I share your love of the O-21. When I was listening to all the comparison samples you played, I knew immediately. For my taste, the O-21 is the real story here.
Please tell me you bought the 0-21.... The obvious pure joy when you were playing it would make it the last finger style guitar you'd ever need to buy!
And the ones that DID survive were helped by the fact that they were the best amongst the ones from that year from the get-go. Good guitars stand a better chance of getting maintenance, being stored safely and securely, and for being played carefully and lovingly. Combine that with low production runs where only the very best remain, and hey presto, "every guitar from year X is amazing" Yeah because only the very best of them remain. Survivorship bias
@@luuk341 "Only the best remain" is an interesting theory, but hardly accurate. Whether a guitar survives or perishes is more often than not determined by the luck of the draw. Countless guitars were lost to calamity - be it fire, flood, earthquake, tornado, war, you-name-it, regardless of how well they were cared for.
@@johna1160 that is a valid argument. And with it it also explains why I have found some of the guitars at the Fellowship of Acoustics ( I live closeby) to be "meh" at best
When you think about it that makes sense. Native speakers grow up using slang and speaking English with local dialects. People who learn as a second language actually learn to speak properly without slang and different regional takes on the language.
@@jedimindtrix2142 That's not how it works. Whether you speak the 'proper' version of a language has nothing to do with richness of vocabulary. Being a native speaker gives you way more opportunity to expand your vocabulary (eg watching television and reading in your language from a young age). If you learn a language later in life, you have to put in way more effort. If 2nd language speakers speak 'better' (more grammatically correct, with richer vocabulary, whatever), they're just trying harder.
@@fabiofrota9794 Not really true...but the Dutch learn languages mandatory in high school and you have to graduate which sufficient credits for both Dutch and at least one foreign language in order to get your diploma. I am Dutch...i graduated with four languages on my final exams..and learned two more on the fly...because i do not have any other skills.
@@dbodooley What did you expect him to play while holding an absolute bluegrass cannon in his hand, More than Words? It's a powerhouse and obviously we all wanted to hear THAT sound. That was freaking awesome. It's not a delicate flower!
I am nobody but I have to finally comment.. I'm commenting on this video because it's the latest in the lists.. what I want to say is only important to me maybe but here it is.. I got my first guitar when I was 13 years old, I am 59 years old on the 27th of September in this year 2020.. I just want you to know that your pentatonic and box and cage lingo is the first time I've ever had pentatonic even begin to make any since to me playing by ear.. all these years.. 7 years ago I quit.. gave all my stage gear away for free.. PA to multiple guitars, bases, amps, keyboards, pedals, effects stations, parts boxes years and years of collections of everything from repairs to playing.. all of it.. but recently I finally began to miss it and even to the point of music coming back to me through dreams and I'd wake up very sad missing myself.. I've realized only recently that it's part of me and who I am and so, the other day I went and bought a new cheap gibson copy guitar, a used fender frontman 212R a small mixer and stuff to make it all work.. then today my searches brought me somehow to your video's.. I've been watching them all day.. you video on BBKing, and your expressions in other video's on boxes, roots, are making the hair on my neck stand up.. gave me chills like I haven't felt in years and for the first time in years I'm beginning to get epiphanies from the lets say; methods of your very unique madness.. many have given me their perceptions of the pentatonics and how to connect them which have all been vain attempt's at grasping onto nothing until right now.. my point is just to tell that you are the only one who has ever put any of this into a sequential progression that makes sense to me.. I thought after giving up that I was just not good enough and let it go for life.. but I'm thinking I am good enough and only needed someone who could spell things out in way that I could understand.. till today, of all the thousands of people I've met, not one could teach me to grasp anything and only confused the already chaotic views or habits that I had formed in a lifetime of playing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.. so.. I just want you to know that you tube is all I can afford now as my working days are done and I am retired with disability from abusing my body over the years, so anything you put on you tube is like pure Gold and fine Silver to me.. I just thank you so much for bettering yourself and then sharing that with people like me.. I write this with great emotion and thank you again
Hi Dan, everyone’s guitar journey is unique and special. Playing guitar is far harder than I imagined but it’s far more fun and fulfilling than I ever imagined. My family has no music background and it has be hard to spend the time to become competent. Mark Knopfler says “A guitar will be your friend for life” and that’s how I like to think about it. Just remember your journey is your own, playing and learning is for your joy and satisfaction only .Your pace is your own, there is no pressure other than what you place on yourself, if any. None of us were born with any skills, we’ve all had to be beginners and it is a struggle at times, but it is always good in my experience. Great story you tell above. Just enjoy your guitar, it will be a friend for life. All the best.
