I’ve got no story...but quite a story!

[TaoMaas]

Originally Posted by Fresh1985

Personally I cant help feeling like that lady got taken advantage of, but I suppose it depends how badly she could gave used the money.

It also depends on when this happened. Before they became "vintage", guitars like that were just considered "old".

[CoryB]

So my son was at his neighbor's house one night to look at some guns being sold by the woman's ex-mother-in-law (my son owns a gun shop.) After going over them, there wasn't anything too interesting but he made offers on a couple of them but they decided to keep them in the family instead.

As he was leaving, the woman said, "Now I just have to get rid of these old guitars." My son turned around and asked to see them as he knows I like old guitars.

He texted me and asked if I was interested in a Martin 5-28 and how much he should offer. I asked if it was indeed a 5-28 as I was not familiar with that model so he sent a picture of the neck block confirming that it was.

I said to offer $900 sight unseen (by me) and see if they were interested. Instead, he asked what they wanted to get for it. She said her MIL wanted $200. He texted me this and I told him to give them the money, grab the guitar, and run.

I also bought several old Alvarez guitars from her that I paid too much for, so I kind of feel like we came out even.

It turns out that the guitar in question is a 1969 5-28, the only one built in 1969 and one of only 24 5-28s ever built according to Martin. The real curiosity is that this one appears to be mahogany where it should be rosewood. If so, it is the one and only mahogany 5-28 ever built by Martin according to them. I called Martin and they found the build card on it, but the only information there was the start date of the build. The other information was given by a semi-local Martin expert who called in some favors from Martin employees to try to figure this thing out.

The 5-18 was much more popular. Think Marty Robbins and Sting...

As far as value of it, I have no idea. Price depends greatly on demand and, seeing as there were only ever a total of 24 5-28s built, I guess there wasn't too much demand for it. But it's a cool little guitar anyway.

[whvick]

So another patient says thanks for the guitar pick, and tells me about his Yamaha he found in a yard sale. He says it is quite old, and is one of the ones that was an exact copy of a Martin down to the scallop of the braces. He said that it was such an exact copy that Martin sued Yamaha. I have already forgotten the model number.
I do not doubt that he found a good guitar at a yard sale, but is he right about copy infringement? Does anyone know of such a happening?
Thanks for your input.
whvick

[Goat Mick]

To my knowledge the Japanese "lawsuit" guitars were only copying the headstock shape and lettering of the logo. They were making the headstocks so that one had to look closely to see they didn't actually say "CF Martin" on them. I've never heard of the Japanese companies copying the actual construction of the guitars. There is more information at the link below.

https://www.guitar-list.com/news-sto...c-guitar-logos

[zombywoof]

The lawsuit guitars are more myth than fact. It has become pretty much a marketing gimmick. Norlin did file a lawsuit against Ibanez in the mid-1970s but as a Goat Whiskey Picks notes it was for copying the Gibson open book headstock. The suit was settled out of court. As far as I know that is the only actual legal action taken regarding acoustic guitars. At one time, however, Martin was ready to enter into an agreement with Takamine to produce the Sigma line. Martin went as far as to provide blue prints and tooling to produce the guitars. When Kaman bought Tak though Martin pulled the plug on the project. There are those who say Tak took advantage of the situation to produce Martin clones. Me, I do not have a clue if it is true or not.

[slooky]

Originally Posted by CoffeeFan

Some years ago, one of my Dad's friends asked me if I'd take a look at a guitar he'd had since he was a kid. His parents bought it for him for his 15th birthday.

As he was opening the case, he commented that he'd rather have $500 than an old guitar. When he opened it, their sat a 1963 Fender Jazzmaster, in Burgundy Mist, in absolutely drop dead mint condition. Everything that was in the case was there the day his parents bought it.

Apparently, he tried playing in twice. Both times, he said, his fingertips hurt. After the second attempt he stuck it in his bedroom closet where it stayed for the next 40+ years.

Long story short, I told a friend at Fender about it, and he helped arrange the shipment of the guitar to Corona. Fender inspected the guitar and offered him $18,000 for it. The people there said they'd never seen anything so old that was in such remarkable condition.

So, I could've bought an $18,000 guitar for $500, but that just wouldn't have been right.

Very good of you to do that especially in this day of greed. My hat goes off to you.

