C.F. MARTIN Guitar's "HOLY GRAIL" Project - How I finally found MY OWN Holy Grail!

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#CFMartin #MartinGuitar #markknopfler
C.F. Martin & Co has been around since 1833. But they only started creating "Holy Grail" guitars for the world's greatest artists and musicians in 2001. Find out about Martin's "Holy Grail Project" and help ME celebrate the END of my quest to find the "Holy Grail" acoustic guitar - the ideal combination of quality, tone, playability and price. I FOUND IT! See if you agree.
Stay to the end when I share my two most important pieces of advice to help you find YOUR OWN holy grail guitar.
Music Credits:
"Dire States" (Improvisation) [Excerpts] © 2023 Robert Cassard
Guitar parts played on a 2002 Martin HD-40MK - Mark Knopfler Signature Edition
(Audio MP3 available FREE to Patreon supporters.)
Dance [Excerpts] ©1978 Robert Cassard
played on an 1889 Martin 0-28
Something in the Way She Moves [Excerpt] ©1968 James Taylor
played on a 1964 Gibson J-50
Poems, Prayers & Promises [Excerpt] ©1970 John Denver
played on a 2002 Martin HD-40MK - Mark Knopfler Signature Edition
⏰ Timestamps
0:00 - "Dire States" [Excerpt]
0:21 - Searching for the Holy Grail acoustic guitar
0:54 - Martin 0-28 (1889)
2:15 - Gibson J-50 (1964)
3:00 - Martin HD-40MK
3:46 - Guitar Discoveries theme
4:09 - CF Martin, Dick Boak and Eric Clapton
4:50 - Mark Knopfler wants his own!
5:39 - Martin's Holy Grail project
6:13 - Dick Boak's fave projects and book
6:50 - Knopfler's Holy Grail
7:45 - My ongoing international quest
8:32 - The listing that changed my life
9:54 - Make an offer!
10:50 - Unboxing and testing the Holy Grail
11:43 - Poems, Prayers & Promises
12:57 - HD-40MK Specs and Special Features
14:37 - The WOOD - is this a Stradivarius guitar?
15:49 - Knopfler's inspiration and LP
16:20 - Songs waiting to emerge - "Dire States" [Excerpt]
17:24 - GuitarDiscoveries.com
18:00 - Advice to find YOUR OWN Holy Grail
Robert Cassard shares guitars, gear and tips to make you a better musician.
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Hi, my name is Robert Cassard. Thank you for watching, liking and subscribing.
I am a lifelong guitar player, singer-songwriter, producer, and music fanatic. I create Guitar and Recording Discoveries videos to share the pure joy of music - shortcuts to help you play guitar, sing, record and sound great doing it. I learn the hard way so you don’t have to!
Learn more about me, my music and my videos:
www.guitardiscoveries.com/
Check out my band Cosmic Spin’s website:
cosmic-spin.com/

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2 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 77

@acousticmike Год назад

Robert, you probably got the best remaining HD 40 MK out there. Coming from the Boak family, no wonder your so happy. You’re an incredible musician and this guitar will open up the floodgates for new songs. I’m looking forward to hearing your progression with new songs. Also i would like to thank you for all you do to help us with our guitar playing and song writing. 👏👏👏

@RobertCassard Год назад

Thanks for the high praise, acousticmike! I’m pretty giddy about the way the HD-40MK popped up and how I was fortunate enough to understand the unique value of a guitar chosen by Dick Boak for his own brother! Yes to the song floodgates opening. But most of all, I’m very happy you get inspired by my videos. Hearing that means a lot and helps keep me going.

@KillerBudda1418 Год назад

Such a beautiful instrument Martin is king period

@RobertCassard Год назад

Glad you like it. One thing is for sure: when Martin is on, they’re really on!

@deetee5156 11 месяцев назад

So happy for you Robert. Congrats and enjoy many years of playing. 🎉

@RobertCassard 11 месяцев назад

Thanks, deetee. I plan to!

@ronnelsmith9581 Год назад

I can see your soul smiling!🙂

@RobertCassard Год назад

Indeed it IS smiling, Ronnel🎉

@jayraq4882 Год назад

HD 40 MK, Beautiful guitar and awesome sound. Enjoy! Thanks for sharing the journey and the sound.

