THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY

MARTIN D-41 WITH CUSTOM INLAY

FIRST THINGS FIRST! If you know of this guitar, please put me in touch. I’d love to have it back if possible, but at the very least, I would love to get photos of it. Thanks!

I have never told this particular story until now because I couldn’t find a single photo of it. Until a few days ago. My friend Rob sent me a photo from the late 1980s and said, “What the heck is THIS guitar??” Holy shit! It’s my Martin D-41 I’ve been searching for all these years!

First of all, this isn’t your average Martin D-41. It started out that way, but at some point someone had a luthier add some very custom inlay on the fretboard. A D-41 already has pearl binding on the top and the headstock with the vertical logo. Which I love and actually emulated when I designed the logo and headstock artwork for Iris Guitar Company. So, a D-41 is already a fancy guitar. But this one was over the top and the moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I can’t remember exactly, but it’s either a 1969 or a 1971 model. It has a LOT of wear on the top…dinged up and scratches all around the soundhole as though someone strung it left handed for awhile. When I came across it in 1987, a relic worn instrument wasn’t cool, and it definitely took away from the value. But it was still a lot of money.

I found it in the original San Diego Guitar Center on El Cajon Blvd. I live in far North County San Diego and to get down to Guitar Center at that time was a real trip. My wife at the time and I walked into the store to look around, and up on the wall, way up high out of reach, was this fancy-ass Martin that you couldn’t help notice. “What is that!??” I asked the salesguy. “Can you get it down?!” He got on a ladder and pulled it down. I fell in love. Absolutely stunning. It didn’t have the original Martin label inside…it had been replaced by a label from McCabe’s Guitar Shop, a legendary shop up in Los Angeles that is still around today. So I’m thinking that maybe McCabe’s had something to do with the added inlay? I asked how much it was and I don’t even remember how much they said. I didn’t have it. I asked if they would take a trade. They asked what I had. I had a 1974 Fender Telecaster in mint condition and I had a 1984 Ovation Collector’s Series acoustic guitar. Would they take those in a trade? Yes, but I needed to throw in some cash. Fuck. I didn’t have much. I think I gave them another $200 or something. And the Martin was mine.

I had the Martin for a few years and absolutely loved it. I played it when I got to open up for Leon Russell in concert…my first bigtime gig. And I played it on local San Diego television on some music show. And it was an awesome sounding guitar. I even called Martin Guitars one time and it was after hours and the legendary Mike Longworth answered the phone and had an entire conversation with me about the guitar. He believed that the inlay absolutely was not factory original. And he would know.

And then I was going to be in my first real band. And the only amp I had was a little Fender Vibro Champ. I needed a real amp and I didn’t have any extra money at the time. So I sucked it, and I took the Martin to Rusty’s Guitar Kingdom in Oceanside, CA and I walked in to make a trade. The guy played it pretty cool I must say. I told him I needed to trade the Martin for an amp and another acoustic guitar. He offered up a few items that he thought would work out. The replacement guitar was a nice Gibson Dove, which I was pretty happy with. And then he said I could pick between a Roland Jazz Chorus 120 and a 1963 Fender Tremolux. Blonde with wheat grill. Take the Fender!!!!!!!! Nope…I took the Roland. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I took the Roland!

This is painful to recount, but the truth is, the Roland worked out great and did what I needed, and I learned how to be in a band for the first time and was pretty happy about it. Obviously in retrospect, I wish I had found a way to keep the Martin. And I wish I had been smart enough to take the Fender Tremolux. I actually ended up getting a Tremolux many years later and it almost electrocuted me to death.

I’ve never seen the Martin since and I only have this one photo that my friend sent me recently You can’t even see the headstock. But I am so grateful to have this photo. As blurry as it may be. If you’ve seen this guitar out in the world, put me in touch!

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 9, 2024