I have spoken many times about guitars and guitar playing. It’s perhaps the one passion that has sustained me since I was a teenager. I took a few years off after breaking my left elbow, but I didn’t get rid of my guitars, I just put them away for a while.

Over the past few years I have acquired a number of guitars. Some of them based on a perceived “collectibility” and others because they struck my fancy. Some I play, some I will likely never (or almost never) play, and others I have a pure joy every time I pick them up. Yes, I have a few clunkers as well. I wouldn’t have admitted that a few years ago, but it’s true; not only will I not play them, but now I don’t even like them!

Currently, I have three guitars (four, if you count my lovely little KLŌS travel guitar) that I find myself playing frequently. At least one of the four every day! I love them all, and they each have characteristics that lend themselves to my playing enjoyment. Do I have pictures? Let’s see…

And just for grins and giggles, my KLŌS and Gretsch “Jim Dandy” – Parlor guitars, if you will.

It’s eye candy to me, even if it does nothing for you! 😁

So, where am I going with this? It’s the giant leap of the title.

Last week, I was reading a guitar forum (one of many I belong to) and one of the posters wrote a glowing letter of recommendation for a guitar maker in Oregon named Stephen Holst. Very quickly, others joined in and were in universal praise for the man and his guitars. They included photos.

Holst makes custom guitars. I asked the forum members about the process and then I reached out to Holst himself. This is a photo that inspired me to consider having him build me a guitar.

Steve sent me a spreadsheet that when I looked at it bowled me over: Bracing type? Tailpiece type? Pickups? Wow. I filled out those items I felt I could and asked him to guide me with the rest. And so it begins…

I don’t know what the final price will be, but the round numbers on his web site, plus the fact he takes a down payment means that I can actually get a guitar made exclusively for me, and one that I hope combines the best features of the three guitars (above) that I love to play. More will be revealed…

Recently I wrote about how playing guitar “elevates my spirit.” Even though I took time off after breaking my elbow, playing the guitar has been a constant in my life. A constant source of joy, peace and even escape.

Making up for lost time, I’ve gone on a guitar buying spree the past few years, and have now accumulated a bit of a collection. When I was young and poor, electric guitars and the amps needed to play them were out of reach. Having achieved a modicum of success, I’ve acquired some electrics from name brands I admire: Gibson, Fender and more. One thing that I had a hard time realizing is that I spend more time playing acoustic guitar than I do playing electric guitar.

Now that I have the amps, the cables, the guitars, and even some foot pedals, I should be tearing it up on electric guitar. But I guess that I’m inherently lazy, because I find it just so much easier to pick up an acoustic and play rather than plug in, flip a switch, play, and then reverse the procedure. And when I have an acoustic guitar within arm’s reach, just pick up and play.

Before I knew that Taylor was the number #1 seller of guitars today, I bought an acoustic Big Baby Taylor-e to serve as a temporary replacement for my Framus 12-string while I had it in the shop.

Little did I realize I’d have my 12-string back the same day, so now I had two acoustics. Hey, a 12-string and a six-string. I had a choice. And I played them sporadically, but I still thought of myself now as an electric guitar player.

Then, one day I saw an online ad for a company that was fundraising to create a carbon fiber travel guitar. I was very disappointed in the travel guitar I had (a Pignose PGG-200 Deluxe) and the prospect of an “indestructible” guitar appealed to me. So I pledged, and sure enough, I was soon the owner of a KLŌS guitar. Whee! I loved the size, the playability, and the ability to pack it away in a suitcase and not worry about what baggage handlers might do to it. I even liked the sound, but felt there was something lacking. At times it seemed “tinny.”

Confessing to be a bit of a “cork-sniffer,” I found a travel-sized Martin guitar, and bought the LX1RE.

Right size, right sound, but just not as “playable” as the KLŌS. Still, I used it as my go-to guitar for a while, but in the back of my mind, felt like it wasn’t quite “the one.”

An attractive sale on another Martin had me dig into my wallet and I added yet another acoustic to my growing collection. Again, a terrific sound, but as I’d read before buying it, many consider it a “strumming” guitar. And I found that it didn’t suit the whole range of my playing. I will likely sell it or trade it — it’s just not a good “fit” for me.

As is my habit (dangerous to my wallet!), I browse a variety of web sites. A recent announcement of a new line by Taylor called the GT series (short for Grand Theater) offered a smalller size “combining the inviting feel of a compact instrument with the rich voice of a full-size, all-solid-wood guitar.” I looked into them a bit, but was put off by the price ($1,399-$1,599). But I also noticed the GS Mini (short for Grand Symphony). I found some on Reverb and added them to my watchlist. A couple of days later I was alerted to a drop in price and free shipping on a Koa model, and since my bank account had some wiggle room in it, I took the plunge.

More than once I’ve thought to myself – and said to others – “This is the acoustic guitar I’ve wanted for decades!” It’s lightweight, plays and sounds like a dream, and is the perfect size for me. Others might consider it a travel guitar, but heck, I’ve got one of those. This is my at-home go-to guitar!

On the headstock of every guitar is the legend — the logo — “C F Martin & Co. Est. 1833.”

Considered by many (most?) in the music world as the premier acoustic guitar maker, the name Martin alone speaks volumes when mentioned in music conversations. Has there been a superstar guitar player singer-songwriter who hasn’t played a Martin?

The company has been an innovator in the manufacturing of guitars. Its use of woods, bracing, and shapes have defined the industry. The “dreadnought” was a Martin creation, and its most iconic guitar is probably the D-18. A used D-18 can sell for thousands of dollars!

Now, I’m going to admit I’m a bit of a “gear slut.” When I was younger, having a name brand guitar was a grand desire of mine. I lusted after the Gibsons, the Fenders, and yes, the Martins.