Lovely story thanks for sharing. Playing the guitar has been one of the most fulfilling achievements of my 40 years on this planet. I feel that if we as enthusiasts can at least get to a level which helps transcend if only momentarily to another place and 'zone out' and enjoy playing what is in us at that moment then all of those frustrating solitary hours in the early days were worth it!
The store owner is so cool. And another thing I learned from this video is that Paul Davids is a humble and sincere musician. Really love your contents.
Try String Joy, their electric strings are without a doubt the best strings ive ever used and ill never waste money on electric strings by anyone other than string joy ever again. Their acoustic strings are excellent too but they use slightly smaller gauges on their mediums on the A, D, and G strings than Martin which sucks cause the string joys are better quality that Martins Lifespan's(but i like the slightly larger gauges martin uses even though stringjoys are better quality). Stringjoy also has pretty much any gauge you could ever want and the custom sets are the same price as a regular set. The only time i havent been able to get the exact gauges im used to was with the Mediums that i just mentioned and really im probably just nit picking. They are a little more pricey than a regular set but id bet both my testicles that youd be fine paying a little more once you see for yourself how long they last. I used to changed strings on all my guitars about every 2 weeks at the most. With the string joys i can go a few months if i wanted to and they would still sound fresh/not dull and look new( ive heard of guys going twice that long with string joy strings and while i wouldnt want to go that long i completely believe it could be done). The first time i tried them i was completely expecting them to be overpriced "boutique" crap. I couldnt wait to write the review saying its all marketing bullshit lol. But i was completely wrong. And dont get me started on customer service. I was having a hard time deciding on which gauges to stick with for one of my new 7 strings cause i wasnt sure if i wanted it to be a B standard guitar or a Bb standard guitar. So on more than one occasion i ordered a custom set and then changed my mind and asked if they could change the gauges and every time they were completely willing to change the order and seemed more than happy to do so. Anyways i know i sound like a shill for string joy but they really are worth trying. I have two "bumper stickers" on my Chevy Silverados back window, one is VIVATUBES.com and the other is StringJoy. Im hoping the bumper stickers distract people from the fact that im driving around in 2020 in a 99' Silverado lol.
These guitars were played in hundreds of concerts, played by different musicians. Just imagine how well they stood in the test of time. These are relics from past and still can do their job at this point and will deliver outstanding musics even in future. To me, this is the most amazing part of Vintage instruments.
It'a partly due to the emergency low interest rates we've had since 2009. Money or borrowings now goes into assets such as property , vintage cars or vintage anything else. 1950's/1960's guitars were relatively cheap in the 1990's
Andy Traverse Believe me they weren’t...!!!! ‘62 Strats were hitting $10k and ‘57 Gold Tops $15k and these weren’t perfect either.! Guilds and Gretschs were going for $3k -$8k..!! Nationals were starting at $5k..!
Andy Traverse Correct sir! The world banks have been printing money at a faster and faster rate and keeping interest rates artificially low. We are seeing inflation in certain assets way more like real estate, stocks and vintage guitars. The people that buy these guitars have benefited from this monetary policy. Supply and demand then help drives up prices as well of course.
The O-21 has a “sound” a kind of sparkle, that really comes through. The triple O is soooo balanced. And the 28’s a cannon. Even though I play a dreadnaught, a 2003 D-35 lefty, I love the O-21 you played. Cheers from Akron, Ohio.
The love for vintage stuff comes from the era when quality seriously dropped from companies like fender, Gibson, Martin, etc. Late 60s/70s. Guitarists that wanted a quality strat in 1972 wanted something from the 50s or early 60s because it was built so much better. By the time the 80s arrived, those guitars had been surpassed in every way, but the mystique stuck around.
I have a 1989 Fender Telecaster and it’s a piece of shit really. I also own a 1965 Fender Strat, well, it doesn’t suck. I’ve tried a multitude of CS Fenders and 95% suck.
IdK, with acoustics instruments the tone wood ages and develops, there is no replacement for time passing by. It's even more obvious with violins etc. Those survivors in that video probably sounded more similar to their modern siblings when they were made.
@@millmoormichael6630 I'm not talking 80s fenders, I'm talking the thousands of companies thatve popped up since that do it all 1,000 better. Play a Suhr and you'll never touch another Fender.
