I'm back home and THANKS!! Also Martin tour highlights.
You guys are just wonderful. I know we come here to share experiences and get ideas about how to use a piece of musical gear, but now and then when we share something personal, the resultng outpouring of genuine concern is just amazing. I thank all of you for sharing with me, and letting me know that I am not alone in the journey.
I did make it to the Martin factory last Wednesday. I had toured the Gibson factory in Memphis two years ago, and, as you can probably imagine, the basic processes are quite similar. If you find yourself near the small Pennsylvania town of Nazareth, on a weekday, I highly recommend you stop by for the tour. Anyone in Nazareth can tell you how to get to the Martin factory. The best thing about this tour is that it is FREE. The Gibson tour was $10, plus you have to pay to park in downtown Memphis. Not so in Nazareth. When you complete the tour, you get a souvenir soundhole. That is, actually, the part of top that was cut out to make the soundhole. It comes embossed with the Martin logo and the year of the tour. The gift shop sells t-shirts and such, but surprinsgly, it does not sell guitars. It does, however, have a a guitar room, called Picker's Parlor, that has about a dozen mid to high line Martins available for playing. I tried the Johnny Cash signature model; an all Koa D-45, and the new American Archtop. The Koa D-45 was awesome, the other two weren't for me. That Koa piece goes for about $7000, so it won't be in the Flood collection anytime in the foreseeable future.
They were making a new novelty model while I was there, the 000X Hippie. Google it.
I did make it to the Martin factory last Wednesday. I had toured the Gibson factory in Memphis two years ago, and, as you can probably imagine, the basic processes are quite similar. If you find yourself near the small Pennsylvania town of Nazareth, on a weekday, I highly recommend you stop by for the tour. Anyone in Nazareth can tell you how to get to the Martin factory. The best thing about this tour is that it is FREE. The Gibson tour was $10, plus you have to pay to park in downtown Memphis. Not so in Nazareth. When you complete the tour, you get a souvenir soundhole. That is, actually, the part of top that was cut out to make the soundhole. It comes embossed with the Martin logo and the year of the tour. The gift shop sells t-shirts and such, but surprinsgly, it does not sell guitars. It does, however, have a a guitar room, called Picker's Parlor, that has about a dozen mid to high line Martins available for playing. I tried the Johnny Cash signature model; an all Koa D-45, and the new American Archtop. The Koa D-45 was awesome, the other two weren't for me. That Koa piece goes for about $7000, so it won't be in the Flood collection anytime in the foreseeable future.
They were making a new novelty model while I was there, the 000X Hippie. Google it.
Comments
i only like wood guitars
Some guys like the 12 fret sound, but the 14 fret are the most sought after. The body was reshaped a little to allow for the clearance of the 14th fret from the body, and still keep the 25.5 scale.
000 is the most collectible size. These are more collectible, if they are the steel string version, from mid-20's to mid-40's. Yours is right on the borderline. Was this a gut stringer?
From '34 to pre-war are \"THE\" flat tops to get excited about.
I don't know the effect on collect ability considering it being a 3/4 size.
It has a good pedigree, but the DOB is marginal. Those from about that year and back loose a lot of interest. They were all gutzstringers.
Yeah, if I was as young and pretty as Iliace, the groupie chix'd be beatin' my door down, eh?
I have a Peavey bass with a 35\" scale...would that help me??? :shock:
I think your ol' Martin sounds like a tasty little rig, but then again I'm not exactly an expert on vintage gear. Except for when I bemoan having sold the vintage gear I've owned. :oops: :oops:
BTW thanks for the props on my postings. I've got another one coming soon, collaborated with blackstrat and it's coming out pretty cool. 8) Stand by...
But even as a 3/4 size, a Koa Martin would be a nice find. Certainly a heck of a lot more valuable thatn the $50 you paid for it. As for the fact that it may have been designed for gut strings, Martin can fix that. The bridge can be changed and rebraced, if you sending it in.
I have a 1917 1-18, I wish it were a 000.