#16
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He deserved it, but it took two years and that shows that it's a Larry museum piece rather than a Martin. Just my 2 cents. Love Martins.
All the other milestone guitars (the even hundred thousand numbered guitars) throughout the factory are great guitars. Anyone know what the 1,100,000 is? I am sure Rich does |
#17
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Quote:
:-) HE |
#18
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Thanks for the clarification HE!
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#19
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Having once been a CF Martin clinician I got to play some of their fancy pieces at the factory.
They're all playable, of course, although there was this one that I was handed that was s/n 600,000 (I think) with an Asian motif. Beautiful work, especially on the tuning keys. In any case..........They were not paying attention to the humidity level in the display room and the fret ends were sticking out, the top was sunk down, the strings were slapping............I was a little surprised........... Hey, it wasn't my guitar. HE |
#20
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It's great for marketing, that's why they did it, and that's why we're talking about it now. I'm actually kindda glad they went over the top with it. Just to show what's possible when money's no issue.
I don't know if you guys have seen the ryan guitar inlaid by larry robinson. There were a lot of heavily and beautifully inlaid guitars at healdsburg, and I enjoyed looking at them. I probably wouldn't want to own one. |
#21
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It's great for marketing, that's why they did it, and that's why we're talking about it now. I'm actually kindda glad they went over the top with it. Just to show what's possible when money's no issue.
I don't know if you guys have seen the ryan guitar inlaid by larry robinson. There were a lot of heavily and beautifully inlaid guitars at healdsburg, and I enjoyed looking at them. I probably wouldn't want to own one. |
#22
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Never cared for the inlay design on # One Million myself, although I certainly understand why they took it in such an 'antique' direction. Just too busy and over-the-top in a typically Victorian way, for my taste
For my 2¢ worth, the design of #750,000 is far superior from an aesthetic perspective, especially the back. Rich, but not too rich, if you know what I mean Since we're on the subject, IMHO the first proposal for the fretboard of #750,000 was better than the design eventually used. My only big question is: what does the calligraphy actually say?
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Everybody knows Something - Nobody knows Everything https://www.martinshenandoahguitars.info/ |
#23
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But on 750k the same question: Why the heck would you need a peacock on a guitar, rather than a truly exceptional piece of wood? No one would ever inlay a peacock that size into a back of 'the tree', right?
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#24
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IMO what all of these "milestone" guitars are about is more a matter of Art Object than anything else. Playability is strictly incidental, and the decoration is the major focus. It brings to mind a parallel example from the world of tool collecting - fancy plough planes that were made as commemorative pieces and never meant to be actually used Something that is (in theory) fully functional, but meant to be displayed only and never actually used
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Everybody knows Something - Nobody knows Everything https://www.martinshenandoahguitars.info/ |
#25
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What would it say if a commemorative guitar sounded better than the million that came before it? As I see it, the point is not to build a musically special guitar (which would essentially diminish all the others) but a commemorative piece intended as a symbol more than a reflection of the usual product.
The purpose of a commemorative anything is to draw special attention. One more nice Martin wouldn't really do that in the same way. While we knowledgeable guitar lovers may prefer a functionally superb but cosmetically less lavish instrument, the press, book buyers, walk-in customers in the shops it visited, and others are drawn by the spectacle of the millionth Martin.
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Bob DeVellis |