@@aradieschen4880 it's not as big of a deal as you'd think, and is mostly negligible. The main difference aging has on wood is that it dries over time and somewhat changes the tone. Not only do a lot of companies bake their wood to replicate that effect today, the effect would be much less significant than just switching to a different type of string, let alone different woods and building techniques. You can get that sound, but most companies don't go for those older styles because the sound isn't popular with contemporary musicians and with what's the most popular. There's also the issue of build stability. Manufacturers want to build instruments that will last forever. A modern day high end acoustic will survive 100 years far better than instruments made 100 years ago. However, there are still small luthiers that seek to replicate that old timey feel and sound, if that's what you really want.
@@DrDizzleFrizzle I can't say much about guitars but I do know a lot of professional violinist and they all want that vintage sound there. And I do hear a difference between a 19th century violin and a 2 year old (I'm not even talking about Strads and Guarneris). Also fast drying the wood simply isn't the same (again I only know about bow string and woodwind instruments). But you're probably right, a lot of it is about what's fashionable. I bought a Martin guitar 2 month ago and I love it, but even the contemporary Martin sound apparently isn't really the thing at the moment. People all seem to really be digging that plastic sound of the open pore polymer varnish.
If I can add something: the name "Dreadnought" came from the shape of this giutar, which is very similar to the arrangment of main artillery turrets, positioned on both boards on the sides of the conning tower, very characteristic for Dreadnought generation battleship, (this vessel started a whole generation of then state of art ships of line, built only by the biggest sea powers, wealthy enough for such an expensive technology in a timeframe from 1907 to the beggining of WWI, these were Great Britain (some 24 Dreadnoughts in the day when war broke out), German Empire (17), France (3), USA (5), Italy (3), Austria-Hungary (3), Japan (6) and Imperial Russia (4). :) And of course... What a sound... Especially the 1943 and 1946 ones have stolen my heart. It is so warm, the tone is so strong and yet delicate. Love
That ain't true either. The real story goes like this: There's this man, back in the day, wanking on the bus station, and then God approaches and says to the man "Take this guitar son, you shall call it a Dreadnought size" The man never wanked again In his life
You can see and hear the passion in Paul when he plays these Martins. I never really understood what the fuss was with Martin Guitars until I saw this great video. Then in Nov 2020 I went out on a 2 week journey across Toronto sampling all kinds of Martin Guitars. And there she was - a D28 Authentic 1937. It was love at first sight. $9600 CDN later i bought it and brought it home where its hanging on my living room wall where I can see it and easily grab it to play it. It's perfect. The sound is so good and my body resonates with each string. I sold my Taylor 714ceV and an Ovation immediately upon purchasing this Martin and haven't looked back. There's a Taylor Koa I'd like to have but my Martin D28 1937 is my real love. Thanks Paul for your inspiration.
Love your statement about how playing the O-21, "touches my soul." I usually experience this feeling playing a nice current-day, acoustic guitar. The woody tones are always memorizing. I can only imagine how this must feel when playing a vintage Martin. For now, I'll live vicariously through your shared experience. Thanks for the video!
I think a good amount of a Vintage's value is simply its place in guitar history. They have stood the test of time over the decades of musical events, essentially being relics that reflect those periods in time. That, and they still sound really awesome!
Guitar history is overrated. History hardly older than a man's lifetime can hardly be called "history". It's nothing but marketing, playing in on people's nostalgic feelings.
So which vintage is better, the 50 year old guitar that’s been sitting in the case in grammas attic, or the 50 year old guitar that’s been slammed around on stage, and hauled around the country on a bus, and has beer stains and cigarette burns on it? I’m sure the latter has the better story to tell, but I’d take the other. 😃
How many people collect tucker cars because of their place in history? If these old Martin's sounded bad they would be dirt cheap. The tone is why they are desired
My dad had a 60s D28 and yeah they're magical. That was my first guitar and it made me want to play because of how it sounded and I wanted more of that sound. Something about really old acoustic guitars just give you goosebumps
I can SO MUCH relate to the emotion you are describing over these instruments! I had once the pleasure of playing a 1926 model Gibson in London and almost cried when I realized it would never be mine... The price tag was £6.000,-.
I love them all. I have a friend in Minnesota who has about 100 guitars like this in his basement. Because of his kindness I’ve played all the models of holy grails and they REALLY are as great as they seem.
Haha Paul isn't the only one who has his heart strings pulled by that 0-21! Personally I hear a neutral bass, pronounced mids and sparky highs. And I love the tone. Those parlour guitars are a thing if beauty and I'd love to own one someday.