@RobertCassard Год назад

Glad you like it, jayraq. The sound and feel make it SO gratifying to play. But it reminds me of when I started to use high-definition video - it magnifies everything I do right, but also magnifies what I do wrong. It holds me accountable to a higher level of playing!

@rhs102857 11 месяцев назад

Wow Robert, what a phenomenal Guitar! it’s a boomer! Beautiful tone and great picking to as always! :-)

@RobertCassard 11 месяцев назад

Hey, Rob. Thanks so much and glad you like it. As I recall, you have some vintage Martins yourself, don’t you?

@SB-nt9fp Год назад

wow, that actually gave me goosebumps. And I love my D28.

@RobertCassard Год назад

Thank you SO much. That’s THE compliment! This guitar is like an emotion generator for me. Makes me happy to hear it does the same thing on the listener side.

@NexusDL12 11 месяцев назад

Now I want one even though I’m not a dreadnaught fan. That’s a beautiful guitar… lucky you 🍀

@RobertCassard 11 месяцев назад

Thank you so much @NexusDL12. Over the years, I've gravitated more and more to smaller bodied guitars. And yet, here I am with a big 28-style dread and absolutely IN LOVE with it. (Because it responds like a small body but has the tome of a large body.) Magic!

@peter-harrymontauredes7487 Год назад

So Very Very Well Done 🎼

@RobertCassard Год назад

Thanks for watching and leaving your kudos!

@boblittmann5721 5 месяцев назад

Great guitar journey!

@RobertCassard 5 месяцев назад

Indeed it was, Bob! Here's the first tune I wrote on her: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CHLG0kCfWHk.html

@sonoma_s Год назад

What a great story! Beautiful guitar and playing. Congrats. I just got my first Martin a few months ago (HD28). I could not be happier with it.

@RobertCassard Год назад

Very cool, Sonoma! I’ll bet our guitars have a lot in common. The Knopfler is based on a vintage HD-28…

@shalameecampbell4279 Год назад

I woke up to this video today. I really enjoyed listening and seeing the joy on your face when playing your "Holy Grail" Martin. So glad you gave yourself this gift.

@RobertCassard Год назад

So cool that this popped up for you. Thanks so much for watching and catching a dose of my giddy enthusiasm! As far as giving ourselves gifts goes, if not now, when? That’s what Bara and the kids were saying, too. Time, good health and a sharp mind are the true gifts…

@ShadowhandofDune Год назад

Congratulations! I was looking also when I saw your first video about your search, and I also just recently found mine too. Sounds fantastic, she's a beauty.

@RobertCassard Год назад

Thank you, Shadowhand. Were you looking for the SAME model or some other holy grail? What did you find and where? I’d love to hear it.

@ShadowhandofDune Год назад

@@RobertCassard I'm a lefty and deal with Jerry of Jerry's Lefty Guitars. I was looking for a parlor or a 00 and found this Larrivee PV-09. I had owned Larrivee in the past and always thought it was a lot of guitar for the money, but this one has that something special that sounds sweeter and plays better than others costing way more. I put a set of Thomastik-Infeld KR116 on and its so slinky it's all I want to play currently. I have a Tom Anderson coming though, so it may be short-lived for a time. Looking forward to more of yours.

@RobertCassard Год назад

@@ShadowhandofDune Jean is a master builder, so a Larrivee parlor would have to be very special. Congrats on that!

@georgescannelli3814 11 месяцев назад

What a great video.! Your 1878 guitar sounds great with the fingerpicking. The 40mk is so cool. I never heard of that model! What a great story you told- What a beautiful guitar with great tone! Congratulations Robert! That’s great, and you are really lucky to have it, especially if that’s what you wanted. I’m happy for you, hope you Bara and the kids are doing well. Talk soon. George On another more, I met dick once. Martin is 40 minutes away, been many times. I can watch your videos all the time. Always a discovery, and a learning experience.

