The last few weeks have seen a bunch of these jobs. Several Martins rolled in including a nice ‘47 D-18 and a ‘67 D-28 with a stunning set of Brazillian Rosewood that looked like the nicest of the pre-war guitars.
A beautiful Hoboken era Guild D40 also graced my bench. These early Guild flat tops were often just great sounding and this one was no exception. A splendid guitar.
My favorites from this latest batch were not the vintage Martins but a couple of oddballs; a late 60’s Harmony Sovereign and a gorgeous little Carson J. Robison.
The Harmony is very close in size to an Martin OM and was built with ladder bracing. According to the original owner it cost $65 when new. The neck reset cost over five times that in 2010. Don’t ya love inflation?
If you’ve never played a ladder braced (most flat tops are X braced) guitar they are really a treat. Loud and very full in the trebles, they might lack subtlety but they really get the job done nonetheless.
The Robison is an inexpensive guitar built by Gibson for Ward’s in the 30’s. The little Robison looks like the L-00, complete with a lovely Gibson sunburst but has ladder bracing and no adjustable truss rod. It’s a killer blues beast and light as a feather at around 3 pounds.
Time to get back to the bench and set the angle on a Martin 12 string.
I love the shop, your blog, and agree personal attention is awesome.
You are my number one from now on.