The whole guitar community is so lucky to have George ! My old man has dealt with him for years and he’s a genuinely good bloke. He really knows his stuff and is incredibly generous with his time. What he doesn’t know about guitars is probably not worth knowing
yep. my mama dated him back in 60s / 70s and they used to go around buying instruments and he kept snakes in the back of their VW so people wouldn't steal their stuff. to this DAY he has over 40 snakes encaged in his repair shop surrounded by the talented folks restoring them lol! Gave me my first guitar
George is an amazing man and he always loves and respects the authenticity of each instrument that he loves and plays and shows to the world!! He is truly a proper gentleman and so thank you very much for doing everything that you do!! :)
On a different stroke how many George’s are left out there, what an industry icon himself. There are only a few of his breed left still running there shops. Meet George in 1988 when I took my new bride to his shop looking for an arch top guitar. He just kept pulling them out for me to try. Still disappointed I did not by the Byrdland that day but I literally was on my honeymoon trip to Nashville. Eventually got a Gibson L4CES still with me today as well as that bride.
Thanks for the wonderful artwork you placed in my D-28, George. I’ll cherish it forever. And years from now, when I’m gone…. well, , I already get a kick out of my kids proudly showing it to their friends, “Do you know who George Gruhn is?”
George thanks for being so kind to my wife and myself, and letting us play your 33’ D28, and others you brought (Gruhn line of Martins) that truly is an amazing instrument!
Thanks George, my old friend Stan Jay (Mandolin Brothers) had a custom 28S (Indian) built for me in 1983. It's an incredible instrument and I thank Stan, Hap and some old friends at Martin for helping with it. These are fantastic guitars that seem to have been lost to the modern player.....too bad, they are missing out on something truly great.
A friend of mine had a rather beat up late 60's D-18 that some crazy person had drilled into in order to install a Gibson J-160E type pickup and jack. It had high action and sounded rather uninspiring... until he had the guitar restored at the Twelfth Fret in Toronto. Their luthiers carefully filled holes and reset the neck. When he returned to the store to retrieve his D-18, planning to sell it, he asked the luthier what guitar he would recommend. He was interested in putting the proceeds of the sale of his D-18 towards the purchase of a once in a lifetime guitar. The Twelfth Fret luthier said "We have a lot of wonderful instruments here, and we would be glad to sell any of them to you... but why would you want to buy any of them (opening the D-18's case) when you have this guitar?" The luthier then played the revived D-18 just enough for my friend to hear the transformation in its voice. I have played this guitar, and to this day it is the most remarkable sounding Martin I have ever heard. The sound is nothing short of stunning. Everything is in perfect balance. Breathtaking. Hunt down an old D-18 if you can, and love it back to life.
What a lovely guitar. It's just good that we can nowadays get nearer to those classic tones with some of new technologies used to recreate those classic tones in acoustic guitars.
In 1970 I bought a Martin D18S and it's companion version of 12 string. They were both of this configuration, and had beautiful tone and volume. I let them both go in favor of some other Martins, but I wish I still had them. All I have now is a photo of my brother and I playing them. Oh, and I still have the D28 that replaced it in 1971.
Sounds and looks great! In1972 I worked for Fibes Drum Co. which Martin owned at the time. They sold me a D-35S for $375. It sounded huge but I think the bridge placement was off. I bought a new HD-35 in 2014. Love it.
Those old Martins ring like a bell. He’s barely touching the strings and it’s filling the room. There was definitely something in the water in Nazareth Pennsylvania back in the day.
Is George still loving his ultimate L5??? Hope to get to visit some day soon. We have similar interests too. Would love to see a video on George's real keepers for his personal collection/use.
Too bad we cannot get Agustin Barrios to record with it. I play nylon and steel with my nails and would love to try it out. Seems that there is a sweetness and mid range punch with the bridge placing being closer to that which Torres used that is not there on 14 fret instruments. At least to my old tired ears. Keep up the good work George. Great guitars are indeed treasures that certainly need more recognition than sitting in museums or in private display cases.
Norman Blake was selling his early 30's D-28. I think it was a shade top. They are awesome instruments. I'd be really surprised if the average working man is ever allowed to touch this one.
Excellent commentary from a connoisseur and collector. Notes need to be played in order to maintain an instrument. The best Stradivari Guarneri and Amati violins are alive because they are used and maintained.
Bought one last year…..2001 HD28VS…….wonderful, probably my fav. In my collection which includes 2 SJ200s D35 reimagined,and Macca Epiphone Texan hand built in Bozeman in 2005.
I ALLSO HAVE A D-28 12 FRET SLOT HEAD AND GEORGE IN MY 56YRS OF PLAYING THIS IS 1 OF MY FAVORITE P.S ( MINE WAS MADE IN 1994 AND IS 1 OF 100 ) WANT TO TRADE? HAHAHA I WISH YOU A LONG LIFE OF PLAYING AND ENJOYING THAT FINE GUITAR GOD BLESS YOU AND YOURS J.SKINNER
Does it stay in tune better because of the ways I had stock is and the strings are straight up almost instead of the way they usually are? Man that's a beautiful freaking guitar holyshit
Oh George you talk about this guitar like it has become part of the family, I too have a guitar, I gave it a name Jasmin, as it says Jasmin on the fret board, and it was made in Indonesia, my common-law wife bought it for me, now I spend more time with Jasmin than I do with her, so she calls it my girlfriend cause I fall asleep holding it more than I do her. When I close my eyes and play I am taken away. I make stories with it and post them on youtube so not only me gets to enjoy them but anyone who has ears. We paint pictures in minds.
There are a lot more Martin guitars in existence than Stradivarius violins, like many thousands to 650, so a Strad is many times more rare than a Martin.
@@colehelton5000 Are you not even aware that some individual Strad models don't sound the same, are far more rare, and far more valuable? of course he is referring to that model but is comparing that individual to all Stradivarius models in existence, that is not an equal comparison at all. Compare that specific Martin to La Pucelle and there is absolutely no compaison at all, the Strad is far more rare and far more valuable. That violin is from Strad's Golden Period, Look it up.
Why haven't I seen this before, EVERY flat top I own is a 12 fretter! I'd been searching on two continents for a 12fret dread (D18/28/35-S) between 1996 until 1999, after playing Isaac Guillory's D35-S ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2WfcXVMF8Is.html until a great guitar dealer (Hi Seamus Brady) found me the second Collings Ds2h to come into the UK. Sadly in a fit of madness after cancer treatment, I let it go, but now I have three more! (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-At3E_JnMwko.html) George's guitar would be a dream for me!
The Real question. How much did you Give the previous owner for it? The most for any you’ve ever paid for Any? I hope so. Or did they not know what they had? So they get Less?
So after travelling the world and playing all of the worlds greatest guitars, he loves an old Martin best right ? Really ? No coincidence that an American who has probably never left America loves an American guitar then lol ??? There are 100's of much better guitars but I'll bet my house he hasn't tried or even heard of any of them. This is desirable only because of it's age, it sounds very ordinary, very unbalanced, and in fact, plain, dull, & flat. Anyone who thinks this sounds good is just being kind to the man. Anything by Lowden just as an example, sounds so much better, let alone any of the other 100 hand made acoustics in the 'rest' of the big wide world outside of America.
