If you just listen

[bluemtgrass]

A bit off mandolin but an older friend of mine & I
were picking a few days ago and he remarked how he had to
wait 6 months for the Martin Guitar factory to make him a left hand D-18 guitar ( Brazilian rosewood ) and had to
pay an extra $ 10.00 to make it left handed.
Total $ 130.00 And this thing is a killer guitar. I'm not much of a Martin fan but this thing blows away any HD-28 I've heard or played.

Some of you in Pa may remember Sally Star ( out of the Philly TV station I think ) kids shows, always dressed in cowgirl garb, nice lady. Anyway, he was her guitar player and then started playing the fiddle and a bit of mandolin.
Interesting what comes up in conversations with people if you just take the time to listen..

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[bradeinhorn]

D-18 is mohagany not braz- did you mean D-28? I am confused by this thread. What year are we talking about?

[Steven Stone]

[D-18 guitar ( Brazilian rosewood )]

Error Error Will Robinson!

Never been a D-18 with braz or Indian rosewood. 18 series is mahogany, except in the teens when there were some 18 instruments made with rosewood.

Mahogany, please. As for the price - either we are talking early 50's or add another 0 on the amount.

[RichieK]

Nathan,
Sally Star, (Our Gal Sal), Gene London, Pixanne...those were the good old days!
Richie

[mythicfish]

Nathan, how many times do I have to tell you not to leave your time machine in the driveway?

Curt

[Ray(T)]

Just for comparison - I bought a D18 in 1974 for £190 - for US made instruments in the UK the £:$ ratio always seems to be roughly 1:1 - and yes, they've always been mahogany; in this case "sapele".

[bluemtgrass]

The year was 1954 & the price $ 130 ( not sure if that
included the extra ten for left handed. Its a D-18 and
the B.R. was what I thought they made them out of in the old days, my apparent mistake. I thought that was the standard material for the year. ( told you I wasnt a particular fan of Martin )
The point of the thread was the things one can learn by listening instead of talking no matter where you are or the activity may be..
And yes.......my time machine is parked in the front driveway and I do go for a ride occasionally. Seems things were a bit simpler then.

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[Big Joe]

In 1936 Gibson brought out the Advanced Jumbo and priced it at $80.00 to be less than the Martin D28 Herringbone at $100.00. I'd sure like to buy either of those for that price now!

[ourgang]

I have a Brazilian D-18, it's called a D-21

[Volvoguy]

Technically he is right, any D-18 from the mid 40's to the late 60's would have a Brazilian fingerboard and bridge.

[mehrsam]

My first good guitar was a D-18 purchased in Rutland, Vermont in 1973 - a wonderful Christmas gift from my father. Unfortunately it always had neck angle and intonation problems, and I ended up trading it for a Gurian Jumbo(koa) and then traded that for my current guitar, a LYS.

Sure wish I had all of 'em still with me...

[mehrsam]

...and it was $400.00 including the ugly Martin thermoplastic case...

[Michael Gowell]

Speaking of Sally Star...in the 1960's my grandfather was running a pet cemetary called 'Pet Lawn' in Berlin NJ - we buried a couple of Sally's dogs (German Shephards if I recall correctly) and even a horse (which required a backhoe.) #She was a very nice person - she had a "ranch" somewhere in southern N.J.....

[bluemtgrass]

Thats what my friend said, " a nice person ".
Refreshing to hear that nowadays instead of bitching
and lawsuits.

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[mandodan1960]

I grew up in Wayne,Pa. "The Main Line" and remember
Sally Star, (Our Gal Sal)and The Gene London Show.
A good friend of mine was one of the children on Gene
London. Man did he catch it for that !! We were all
Secret admirers of those shows.
Mandodan1960

[Bernie Daniel]

Big Joe: In 1936 Gibson brought out the Advanced Jumbo and priced it at $80.00 to be less than the Martin D28 Herringbone at $100.00. #I'd sure like to buy either of those for that price now!

Yeah! #The original AJ's seem to change hands in the $35 - 50K price range these days. #

It was my understanding that the first batch of re-issued Gibson AJ's were (as close as possible) direct reproductions of the 1936 - 1940 models. #They were made in the Gibson custom shop. #

Do you know if there are any major differences these first re-issued guitars and the subsequent re-issued ones that are not designated being from the "custom shop". #

I assume there is a difference as the price is quite a bit less. #But is the actual construction the same?

Second question are plans for building an AJ available?

Thanks