The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #96492   Message #2734376
Posted By: PaddyL
29-Sep-09 - 03:28 PM
Thread Name: Martin Conservatoire (Canadian Martin Guitar)
Subject: RE: Martin Conservatoire (Canadian Martin Guitar)
I bought a Conservatoire model C100 in the early '80s at a place called "Richard's Music" in Montreal. I bought it when I first took lessons but it's still in good shape. It's a 3/4 body classic style with nylon strings. Just had the tuners and the bridge replaced. The bridge is (was) bone and the part of the tuners that wind the strings also looked like bone.
The label says "Martin Organization Canada" and "Made in Korea". If I remember, it cost me less than $200 and was my first guitar. I still play it. It's easy to play and sounds pretty good.

The label on the headstock says "Richard's" (the music store name) so I'm thinking this may have been an inexpensive import that was sold by the Martin distributor in Canada to music stores who could sell it as their own brand kind of like Sears Kenmore brand appliances are sold now. In fact, I vaguely remember the salesman saying something like that.
Richard's has gone out of business since then.