Meet Dick Boak and Richard Johnston to talk about the history of Martin Guitars

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Permalink Reply by Bernie on June 9, 2009 at 11:21am

I was told recently that one of the prewar D-45's is a lefty. Is this true, is it still around? I play left handed so this would be like the Holy Grail for me

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Permalink Reply by Richard N. Johnston on June 9, 2009 at 12:46pm

Yep, #75289, made in 1940, was a D-45L.

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Permalink Reply by Julian on June 9, 2009 at 11:22am

Hello,

I wonder why Martin Guitars don't try to experiment a bit more with their soundboards. Virtually all of your (and to a lesser extent, other brands') guitars feature a spruce top. Of course this is the tradition, and I accept that. Nonetheless I'd like to see some more woods more often, e.g. cedar, (flamed) maple, and whatever other exotic woods there are. There are so many sound worlds and loads of possibilities!

The question being, why don't you or am I missing something?

Best regards from a German fellow living in Austria/Luxembourg!
Julian

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Permalink Reply by Richard N. Johnston on June 9, 2009 at 12:03pm

Martin has made quite a few models with mahogany tops, and also koa guitars with koa soundboards. It has also made a few Dreadnoughts with cedar soundboards.
Highly figured maple soundboards, in the opinion of most guitarmakers, looks impressive but doesn't deliver the kind of tone that Martin is known for. Considering its recent use of aluminum tops on some X Series models, you can't accuse Martin of being unwilling to experiment!

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Permalink Reply by Lochlin Page on June 9, 2009 at 11:32am

I ove my o-18 that I bought in 1968. This is a perfect sized guitar. Will Martin ever produce another o model?

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Permalink Reply by Hap Wheeler on June 9, 2009 at 11:45am

I have an o-16-ny that I bought in 1971... great guitar. It has since been discontinued.

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Permalink Reply by dick boak on June 9, 2009 at 1:01pm

We are making the 0-28VS 12 fret as a stock offering and it is fantastic. We have made a number of 0 14-fret models, but they are more obscure and relegated to the Custom Shop for the time being. We'd be glad to make another one for you, any time.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Schwartz on June 9, 2009 at 11:37am

Martin Classicals
Why has Martin written off the nylon-string classical guitar market? I know their efforts in the past were never well-embraced by the classical guitar community, including the venture with Thomas Humphrey, and they seem to have totally given up on this market, with no current offerings. Thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Richard N. Johnston on June 9, 2009 at 12:12pm

I will leave the official answer to this question to Dick Boak, as he has the inside information. I felt that the acoustic/electric nylon string models announced in 2002 worked well, but I guess they didn't sell very well because they were dropped from production three years later.
Martin's nylon-string models in the 1950s-early 1970s sold well because at that time a lot of people preferred to play folk music on nylon strings. Although many, if not most, folk guitar players throughout the Latin countries are still playing nylon-strung guitars, in the US it's not as common as it was.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Thomas on June 9, 2009 at 11:39am

A question. I have a Martin d2832 (Shenandoah) that I purchased almost 30 years ago. I cannot find any info about it (wood) etc. Can you help? What is comparable today?
Bill Thomas

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Permalink Reply by Richard N. Johnston on June 9, 2009 at 5:17pm

Sorry for the late reply, Bill, I somehow missed your question earlier. Your D-2832 was made with a solid Sitka spruce top and laminated rosewood back and sides. Once Martin introduced the 1 Series in 1992, the Shenandoah models were all discontinued, and there hasn't been anything quite like them since. The closest were some 1 Series models made to look almost exactly like the D-28, but with laminated rosewood backs and sides. These D2R models were introduced in 1996, but were discontinued in 2001.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Chalgren on June 9, 2009 at 11:40am

Hi Guys. I have a Martin HD 28 Grand Marguis, Special Edition circa 1990 about 500 made. It didn't sound all that strong then (gift from my wife - I did not check it out beforehand), but now that it has aged, it is just beautiful. It has never been out of my hands except for a fellow musician that I trust, and one guy who picked it up when I was out of the room, who then banged it against a microphone stand twice leaving a large fingernail size dent on the front face and also about 1/2 inch of damage to the herringbone trim. What should I do if anything? Also, this guitar is only listed on the Martin guitar site by serial number lumped in with all other SN's for that year. I've never read a review, or found any other information about this guitar, or the series of special editions of the Grand Marquis line. It has the D-45 logo on the front and Grand Marquis on the back of the headstock. It is signed by CFM IV, SN 489509. Thanks for any information you can provide including value! I am the original owner.

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