No more Martin #3? Cherry 3 gone from site

The Martin website shows no #3 ukuleles anymore. The 3 Cherry is no longer in their current lineup. The only Nazareth produced Soprano is the 5K. I don't know if they are planning to unveil something at the Summer NAMM, or if they are getting done. It's too bad that this is how they celebrate the 100th anniversary of their Ukulele production. So the #3 is once again a limited commodity. It would have been cool if they had finally produced a #4 for the anniversary. Martin Ukuleles, 1916-2016, RIP

Django said:

The Martin website shows no #3 ukuleles anymore. The 3 Cherry is no longer in their current lineup. Martin Ukuleles, 1916-2016, RIP

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Hallelujah!

Martin Ukuleles, 1916-1968, RIP.

Everything after that wasn't a classic Martin since Martin took unjustified new liberties with the build, lowering its refinement and sound, particularly with regards to bracing, adopting a style previously only seen on covered bridges and in old barns. So, as appropriate, the buying public gave it a traitor's welcome, with closed wallets and a strong move to Kiwaya. As such, Martin thankfully shot the Nazareth ukes like a farmer would his limping hound with a cancerous leg. And Martin did it just at the centennial, which is, in some merciful way, actually preserving the company legacy--by cutting away the tripe before the cameras shine a light on the whole beast.

No sense in showing the unsightly gizzards when everyone is there to feel the soft pelts.

(Can you tell I loved The Revenant?)

Good info, Django. Thanks for keeping your eyes peeled and posting. Shout out to New Hanpshire, the prettiest state.

Awesome as usual Steve. If you're looking for a Martin Style 3 Coolkayaker1 has them. But I think his prices just went up!

coolkayaker1 said:

Hallelujah!

Martin Ukuleles, 1916-1968, RIP.

Everything after that wasn't a classic Martin since Martin took unjustified new liberties with the build, lowering its refinement and sound, particularly with regards to bracing, adopting a style previously only seen on covered bridges and in old barns. So, as appropriate, the buying public gave it a traitor's welcome, with closed wallets and a strong move to Kiwaya. As such, Martin thankfully shot the Nazareth ukes like a farmer would his limping hound with a cancerous leg. And Martin did it just at the centennial, which is, in some merciful way, actually preserving the company legacy--by cutting away the tripe before the cameras shine a light on the whole beast.

No sense in showing the unsightly gizzards when everyone is there to feel the soft pelts.

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While this may be "true", I cherished the sound of my Series 3 Cherry. It had absolutely wonderful tone. I don't think they're worth anywhere near full list price, but at the right price that is a great soprano.

coolkayaker1 said:

... particularly with regards to bracing, adopting a style previously only seen on covered bridges and in old barns...

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That was a brilliant post, I chuckled a good ten minutes. Thank you.

Although I am disappointed that Martin is following the decline rather than making an effort to promote the ukulele, especially when the have a Centennial to mark, I was not bashing Martin. I still love their instruments and history.

Bill1 said:

Last night I saw a new #3 on ebay in Germany. So perhaps there will be a few Martin dealers who still have one in stock?
After reading these comments from so called Martin die hard fans it is not a surprise that Martin isn't all that interested in making expensive ukuleles anymore. Martin seems to be a prisoner of its own 100 years or so of ukulele success, with the market for Martin sales now dominated by the used models and collectors who have big inventories.

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There are plenty of dealers with stock. Many listed on reverb.com.

NewKid said:

Awesome as usual Steve. If you're looking for a Martin Style 3 Coolkayaker1 has them. But I think his prices just went up!

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Hi, Mivo. Thanks for your good sense of humor, in this and your other threads.

Hi, brother Don. Believe it or not, I was planning to sell my Cherry 3--to buy an iPad Pro, as zany as that sounds--but it left a gaping hole on my display wall, and right next to your former Koa Style 2, which still hangs with pride. So, I decided not to sell--it'd be the only Style 3 that I don't own. Then, immediately after that decision, a respected fellow UUer informed me that the Cherry 3s were no longer on the Martin website, which may or may not indicate that Martin still manufactures them; Eddie's right, there's plenty of dealers and resellers out there dying to dust them off and have them hauled away.

Truly, I couldn't sell it to anyone on UU in good faith unless they had played one and knew what to expect, or they admitted to needing something to keep the door from slamming in the wind.

