The Mark series

[westerlyborn]

Hello to you all. I'm new to the forum. I'm on a quest to collect all the Mark series. I have fine examples of 1-3. Just wondering- is the Mark series named after Mark Dronge- the founder's son?---and yes, I was born in Westerly, RI.

 

[twocorgis]

Hello to you all. I'm new to the forum. I'm on a quest to collect all the Mark series. I have fine examples of 1-3. Just wondering- is the Mark series named after Mark Dronge- the founder's son?---and yes, I was born in Westerly, RI.

Welcome to LTG westerlyborn, and yes the Mark series was named after Mark Dronge AFAIK. There's a nice looking (if a bit overpriced) Mark V on eBay now. I sure do love mine! 8)

 

[fronobulax]

I moved the topic, just in case anyone notices.

Welcome westerlyborn.

@twocorgis - Are you sure? The military industrial complex has used Mark followed by a roman numeral to distinguish between various versions of things for years with a higher number implying better or more capable. For example, a Mark I eyeball is a joking reference to the unaided eye - no glasses, binoculars or night vision goggles. I worked for a company that built instrumentation radars. The first one we built was the Mark I. The next one which was more capable was the Mark II. The Mark III was a major upgrade and the Mark IV did everything the Mark III did, and them some, and could fit in a pickup truck instead of a tractor trailer. Given that background, I noticed that the Mark series of classical Guilds followed the pattern that the higher the number, the finer the instrument and just presumed Guild had lifted the idea from elsewhere.

 

[twocorgis]

@twocorgis - Are you sure? The military industrial complex has used Mark followed by a roman numeral to distinguish between various versions of things for years with a higher number implying better or more capable.

Yes indeed, Frono. From the Bible, page 114: "The Mark-series Classical guitars were named after Alfred's son Mark, and they were the brainchild of Carlo Greco..."

There; straight from the horse's mouth! 8)

 

[ladytexan]

Just for fun, here is a recent vid of Mark at NAMM 2011 introducing a new line of guitar strings.

http://bit.ly/fJ0fp7

Toni

P.S. Welcome to LTG, westerlyborn!

 

[Brad Little]

Welcome Westerly Born,
A worthy goal. I've played Mark I through Mark V, bought a Mark II for a girl friend about the same time I bought my Mark V. She wound up trading it for a real nice charango when visiting family in Ecuador. Always wanted a Mark VI or VII, never ran across them at the same time as I had the money. C'est la vie.
Brad

 

[spiderman]

It may seem odd, but there is a lot of love for the Mark series, especially the higher models on the Martin forum. Sometimes one of them shows up for sale there. Check their Classical sub forum.

Harmony H-173 bought in 1960 (retired), Alvarez AC60S 2008, Eastman AC320ce 2008 "Hybrid", Guild D25M 1974, Martin Grand J35E 2009, Martin D12-20 1970, Martin OM-21 2009, Martin 00-15M Custom (full gloss, wide nut) 2011, Voyage-air VAOM-06 2010
"I'm glad there are a lot of guitar players pursuing technique as diligently as they possibly can, because it leaves this whole other area open to people like me."
Richard Thompson