That was an interesting video. Seeing how much you appreciated the moment was the best part though. Instantly made me reach for my guitar. Infectious passion.
Personal story: When I was a lad...11, 12-ish, so almost a half-century ago...I'd taught myself to play guitar to Gordon Lightfoot's music. (I'm a Canuck.) I had an old Yamaki six-string. My best friend also played, but not as well as I did. His father...his father had a gorgeous Martin D-28. Which he would _never_ let his son play. However, he would let _me_ if I played 'The Pony Man' for him. Ended up getting really good at that song. : )
My philosophy is: if you like it, and can afford it, it's worth it. I personally prefer to buy new, but have immense respect for the older instruments. That 021 really surprised me, even with my phone speakers
Aqesome!! TFOA is an amazing store! They let me play a ‘21 Martin once. Koen just handed it over. Such great dudes. Thanks for this super cool video, Paul!!
My grandparents own a ‘40 Gibson. When they pass it will go to the country music hall of fame in their honor. Old school guitars aren’t that odd being around a bluegrass family. Beautiful Martin. Same grandpa owns a ‘78 D28. (Reissue). Beautiful guitars
OMG 😮 I love how you overlayed each model in the beginning with the same song, you can hear the difference between each. They all sound fabulous in their own right but I have to give the D-28 the nod 😎
I thought you were going to cry when you played the 0-21 fingerstyle. All three are just beautifully astounding and have their own characteristics. Lovely.
Thanks, that was fun. I’ve had a number of vintage Martins. I’ve repaired cracks, steamed and bent necks or reset them, and played them for many hundreds of hours. The old wood, history, investment value, and just imagining all the instrument has put out for its players before me - so much to appreciate. It’s an honor and humbling at the same time.
I agree, the 0-21 has a sound of its own. It might not have the roundness, or volume of the other two, but the resonance and definition between the notes is gorgeous. I hope you're able to find the money, I know I wish I could.
Vintage guitars are expensive because vintage guitar forgers from the 90s have convinced enough idiots with too much money that vintage = better. Unloading a five digit sum on a guitar is a pure navel gazing exercise IMO.
I'll never forget going to guitar expo in Orlando Florida, a room stuffed full of pre-war martins, and the owners just let me walk up and play them whenever I asked. And I understand, absolutely falling in love with some of them. It is a highlight of my life as a musician
Love your videos, beautifully recorded, edited, produced. I wonder if a gimbal would elevate your content further? Some of the walk and talk in this was distractingly jumpy.
@@doscheid true, ads these days are powerful, but they've been doing it forever. Like diamonds, they weren't expensive until jewelry companies started pushing ads saying if you really love you're girlfriend you'd spend at least three months income on a diamond ring. It worked and now diamond jewelry is expensive.
best shop in the Netherlands, lovely relaxed atmosphere. Friendly and helpful employees with knowledge of the instruments, and a cold class of water when you enter. lovely shop
When the price gets pushed up that high you don't see them on the road performing. It gets too risky. You might hear a few of them used in a studio recording. Most are used privately or just kept on display or in storage. Sad. And these days the digital recording technique does not capture the overtones and real beauty of the sound from these instruments. Listen to it on vinyl , recorded using tube amps etc.
So glad I found your lesson on that bit of Travis picking magic. Truly a beautiful, haunting piece. Well done. For the folks out there, you can find Mr. Davids’ lesson on that song he plays on his RU-vid page under the playlist PAUL DAVIDS ORIGINALS - the video is named "The LEGENDARY picking pattern Travis Picking."
I don't get the whole vintage thing. There are a lot of great instruments out there... old, new and everything in between. Finding an instrument you like is always a pleasure, to be sure, but personally I don't care about its provenance. I guess I'm not the kind of buyer this shop is looking for. It is fun to watch a video of someone who definitely appreciates the vintage thing, though.
@@brunningwolf - No doubt your guitar sounds fantastic. I have played a few vintage instruments, though... some sounded great, others... not so much. Some played great, other... not so much. Just because something is old does not make it vintage and just because something is vintage does not make it great. But I suppose when you find the right one, I guess that can be very special.
Personally I love sound of that 0-21 parlour looking guitar. Regardless of price range (I only work part time after all!), I'd love to own a parlour style guitar.
OH...that OOO28!!!! Gorgeous. On a different note...I have a guitar which was made in the Netherlands in 1945 by a company called C Swagermakers. Have you heard of this company? Do they still make guitars. The Luthiers signature is engraved onto the metal part of bridge. It's not very clear but I think it says W.C. Baalbruger or maybe Bealbruger. It's hard to make out. When I bought it for $20 it was in pieces. The Luthier had written his name on the inside in pencil. A lovely piece of history. Thanks for the interesting video.