Despite the low numbers, I doubt that the Cherry 3s will be worth much over the years given that they are part of the "failed" Martin series; I'm afraid I'll be a door-nail by the time one would know. :-o

Just for the record, I started this thread to inform and to speculate a little. As a long time guitar player, I find the tone of the newer Martins to be very well balanced and to my liking. They are a bit more tame than vintage instruments, but they are also more forgiving and they can still be very expressively played. My Laughlins have a more complex sound and are beautiful, and my Kiwayas have slightly better projection, but for a production instrument, to me anyway, the Martin is still the one that I grab first. Most often it is my Cherry, style 3. Mine is a bit odd. I did purchase it used, but it has what appears to be an Ebony fingerboard and a semi-gloss finish. It is very balanced and forgiving, making it my choice for getting a new song down. It has good projection, (short of my Koa and Mahogany ukes), good sustain for a soprano, and barks very little.

I play my 5K, (2015), the least. It is like having a lobster. If it was every day it would be less special. I would put this particular 5K up against any soprano. To my ear, it is just right.

My 3K, (2013), has come into it's own. I do like my 3K Laughlin better, but that is comparing a custom to a factory uke, and I have nothing against the Martin 3K, and I have no intention of selling it. I play it almost as often as my Cherry 3.

What I have said here I have said before. Music is art, and so are the instruments that we use as our tools. Art is subjective and the beauty is in the eye or ear of the beholder. I still think that a Style 4 Martin would have been cool. I think that wiser Martins left that spot vacant for a good reason. I envision a #3 with a bound fingerboard and some inlay on the head. They probably would have envisioned something different. It is an opportunity missed.

My wife very much enjoyed the comments by coolkayaker1, and I did too. She was laughing out loud and commended his writing skills. I don't fully agree with the content, but that is what a forum is about. It is great to be able to debate and have a place to do it.

I tried the newer Martins in the store. While it is not like at home in the favorite chair or out on the deck with a view. They sounded OK but just that. I get more kick out of any True vintage Martins than the new line. I felt that the new Martins diminished the value of the Martin Ukuleles in general especially the SO line which were not OK. The China made Ukuleles starting with the Bushman made big inroads in the value of vintage gear. Many were surprisingly just fine. Now Kala and others make a fine ukulele for a reasonable price. I don't think Martin could compete, which was too bad as I was hoping that they would produce a contemporary version of their classics.
I have an vintage Martins that have been through the war WWII to be exact. My others of different vintage can be had through trade and such (Market Place post).
Martin appears to have missed the boat

wow. gone, baby gone.

Pete

PeteyHoudini said:

wow. gone, baby gone.

Pete

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Well said, Pete

They've got the Cherry in the page header image of the Martin Uke page so maybe it's just temporary. I suspect that the Cherry has become the rage among young Russian Oligarchs and suddenly demand has outstripped supply.

In another thread, someone posted that they emailed Martin and were told that Martin considers 2017 to be the actual centennial for their Ukuleles, and that they were definitely planning something to commemorate that.The outstanding book "Martin Guitars: A History" by Richard Johnston and Dick Boak backs that up. (Ukuleles first appeared in a Martin catalog in 1917.)

This makes good marketing sense as well considering that 2016 is the centennial of the mighty Dreadnought, the most popular acoustic guitar in the history of guitars. Why have those two events compete with each other when they can, and should, each have their own time in the spotlight?

I would bet my late 40's Style 1 soprano that Martin will not let this event go by without it's due commemoration. As for models being dropped from their current lineup... Martin typically discontinues models based on sales figures. It's also very possible that they want to give dealers the opportunity to clear out existing stock in advance of new models coming next year.

It must also be extremely difficult to be in a situation where you're literally competing with your past self. For instance, a Nazareth made mahogany Style 1 soprano would easily need to be priced at double what you would pay for a crack-free vintage example.


Scooter

pluck said:

They've got the Cherry in the page header image of the Martin Uke page so maybe it's just temporary. I suspect that the Cherry has become the rage among young Russian Oligarchs and suddenly demand has outstripped supply.

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Maybe I never should have done that tutorial on my cherry 3 of the most famous Soviet folk song Katiusha! ;-) lol

Petey

Bill1 said:

I understand the comments about the #3 Cherry and so have some sympathy. Anyone who feels a need to part with their #3 should contact me before you consign it to the land fill. Luckily I have the resources to be able to take good care of it and you would never have to think about it again. Check the postage to postcode 6210 in Australia and that is all it will cost you to get rid of it.

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USPS cost to ship a Soprano Uke in a HSC to Western Australia is approx US$95 for those inclined to pick up Bill's offer.

Unfortunately, you can't buy instruments directly from Martin. You have to go through an authorized dealer, and said dealers don't get much advance notice of upcoming new models.

Once a new model is announced at NAMM, you can immediately place an order with whatever Martin dealer you choose to do business with.

If there are specific appointments folks would like to see on future Martin Ukes, communicate your wishes to the dealers. They are our lifeline to Martin, since they're the ones that actually buy the instruments in the first place.


Scooter