Pennsylvania USA collided in 1972 when the two companies reached a mutual agreement to manufacture and market the Sigma brand of guitars in the United States. 12 years later, the first Martin Shenandoah guitar received a serial # at the time-honored factory in Nazareth and was released for sale. The website noted above is devoted specifically to guitars with the name Shenandoah displayed on the headstock. Martin "made" just over 22,000 of the hybrid Japan/US instruments, and their production ended late in 1992. After that, very small numbers of MIJ guitars were still being sold by the marketing people at Martin up until roughly the year 2000, and those few guitars are remarkably valuable clues to some very interesting changes in the relationship between Tokai and Martin. One of the secondary goals of the Shenandoah website is to explore that history. Priority #1 is for it to be an accurate, easy to use, one-stop reference for anyone who is holding a Shenandoah guitar in their hands and wants to learn more about it. Quickly. The site is completely non-commercial and you will find no PayPal button, or any other plea for money, there. All I want from you, fellow members (or anybody else, for that matter), is that you put it to good use as the tool it is intended to be, and perhaps get a chuckle or two from the Commentary page every once in a while
Almost all of the basic Who, What, Why, questions are addressed in A Note From The Webmaster, found at the bottom of every page on the site. A decade ago, there was a v.1 of this website. Life got in the way and that version was lost. This time around I'm in a position to do a better job than v.1 was ever even technologically capable of, much less as a repository of useful knowledge and occasional amusement. A few things remain that I think my fellow Tokai Forum members need to know. While I'm painfully aware that it's not my strong suit [/snark], I'll try my best to be brief and to-the-point as possible as I address them in turn
The source of a significant number of the pics shown on the website presents an ethical minefield for me as Webmaster of the site. The Shenandoah files that I have stored on my personal computer, most significantly the pics, are permitted by the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright laws. The precise instant I post one of those pics on the Shenandoah website without permission from the person that took that pic, I have broken the law. Certainly in the legal sense. That is indisputable. There is also an excellent case to be be made that I have broken one of the few unspoken laws that is shared by the vast majority of human beings who inhabit the entire planet: Do Not Steal. No matter the language, no matter the culture, no matter the Scripture, the rule is the same: Do Not Steal. I agree with that rule. I am now in my 60's and life has taught me the wisdom of that rule more times than I can count, now. I feel the weight of knowing I have broken it every time I post an unattributed pic on the site. That's why there is a Contact button at the bottom of every single page on the webite. It was the best compromise I could come up with. I hope it's enough
A special note for guitar shops and other commercial entities:
If you've ever posted sale pics of a Shenandoah online during the past decade or so, there's a possibility that you recently received an e-mail inquiry about the Shenandoah website by now. I'm well aware that you're running a business not a charity and in the world of business, time is money. Now some total stranger with a dodgy e-mail address wants you to spend some of that precious time giving away something valuable for free, and to top it all off, they're asking about a mid-range (at best) line of guitars that struggle to break the $1000 mark. All I ask is that you take a few seconds to reflect on what really got you into the guitar business to begin with, then let your conscience be your guide. Beyond that one contact e-mail I will trouble you no further
One more thing, and this applies to all guitar shops etc. The only pics I'll ever ask for are of guitars that are already sold. If the listing is still active, my policy is that I won't ever ask to use those listing pics. It just feels like a bridge too far
Welp, that's about it. Constructive criticism is always welcome (check my sigline), so don't hesitate to contact me if you see an immediate, or potential, problem
Thanks
New Member here, and I come bearing a gift
Martin Shenandoah Guitars
Information about the Shenandoah line of guitars marketed by C.F. Martin & Co between 1984 and approximately 1999
As many of you here know, the individual fates of Tokai Gakki Company Ltd of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture Japan and C.F. Martin & Co of Nazareth, Pennsylvania USA collided in 1972 when the two companies reached a mutual agreement to manufacture and market the Sigma brand of guitars in the United States. 12 years later, the first Martin Shenandoah guitar received a serial # at the time-honored factory in Nazareth and was released for sale. The website noted above is devoted specifically to guitars with the name Shenandoah displayed on the headstock. Martin "made" just over 22,000 of the hybrid Japan/US instruments, and their production ended late in 1992. After that, very small numbers of MIJ guitars were still being sold by the marketing people at Martin up until roughly the year 2000, and those few guitars are remarkably valuable clues to some very interesting changes in the relationship between Tokai and Martin. One of the secondary goals of the Shenandoah website is to explore that history. Priority #1 is for it to be an accurate, easy to use, one-stop reference for anyone who is holding a Shenandoah guitar in their hands and wants to learn more about it. Quickly. The site is completely non-commercial and you will find no PayPal button, or any other plea for money, there. All I want from you, fellow members (or anybody else, for that matter), is that you put it to good use as the tool it is intended to be, and perhaps get a chuckle or two from the Commentary page every once in a while
Almost all of the basic Who, What, Why, questions are addressed in A Note From The Webmaster, found at the bottom of every page on the site. A decade ago, there was a v.1 of this website. Life got in the way and that version was lost. This time around I'm in a position to do a better job than v.1 was ever even technologically capable of, much less as a repository of useful knowledge and occasional amusement. A few things remain that I think my fellow Tokai Forum members need to know. While I'm painfully aware that it's not my strong suit [/snark], I'll try my best to be brief and to-the-point as possible as I address them in turn
The source of a significant number of the pics shown on the website presents an ethical minefield for me as Webmaster of the site. The Shenandoah files that I have stored on my personal computer, most significantly the pics, are permitted by the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright laws. The precise instant I post one of those pics on the Shenandoah website without permission from the person that took that pic, I have broken the law. Certainly in the legal sense. That is indisputable. There is also an excellent case to be be made that I have broken one of the few unspoken laws that is shared by the vast majority of human beings who inhabit the entire planet: Do Not Steal. No matter the language, no matter the culture, no matter the Scripture, the rule is the same: Do Not Steal. I agree with that rule. I am now in my 60's and life has taught me the wisdom of that rule more times than I can count, now. I feel the weight of knowing I have broken it every time I post an unattributed pic on the site. That's why there is a Contact button at the bottom of every single page on the webite. It was the best compromise I could come up with. I hope it's enough
A special note for guitar shops and other commercial entities:
If you've ever posted sale pics of a Shenandoah online during the past decade or so, there's a possibility that you recently received an e-mail inquiry about the Shenandoah website by now. I'm well aware that you're running a business not a charity and in the world of business, time is money. Now some total stranger with a dodgy e-mail address wants you to spend some of that precious time giving away something valuable for free, and to top it all off, they're asking about a mid-range (at best) line of guitars that struggle to break the $1000 mark. All I ask is that you take a few seconds to reflect on what really got you into the guitar business to begin with, then let your conscience be your guide. Beyond that one contact e-mail I will trouble you no further
One more thing, and this applies to all guitar shops etc. The only pics I'll ever ask for are of guitars that are already sold. If the listing is still active, my policy is that I won't ever ask to use those listing pics. It just feels like a bridge too far
Welp, that's about it. Constructive criticism is always welcome (check my sigline), so don't hesitate to contact me if you see an immediate, or potential, problem
Thanks