@RobertCassard 11 месяцев назад

Thank you, George. It's a bit of a shock to me every time I pull the MK-40 out of the case and give it another try! But there's something a little bittersweet about having my holy grail search be complete... Cool you've met dick and been to the Martin factory multiple times. I haven't been there yet, but it'll happen. Most of all, I'm happy my videos still lead to new discoveries.

@VlrGuitarWorld Год назад

This was a fascinating story... first time seeing HD40MK. Amazing guitar..

@RobertCassard Год назад

I’m glad you enjoyed the backstory and the guitar itself!

@johnfrewin7717 Год назад

Wonderful guitar, I’m sure you will enjoy it & thanks for sharing 👍🎸🇬🇧😀

@RobertCassard Год назад

Thanks, John. I so appreciate you being a regular viewer and always love your comments and input. This whole experience has been an unexpected joy. Really happy I can share it with fellow musicians and beautiful guitar appreciators like you!

@MarkRobinsonMusic Год назад

I loved this video, Robert. Stories like these are at the heart of music history, and the colours they render inspire new generations of musicians to pick up a guitar and play. I love your song 'Dance' - it's a timeless piece, and was just in that perfect space after hearing it and then you played John's Poems,Prayers and Promises again and just blew me away! I really need to learn your arrangement because this is one of my performance set and I've never heard anyone play it this way; I've shared your version on the Martin LX with many John Denver fans and they absolutely loved it.

@RobertCassard Год назад

Thanks very much, Mark. Truly makes me happy you like "Dance." I wrote it during my senior year of high school - one of the first songs I wrote on my Gibson J-50. I released it on my first (acoustic) LP called "Over the Line." The album got remastered a few years ago and it's available on Spotify, Apple Music, etc. I'm still proud of the finger-picked intricacies of "Dance," and I often gravitate to it to demo or test an acoustic guitar. The song's chorus (which I didn't play in this video) has a bunch of closely voiced chords in the middle of the fretboard. That section really makes it obvious if a guitar has good string-to-string balance and is properly intonated. Launching into a Drop-D-tuned song of John Denver ("PP&P" or "Rocky Mountain High") is a similarly organic way to see if a guitar really sings and can handle deep bass. By the way, thanks also for sharing my videos with other friends and fellow musicians. Great vote of confidence.

@jertexjertex7880 Год назад

Great video, you made it interesting the whole time, but if I only had one criticism, it would be that we didn't get to hear you play that beautiful instrument enough, you have been blessed with wonderful abilities and you've obviously worked to maximize that talent. I dabbled on & from my youth, never really taking the time to learn anything, and stopped playing for a long time, but just a few months ago decided to truly learn to play and to work to do the best I could with the smidgen of talent that I might posses, so I greatly appreciate folks like you who have honed those skills with hard work over the years. I don't know that I have a holy grail guitar yet, although I'm greatly intrigued by the Martin D-28S. I did decide that one of the ways to truly maximize my guitar playing was to get a fine guitar, so I ended up with a Collings D2H, which is the finest guitar that I've had the privilege to play to date. I hope to one day justify the purchase with my playing.

@RobertCassard Год назад

Thanks very much for the kinds words, jertex. As for hearing me play the HD-40MK more, rest assured I'll be playing it OFTEN in future videos...starting next week! Since you're a "newer" guitar player wanting to optimize your skills as quickly as possible, I'm happy you found my channel. A lot of my content is sharing shortcuts, tricks and tips I've learned the hard way over more than 50 years of playing. I hope you get lots of value and inspiration here. Collings makes beautiful guitars, so congrats on your D2H. Always interesting what calls out to each person as their holy grail. I've played many a D-28 and HD-28, but never an "S" model with the slotted headstock and sloped shoulders. They look beautiful to me...

@RobertCassard Год назад

Here’s another video that might help you play better and stay inspired: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ztFygjGxMYA.html

@anthonykelly5 Год назад

can't figure out why mark got rid of it.sounds beautiful looks awesome.

@RobertCassard Год назад

Hi Anthony. It wasn't Mark Knopfler who got rid of it - he still has his own HD-40MK, I'm quite sure. It was Dick Boak's brother John who consigned it and let it go. I didn't dare ask him why for fear he'd change his mind! LOL 😎

@anthonykelly5 Год назад

@@RobertCassard well it's in a find pair hands now your a fantastic player ,never sell it its beautiful your health to play it.