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by zombywoof

The lawsuit guitars are more myth than fact. It has become pretty much a marketing gimmick. Norlin did file a lawsuit against Ibanez in the mid-1970s but as a Goat Whiskey Picks notes it was for copying the Gibson open book headstock. The suit was settled out of court. As far as I know that is the only actual legal action taken regarding acoustic guitars. At one time, however, Martin was ready to enter into an agreement with Takamine to produce the Sigma line. Martin went as far as to provide blue prints and tooling to produce the guitars. When Kaman bought Tak though Martin pulled the plug on the project. There are those who say Tak took advantage of the situation to produce Martin clones. Me, I do not have a clue if it is true or not.

I have never heard anything about, nor can I find any information about Kaman Corp buying out Takamine.

I do know that Yamaha has never produced an exact look alike guitar to a Martin, like Takamine, Alvarez, Tama, Aria, Morris, and a number of other Japanese and other Asian guitar makers have made. Yamaha has always retained a very original look to their guitars, even when using a standard dreadnaught body shape, which they actually did not use all that much in the grand scheme of their model lines and body and headstock shapes.

It would be great to see a good picture or two of this Yamaha guitar in question.


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[ManyMartinMan]

Originally Posted by CoryB

.....So my son was at his neighbor's house one night.... As he was leaving, the woman said, "Now I just have to get rid of these old guitars." My son turned around and asked to see them as he knows I like old guitars......He texted me and asked if I was interested in a Martin 5-28 and how much he should offer. ...I said to offer $900 sight unseen (by me) and see if they were interested. Instead, he asked what they wanted to get for it. She said her MIL wanted $200. He texted me this and I told him to give them the money, grab the guitar, and run.

It turns out that the guitar in question is a 1969 5-28, the only one built in 1969 and one of only 24 5-28s ever built according to Martin....

As far as value of it, I have no idea. Price depends greatly on demand and, seeing as there were only ever a total of 24 5-28s built, I guess there wasn't too much demand for it. But it's a cool little guitar anyway.

Okay first "grab the guitar and run......."??? Next, I found this on line (no idea if correct but here it is).... "Dates of manufacture: 1901 to 1939, 1968 to 1981
Martin 5-28 is a three quarter sized acoustic produced from 1901 to 1939 and again from 1968 to 1981. The 5-28 has also been available recently as a Martin Custom Shop model and also influenced the design of the 1999 Mini Martin - as played by Sting."

If correct, they were made for 38 years then 13 years, so 51 years plus later customs. You stated yours is a 1969 so not pre-war (thank goodness for the poor family that gave it away). However, either way, the guitar would have been worth (and yes, still) thousands of dollars. I'll leave you to your conscience but please stay away from my family if they have to sell my property.

[JBCROTTY]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Nothing like a story about someone ripping off an old lady to warm the heart...

This response made me laugh out loud. 100% true - guy robbed an old lady.

[whvick]

Thanks guys.
I figured the guy was into an urban legend. But it was best to not bust his bubble, and after all, “it’s the best guitar ever!”
Still, it is fun to hear the guitar stories.

[whvick]

The patient did seem like a nice guy.
I like you guys had the thought that he had taken advantage of an unknowing owner.
But I may have not caught the whole story, and thus am being unfair to the guy. He may have told her more.
And he may have had to pay a lot on repairs.
As I said on the surface he did seem like a nice guy. Hopefully he did not cheat the old lady.
I will try to get better details if I get more such stories
whvick

[slooky]

Nice guys can be crooks too! just sayin

[pszy22]

Hopefully someone can return the favor to the guy or someone close to him. Karma has a way of figuring out if situations are done in good faith, or not.

[upsidedown]

Originally Posted by whvick

So I give another patient a pick and asked about his guitar.

I'm still trying to figure out the meaning of the opening sentence.

[Goat Mick]

Originally Posted by whvick

Thanks guys.
I figured the guy was into an urban legend. But it was best to not bust his bubble, and after all, “it’s the best guitar ever!”
Still, it is fun to hear the guitar stories.

I agree with you 100%. The lawsuit era acoustics were spotty with some being good, some being crap and a few being exceptional. The electrics of that era were much better. So much so that Tokai copies of Fender strats and teles are bringing pretty good money on the vintage market. I’d love to have a Tokai pink paisley telecaster.