These guitars sponsored and designed by C F Martin never really took off so are now very rare and this one won't be found on any of the usual secondhand guitar sights. This had left the guitar looking in very attractive condition for a 40 year old guitar. Bought new in Hull England by an owner ,who gave up the guitar, in a music shop that is no there. If you look up Vega guitars adverts 1970s then you will find the specifications for these guitars 6 dreadnought a of varying quality with the abalone all solid maple model at the top. The back and sides are made of attractive solid maple and the top of German alpine spruce from Bavaria said to have come from very very old growth trees. This is the most expensive one they made and the top is identical to a Martin D-41 except it has the Alpha logo in abalone. I found one of the cheapest guitars in the range a nylon string A100 and have now found a steel string guitar at the most expensiveĮnd a Alpha model 688s. Martin expanded out around 1972 with the less traditional owner who built guitars in Sweden at Levin guitars and Vega/Alpha in Holland to try to let Martin guitars break into Mid priced guitars in Europe. I have bought another Alpha/Vega guitar built in Holland but designed and hand made with woods specified by C F Martin. The 1970s Vega/ Alpha adverts describe the company as part of the Martin Organisation and for the money the guitars as the closest thing available to a custom Martin.Ĭollectors who want to try a Matin company guitar without This appears to have been a one off or special upgraded custom version of the Alpha A-100. The rosette on these cheaper guitars was meant to be a painted on budget affair but this one has a beautiful micro-mosaic marketry rosette. The Alpha A-100 was meant to be one of the cheaper guitars made by Vega/ Alpha for C F Martin but looked at today a handmade guitar with solid German Spruce top and solid East Indian Rosewood back and sides would not be cheap and these guitars were meant to be made with mahogany back and sides. Vega dreadnoughts do appear occasionally in the USA and the UK but Alpha nylon string guitars are much rarer. Value? An all solid guitar nylon string guitar designed by Martin that still plays well is going to be of interest but their rarity makes it very difficult to value them as there are none on the market and experts consulted have not come across them.
In Holland they are not quite so rare but they are something of a secret cult amongst a small band of collectors that are aware of their quality and of the Martin design. The guitar will be of interest to of Martin guitars as It is very rare especially in UK and the USA.
Most tuners of that era show signs of age with bent and corroded knobs and damaged gears but these ones are like new and are obviously of excellent quality German engineered design. The tuners also are like new made by Kolb a german company that Martin used for their own guitars at that time but no longer available today. The fingerboard and saddle are all Rosewood and the frets show no wear despite 40 years of use. The woods used are very impressive with a solid German Spruce top and solid back and sides that look like East Indian rosewood.
The guitars for the European market, which turned out was mainly Holland, were the same guitars branded as Alpha guitars and the Alpha A-100 I found was one of these. They were made with very good German Alpine Spruce tops and still play well today but some may need neck resets as there was sometimes an issue with the neck design but they can be picked up fairly cheaply and are well worth any work needed to get them playing. They sold Vega dreadnoughts in the USA and the Martin adverts for these guitars can still be found on the internet. They took control of the designs, the woods used and the advertising. Martin took over the Egmond guitar factory and switched from factory production to the Martin style of handmade production.
EGMOND ACOUSTIC GUITAR MODEL 10 PATCH
Egmond had hit a rough patch because of competition from Korea and Martin wanted to break into the European market for mid range guitars. I was suprised to find that it was made by C F Martin between 19 in a guitar factory in Holland which formerly made Egmond guitars. I have bought a nylon string guitar called an Alpha A-100.
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