I read somewhere recently – and I cannot reveal where so as not to erode any veracity I may have developed heretofore with my unknown audience, be it one or many – Mark Twain, the great 19th century humorist and writer, was also a guitar player and singer. It has been reveled to me that he owned and played a Martin 2½-17 guitar. This information, if true, and I suspect it is, re-opened the festering wound, which is my unassailable interest in owning a Martin Guitar.
When I decided to learn to play the guitar a few years ago my sights were set on purchasing a Martin guitar. Not for any knowledge of this manufacturer other than the repeated subtle insistence that Martin was responsible for proffering the “gold standard" of guitars, most notably, if not certainly, the D-28. For the last two plus years I’ve shopped, bought, sold, and played many guitars. And occasionally I’ve strongly considered the capital outlay required to purchase a Martin. On two occasions I summoned a small amount of capital to purchase a Little Martin (travel guitar).
Now one could argue that this low-end product while being a Martin is so far removed from the mainstay of the Martin product to be considered a 2nd or 3rd cousin at best. But it does wear the Martin name and the Little Martin can fill a need. I currently own one and carry with me when I travel.
A big challenge for me (and for many I suppose) is determining if there is ONE guitar for them, or if I am (or they are) a ONE-guitar person. Or is there a need, a requirement really, for more than one guitar? Is this necessary? Is it okay? Based on my level of ability (not desire) I warrant less than one guitar so the Little Martin (alone) might be the necessary instrument for me.
But with a little capital – for which I am blessed to have – it is relatively easy to acquire a menagerie of guitars and before I know it I’ve reached my seemingly theoretical maximum limit of guitars. At this point, I feel compelled and, very likely guilty, at the mismatch between my playing ability and the number of instruments I own, so I begin racking and stacking my guitars according to some unknowable formula as to their inherent value to me. Thus the sell-off begins. A guitar, which enjoyed my favor last week, or even yesterday, could suddenly find itself walking the steps of the gallows where it’s fate will be determined by my marketing ability and the interest I can garner via Craig’s List.
I like to read and so it is only natural my eyes should some day stumble upon the sentence or two detailing Mark Twain’s musical facet to include his Martin guitar. Mark Twain is also one of my favorite authors so this fact resonated with me and I find my Martin wound exposed to the air and glaring at me like a beacon.
Now there is no room for rhyme, reason, or logic here and trying to introduce it will only cause frustration similar to that caused when someone tries to demystify the concepts of “pre-order" or “pre-plan" . No, leave all that nonsense outside! I am wondering if my love of reading and music have coincided smack dab in my middle age, my second shot at youth, to enable me to somehow combine the two and possibly allow me to select ONE guitar, a Martin?
I have a lousy history with this topic and I have little confidence I am right coupled with a cynical aspect, which is seldom wrong. Some believe there is a Holy Grail in the form of a guitar and others insist that every windmill is a candidate. Which am I? Only time will tell.