@RobertCassard Год назад

@@anthonykelly5 Thank you. It's all about the positive vibrations, right? Yes - it's good for my health to play it!

@francescoporcumusic308 8 месяцев назад

Hi Robert, thanks for showing me this beautiful video of yours, I imagine the first time you opened that case you even smelled the scent of that guitar, I remember the day I opened the case and saw mine, I was moved ahahahaha, I picked it up and made just two notes and was shocked by its sound. Unfortunately I sold it 4 years ago because I had to buy my custom pedal steel guitar that you see in my RU-vid channel, but now I'm looking for it but it's difficult to find it and above all it's new and in perfect condition, but I hope to find it sooner or later. If you happen to find one, write to me ok? Thank you so much for your beautiful friendship and congratulations you are a beautiful person and a space musician. Good music Frank.....😉🤘

@RobertCassard 8 месяцев назад

Ciao Francesco. Ho trascorso sei settimane durante l'estate del 1982 a Firenze. Ho imparato l'italiano quanto basta per essere offensivo e frainteso! Il tuo pedal steel personalizzato suona di prima classe. A volte suono il lap steel, ma non c'è niente come un vero pedal steel!

@francescoporcumusic308 8 месяцев назад

@@RobertCassard Ciao caro, mi fa piacere che sei stato in Italia e ti sei trovato molto bene, e soprattutto hai imparato la nostra lingua questo è fantastico, come ho sempre detto la musica avvicina tanta bella gente di ogni parte del mondo, mi ha fatto molto piacere trovare un amico come te, riguardo la mia Pedal Steel Custom suona divinamente nei video ma ti garantisco che dal vivo sentirai il suo vero suono celestiale. Buona musica Frank

@RobertCassard 8 месяцев назад

Tutta la musica suona meglio dal vivo, giusto?@@francescoporcumusic308

@francescoporcumusic308 8 месяцев назад

@@RobertCassard Yessss....😉

@LegsON Год назад

This is an absolutely gorgeous guitar. The tone is amazing, it sounds just perfect. So rich, chimey, yet not lacking midrange, like many rosewood guitars do. Seems very dynamic as well, very responsive. Very peculiar that they picked Indian rosewood for it, not Madagascar or Brazilian or Honduran, or something "cooler" than average Jimmy's Indian rosewood. The looks are just top-notch as well, no stupid cheap headstock decal, but a stunning pearl inlay, so colourful. I really like that elegant rosette, have seen it before on SIGMA Martin look-alikes. The fretboard inlay are something else, LOVE them! Very happy for you, mate! Hope you enjoy it to the full for decades! And save A LOT of time and attention and money, since you'll stop hunting guitars... gor a month or two. :)

@RobertCassard Год назад

Really appreciate your comments @LegsON. I do plan to enjoy it for decades...and I HOPE it cures my endless quest. Of course, there are electric holy grails, too... Ha!

@lqueso 11 месяцев назад

I have owned 3 Martins but my Holy Grail is my D-28 Standard. Love that guitar, I have written some inspired stuff on it that makes me wonder if I was the one who wrote and played it or maybe some angel playing a joke on me. Anyway, great video and story. Best to you and yours.

@RobertCassard 11 месяцев назад

Very cool, @lqueso. When we find a guitar with a built-in muse, it’s miraculous, right?

@lqueso 11 месяцев назад

@@RobertCassard Absolutely!!

@Dave73nl 10 месяцев назад

Wowwwwww

@RobertCassard 10 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching! I have to ask, Dave: What specifically induced your multi-w Wowwwwww? The guitar itself? Martin’s Signature Series? The coincidence of John Boak selling while I was looking? All of the above?!

@Dave73nl 10 месяцев назад

@@RobertCassard the guitar, It,S gorgeous… Youre smile, its real and the story…. I love it when something has a extra layer in context!

@RobertCassard 10 месяцев назад

Thanks SO much@@Dave73nl Many layers in this one...including musical layers in the short piece I improvised to demonstrate how my holy grail plays and sounds. I really appreciate your comments and hope you find lots to enjoy and get inspired by here on my channel.

