Big Pink, #DNA, and the Legend of the Martin Guitar

I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' 'bout half past dead
I just need some place where I can lay my head…

When The Band, former backup group to Bob Dylan, recorded "The Weight,"  the song which became the top single in the Big Pink album, critics showered the song with biblical meaning.

Composer Robbie Robertson, who should know, begs to differ.

“[It means] Oh? You’re going to Nazareth, that’s where the Martin guitar factory is. Do me a favour when you’re there.’”

The Weight, Peter Viney, Jawbone magazine

Martin Guitars have a legend and a reputation to uphold.  You can—and should—see it in the Guitar Museum on the company’s Nazareth campus.  Vintage Martins, pre-World War II—were prized by top musicians of the 1960s.   According to Wikipedia, In October, 2009, a Martin D-28 that was played by Elvis Presley in his last concert in Las Vegas sold at auction for $106,200.

 Martin models have been played by Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, The Band, and countless other famous bands and musicians.

Martin owners will get a chance to tour the guitar museum during a festive Owner's Day at the factory, on August 5.  Applied DNA Sciences will be there.

That's because, in a new partnership, Martin is ferociously defending its brand, its reputation for highest quality, and its IP.   The company has struck a deal with our firm, Applied DNA Sciences, to add unbreakable DNA marks to each new guitar, a move which will thwart the counterfeiters who would like to profit from this reputation.  The marks will be easily readable, and forensically authenticated by Applied labs here in Stony Brook New York.  This powerful product authentication will make it very, very difficult for a counterfeiter to escape a court conviction.  (In the UK, where Applied DNA has a program to mark stolen cash bills, court cases have resulted in 100% conviction rate).

"It certainly sends a very strong message to the industry that we have an elegant, sophisticated authentication technology," Martins’s Vice President of Operations Gregory Paul told the Allentown Morning Call. "We don't know right now anyone else in the music product industry that is using an authentication technology of this strength and sophistication."

Martin has also teamed with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennslyvania, who is demanding action from the Chinese government to end unfair trade policies that he said are harming workers and businesses in Pennsylvania and around the country.

We think this kind of full court press is the way to go.   Applied DNA will continue to sell our “gold standard” authentication systems wherever the scourge of counterfeiting is a threat.  But the government must also set standards, including putting some teeth into anti-counterfeiting laws, and pressuring China and other bastions of the global counterfeiting black market.

TV video announcing Applied DNA Sciences/Martin partnership