That is exactly right, and a time in which a shitload of shitty guitars where produced. Nowdays an accoustic guitar with a one piece solid top and a straight neck can be purchased for 200€
I've owned a few guitars, but the only one I'd never sell is my Grandad's Eko ranger 6 acoustic, bought in Italy in about 1970. It's the nicest sounding acoustic I've ever played, is massive and for every scratch and dent in it I can tell you how it happened.
Yeah, pre-war Martins are amazing. They smell wonderful too. The methods of construction are different than even the "re-issue" or "authentic" series. No adjustable truss rod. But the big difference is materials. There is no more "old growth" spruce, nor mahogany nor Brazilian Rosewood. Brazilian rosewood is an endangered species and virtually all the old growth trees are long, long gone. There are nice new ones, but playing a pre-war Martin that's in top shape is amazing.
All I can say is I've played a few 40s Martin's and they are fantastic but I've got a 1941 authentic series D28 and I think it's one of the best sounding instruments I've ever heard
What’s most important is the player who can make a bad guitar sound great and a great guitar sound amazing. I loved the 46 0-21 headstock in the classical guitar style. Can’t work out why more steel string guitars don’t have this type headstock.
For some reason the ‘45 D-28 really stood out to me, might be the folk kinda things I write but that resonance and brightness was stunning. Hell, they’re all stunning. One day...
0-21....was number 1(for me) and then the 000. I believe that Larson Bothers invented the X-brace, but Martin was the first to use it on a large commercial scale. It’s worth it if the guitar speaks to you and you aren’t stealing food from a baby. I resisted picking up any 00 from the 20’s for years as I knew what would come next-suffering, debt, sleepless nights till it arrived and guilt. They all go away and you are left with a friend. On a bad day I wake, crooked from an autoimmune disease and I’m met with a number of these forbidden fruit. They greet me like an old friend and it has sustained me for nearly twenty years as a new old friend shows up every once in a while and reveals the songs that they would like to sing.
I love 12th fret neck joints especially on the smaller body acoustics. It seems like the fundamental tone is stronger with more subdued overtone. That is the next type guitar on my wish list.
IMO, the generation that grew up with the genre that immortalized these instruments (read: boomers and rock) now has lots of disposable income, so the value of "vintage" instruments has skyrocketed accordingly
It’s not a blame it on the boomers comment it’s pointing out a likely reason for their demand. It would be interesting to know the average age of someone buying a vintage 40-60’s guitar. I’d guess they are right to a degree that the retired generation from those eras are buying some nostalgia with their disposable income
@@mattrogers1946 no, obviously not. Nobody said that only boomers buy vintage guitars but it is likely that boomers consist of a large portion of vintage guitar collectors
I used to think the Brazilian rosewood pre-war Martin's were better until I got a 1939 D-18. They all vary a lot instrument to instrument, but as far as mic'ed live play, and over all, I like my D-18 best. I used to own a 1937 D-28, and have played a great number of pre-war Martin's.
Yes, it's a pretty sad thing to meet these rich dudes with these beautiful pieces and they can just barely pick 'em. These guitars open up when strong players play them.
So many great Vintage guitars to choose from, i have a 53 D28 in comparison to my year 2020 dreadnought Jr. they both have a certain sound. Vintage guitars are always going to be richer sounding and sonically pleasing especially the vintage Martin.
I passed up an opportunity to buy a 1937 Martin 000-18 for $400. That was in 1978. It had been a CBS studio guitar that has once been damaged. It was expertly restored and sounded and looked great. I was a poor student at the time and shied away from buying something that was once broken. Oh well.
The thing about vintage stuff had been around since ever for stringed instruments. Even two centuries ago violinists knew that the best master grade instruments had to have at least 40 years of ageing and playing to give the best.
I've been violin shopping with my daughter who is off to conservatory soon. It's important to play blind so that you don't let age or lineage sway what your fingers feel or your ears hear. She loved a brand new violin (2018) from a local maker in Sonoma almost as much as the French violin (1898) that we ended up buying in the end (it was actually cheaper, too!)
As the wood ages it gets more vibrant. I have an 1946 Harmony guitar that's so sencetive i can put a contact mick on the headstock and run it through an amp. Imposseble with a new guitar. I´m gonna try my 1954 guitars tomorrow ( you got to have some guitars from your birthyear, if you're nerdy enogh).