@Dave73nl 10 месяцев назад

@@RobertCassard Time will tell ;) I only started 2 years ago and I know how much a good sounding guitar can inspire me (got a D-16GT I adore) so I will keep learning even on my 50th hahaha

@RobertCassard 10 месяцев назад

@@Dave73nl Staying inspired to play is the key. Having a guitar you love makes the process a lot easier...

@williamw2306 Год назад

Was the ragpickers album not a result of Mark Knopfler's other Martin signature - a 12 fret - the 000-40S?

@RobertCassard Год назад

It’s a question of chicken and egg. The HD-40MK is the signature model that inspired Mark to write the songs for The Ragpicker’s Dream album, which came out in 2002. The Martin 000-40S signature model, known as “The Ragpicker’s Dream” guitar, came out in 2006.

@andorrasrevenge1683 11 месяцев назад

Now you just need the OOO ragpickers dream MK to round out your set! Ha congrats great video!

@RobertCassard 11 месяцев назад

That would be cool, but prolly not anytime soon…

@andorrasrevenge1683 11 месяцев назад

@@RobertCassard Oh yeah justkidding around.

@RobertCassard 11 месяцев назад

@@andorrasrevenge1683 I knew you were joking, but hey, I’ll take that 000 if one comes my way!

@davehardy9555 Год назад

Congratulations on the purchase! Just curious what strings were on it and / or have you put on it?

@RobertCassard Год назад

Good question, Dave. I haven't changed the strings yet, and I'd have to ask Six-String Brokerage to know for sure. They sound and play like medium-gauge uncoated Phosphor Bronze to me. Nicely balanced and forward when playing solo guitar. But a little too mid-rangey when singing - those PB frequencies tend to fight my voice. When needed, I'll probably switch over the coated 80/20 bronze and see if it helps leave space for the vocals. I made a video about this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sfIkEKvF8P4.html

@eduardkornejev7910 9 месяцев назад

So Robert you have chosen your favorite thumbpick?

@RobertCassard 9 месяцев назад

Indeed I have, Eduard. Since I did "The Great Thumbpick Challenge," Black Mountain came out with medium and light gauge spring-loaded picks. I have both types and also with the regular and tight tension springs. They're excellent.

@thanasisbestias4783 6 месяцев назад

Robert your video was awesome greetings from Greece! Thank you very much for the incredible information you helped me a lot in my research to make my holy grail traditional lute (a Greek instrument ) ! I have a question for you? What strings do you use for this guitar? Is the sound of it dull or has an accentuated high end and you have to you use phosphor bronze. If you want it will be very helpful for me to give me a mail of yours in order to ask you some further question…your knowledge is really valuable for me… For example a really important topic is what pick up system will you use to play your holy grail live? Thank you in regards! I hope for your response

@RobertCassard 6 месяцев назад

Happy and honored to have viewers in Greece! As for strings, my “new” Martin came with Martin Phosphor Bronze strings, and they’re NOT my favorite. Over the holidays, I’ll be re-stringing with coated 80/20 strings, which work best for me and my voice. This video explains why: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sfIkEKvF8P4.htmlsi=3cO1yHtggt_6LOM4

@RobertCassard 6 месяцев назад

As for a pickup system, I’m not planning to add one to the Martin. I have two other acoustics I use for live gigs. Both of them have a Fishman Matrix system with no volume or tone controls. They work and sound great, as long as you don’t want or need a mic system to pick up percussive sounds. (I’m not an expert on pickups, by the way!)

@thanasisbestias4783 6 месяцев назад

Thank you very much!!!

@RobertCassard 6 месяцев назад

@@thanasisbestias4783 it's my pleasure!

@ricomagadia7058 6 месяцев назад

Hello sir, what string are you using..thanl you

@RobertCassard 6 месяцев назад

Hi Rico. What you're hearing in the video are the strings it came with: Martin Phosphor Bronze. To my ear, they make the guitar a little too loud in the mid frequencies. I plan to change the strings for 80/20s soon. I recorded a video about this topic: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sfIkEKvF8P4.html