The past ten years have been good to me. After my divorce, with no alimony to pay, I found myself making good money, and so I found I could afford to buy my dream guitars.

And so I did. I had played acoustic for so long that I went into adding electric guitars to my collection. I bought a Taylor acoustic, learning that Taylor had become a major force in the business even though it’s a new (1974) company.

But it wasn’t until just a month and a half ago (May, 2020) that I obtained my first Martin. I had been playing my KLŌS travel guitar exhaustively — because of its size and indestructibility, mostly — and liked the idea of “parlor” size guitar, and I spied a “Little Martin” with built in electronics (pickup). The price was right, and so I purchased a LX1RE.

It’s a fine little guitar — I don’t think it plays as well as my KLŌS, but the sound is fuller.

Then, I spotted Musician’s Friend’s Stupid Deal of the Day, offering a Martin OMC 15ME Streetmaster in Weathered Red, and went crazy. I bought it. And here it is!

The cutaway makes it possible to play further up the neck, and it has electronics built-in as well. The wood is mahogany, which supposedly gives it “warmer” tones. I’m still letting it acclimate, but my first impression is that it shines as a strumming guitar, but maybe not so much as a finger-picker. Given that I’m a lousy finger-picker, I don’t see this as a problem.

And now… There’s a short scale Fender Telecaster I’m eyeballing…

I’ve heard it said that “history is written by the winners.” I think there’s a lot of truth in that, and it’s one of the reasons I tend to shy away from reading autobiographies. After all, doesn’t everyone want to paint the most positive picture of themself possible?

My father wrote his autobiography.

He was a bit vain, and felt that he had something to leave to posterity. Apparently this view was not shared by publishers, so he self-published it via Vantage Press, a vanity publisher that closed its doors in 2012.

Yet, I did find his book interesting. Of course, I’m an “interested” party, so I’m not unbiased, but oddly enough, I learned things about my father from his book that I never knew growing up and while he was alive (he passed in 2005). Yes, there were the self-congratulatory opinions and deflections of character defects (he takes no responsibility for his divorce from my mother, for example), but when seen from the perspective of an eye on history, there were some real gems about how power and diplomacy work.

So it was with this caution in mind that I picked up the autobiography of one of the world’s greatest guitar players, Eric Clapton.

Like so many others, Clapton is always on my list of favorite guitarists. A few years ago, I even bought a Fender Artist Series Stratocaster Eric Clapton model.

My musical tastes diverged from my earlier blues-rock leanings in the 1990s, so I lost track of Clapton’s career for a while. It wasn’t until my daughter gave me his “From the Cradle” (she knows me better than I know myself at times) that I even had a Clapton recording on CD!

Yet, when I saw that he had written an autobiography, and since the coronavirus has had us all self-imprisoning, I decided to read it.

More surprisingly than anything else to me, is the amount of humility that the book encompasses. Clapton reveals his insecurities, his flaws and does not spend a lot of time on a pedestal. His fans have done that for years, but even though he admits he played the “virtuoso” role at times, and succumbed to the excesses of the star lifestyle, he is generous with his praise for others, often relegating them to the pedestal, instead. He reveals that journaling was part of his life, and it’s apparent with his recall of names – not just of band members, but managers, roadies, barkeepers, neighbors, business associates, and women (lots of women, which I found a bit surprising given his sexual insecurity as a youth) that he wrote a lot of the details and names in his journal.

There is a definite tone change later in the book. I suspect some of his early writing took place before he entered recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. He speaks frequently and eloquently about his recovery, and it’s a driving force in the creation of the Crossroads Centre in Antigua that he funded and built. Many of his actions (performances, guitar auctions, appearances) are now the basis for supporting this recovery center.

I’m not sure where Clapton has colored his story. There is a lot of bad behavior described, and he’s quite open about his character failings, which seems to me surprising, given that autobiographies are often the mechanism by which one attempts to justify oneself. So, this autobiography is more like a journey to redemption for one of the world’s great guitar talents. And, if the autobiography is to believed, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Jimi Hendrix once sang, “If Six Was Nine.” But this is neither a post about Hendrix, nor about his songs. This is about instruments.

And, before you jump to conclusions (which may make sense, given that I’ve written about bass guitars before), this is about ukuleles and not bass guitars!

Let me give a little background: Every time my six year-old granddaughter comes to my house, she gets enraptured by my KLŌS travel guitar. I don’t mind, as it’s made of carbon fiber, so there’s little chance she can damage it, even if she were to drop it or sling it about.

So, I was walking through a newly-opened Lidl, when I saw they had beginner guitar sets for sale. I stopped to think. This might be a nice Christmas present for her, if she really wants to plunk away. Then, right next to the guitars, were some boxes of Ukuleles. Right size, right price, so I bought one.

Okay, so it’s a cheapie. I figured that if she lost interest quickly, no great loss. On the other hand, it’s my hope that she’ll get interested in it enough to attempt to learn some basic tunes (the bundle I bought includes a beginner songbook and online tutorials). Then it struck me: What if she liked playing ukulele, but was disappointed in the cheap one she received?

That’s when I thought perhaps I’d get a better instrument. And my plan was hatched: I’d give her the Lidl uke, and in seven months, when her birthday came around, I’d gift her with an “upgrade.”

I found a bundle on Sweetwater and ordered it. The bundle includes the Kala KA-15c Mahogany Concert Ukulele, strap, clip-on tuner, and gig bag. A concert ukulele is slightly larger than a soprano, but given the diminutive nature of a ukulele, I don’t think the size will be a detriment for my granddaugher.

And, of course, I get to play with it for the next seven months!