LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The Lehigh Valley puts the swing in the swing state of Pennsylvania. It voted for Obama, then Trump, then Biden. But there's another reason it swings.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HOUND DOG")
ELVIS PRESLEY: (Singing) You ain't nothing but a hound dog.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALWAYS ON MY MIND")
WILLIE NELSON: (Singing) You were always on my mind.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GIVE ME ONE REASON")
TRACY CHAPMAN: (Singing) Give me one reason to stay here.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'VE BEEN EVERYWHERE")
JOHNNY CASH: (Singing) I've been everywhere, man. I've been everywhere, man.
FADEL: Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Tracy Chapman and Johnny Cash are among the music giants who've played Martin guitars. The world's oldest guitar maker is headquartered in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. NPR's Barry Gordemer takes us there.
BARRY GORDEMER, BYLINE: If the Martin & Company factory is the main course, the very delicious appetizer is the museum just inside the main entrance. It's packed with enough historic guitars to satisfy even the nerdiest guitar nerd.
JASON AHNER: Here is our prewar D-45, the Holy Grail of acoustic guitar. A lot of people want to see Kurt Cobain's D-18 that he called Grandpa. We also have a D12-35 that was owned by Judy Collins.
GORDEMER: Museum manager Jason Ahner gave me a tour.
AHNER: Behind us, we have the oldest Martin guitar known to exist. It's from around May of 1834.
GORDEMER: Christian Frederick Martin's company has its roots in Germany, then New York and then moved to Nazareth in 1854. And over the years, the company and the region have had a lot in common. Martin even has some history with politics.
AHNER: So this is a 1926 00-18 that was signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. They were campaigning for Al Smith, who was running against Herbert Hoover to be president in 1928.
GORDEMER: The guitar company has mirrored many of the changes that have come to this region, a place known for making things for people who make things - steel, concrete, textiles, industries where people create things with their hands.
AHNER: Christian built guitars with no power tools, no electricity, you know, everything all by hand.
GORDEMER: But as the Lehigh Valley transitioned to a service and technology-based economy, Martin found a way to combine handcraftsmanship with high tech.
MIKE GEORGE: To our right, we have laser operations happening.
GORDEMER: Product manager Mike George showed me how a computer uses light to slice out wooden guitar parts.
GEORGE: So, these lasers cut top plates, back plates, as well as side material. And you can see that a guitar top is starting to form there.
GORDEMER: I watched, mesmerized, as a robotic arm gracefully maneuvered a guitar over a buffing wheel.
GEORGE: What we're doing here is mimicking the path that a person would take to get a nice level coat.
GORDEMER: But much of the finishing work is still done by hand, like sanding.
GEORGE: A 4-inch orbital sander won't really fit into the nooks and crannies of a neck. So there are a lot more detail-oriented hand operations happening with the neck.
GORDEMER: Not far away, workers inlay pearl accents by hand.
GEORGE: That'll take about 8 hours plus.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
GORDEMER: But the ultimate human touch comes from folks like Matt Hodgkiss, who play each guitar before it gets out the door.
MATT HODGKISS: My biggest thing right here is to find any type of buzz, just playing every single note on the fingerboard just to make sure everything sounds good.
GORDEMER: All right, all right, I know it's a cliche to talk about the harmony between technology and humans. But as a divisive election nears its climax, I'll take all the harmony I can get.
Barry Gordemer, NPR News, Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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