In the late 90's I emailed Frank Ford about a Harmony archtop I had. I wasn't counting on hearing back because I was and am a nobody. The same day he emailed me back with detailed information about how to fix the instrument. Great guy.
When i started building guitars i emailed a couple of high end builders and was surprised with the amount of jnfo they were willing to share. Seems the luthier community is a very pleasant and helpful community.
Is it just me, or did that little mahogany box sound 10 times bigger ? The tell-tale small guitar "boxyness" was present, but in a beautiful way. It projected far better than I assumed.
I appreciate the calmness you have when doing these repairs as it shows a skill level that only comes with experience. This is as good as it gets content wise.
RIP Frank Ford - people sharing information for the sake of sharing information are the backbone of the internet. Thank you also, Ted, for doing what you do.
In 1998-99, we had a terrible storm come through east Mesa, AZ. and hail took out a window in my bedroom. My 1964 Vox Lynx was sitting there and got water logged. I immediately gutted the electronics and dried it out in a aquarium i built in my glass shop. Then came the panic, the nitro started to craze like mad. I called 2 luthiers I knew in the Phoenix area and got Frank Fords information from both of them. I figured if he's that respected by them, he's way too good for me. He was the most professional, kind man I've met in the trade ! He taught me how to stop the cracking in 15 minutes, and how to correct the worst of it for the future. Since he took no money, I felt guilty. So I asked him if he could finish an ES-175 basket-case I recently bought and he agreed. It took 8 months (I told him it wasn't an emergency) and what I got back was THE BAR I set for all other hollow/semi-hollow restoration projects over the years... and he didn't Jesse James my wallet at all. He wasn't a personal friend, but the care he took endeared him to me forever. He went on to do 4 other restorations for myself and a friend.I never failed to forward his information to dozens of others in need of delicate repairs. I'll be sending a prayer this Christmas to him, and wish a Merry Christmas to all he endeared himself to over the years. God Bless.
Thanx Mr. Ted and marry xmas. While attending vocational school married with family living on side jobs and $410.00 V.A. school check used to visit a small music shop fell in love with a all mahogany acoustic made in Australia 🇦🇺 called a Watson or Walton...it had a voice better than my old beater J-45. Sadly never considered a purchase...it sold before the funds could materialize from holiday gift checks. Thanx for the memory recall. Circa 1974 -75. 4:24
I have a 1941 O-15 and I love it...the sound and the feel are epic. This guitar has been in my family since new....Uncle to my father and ultimately to me. It has been refretted, has a later generation of Martin tuners and a headstock repair but remains a lovely instrument.
i learned to play on my dads 015 almost 60 yrs ago. now i have about 30 guitars ( including the martin) and its still the most important guitar in th world to me. easy to play and the most cherished tone. when i smell th mahogony, it takes me back to him and the hours and hours of him playing and singing
While i am watching while having dinner to have a friendly voice at my empty table. Enjoy your family. And merry Christmas. Don't worry, its nothing too sad.
@@trulybtd5396-I’m dealing with the same thing this year. Wish I could say the same as far as not being too sad, but hey, it could always be worse! Merry Christmas. ✌️🎅🏻👍
@@trulybtd5396 -But Mom passed and the only thing my (ex) siblings were concerned with was and still is, is money. I took care of her for 14 years and pretty much gave up my career. Two of them lived within a block and a half of her and never really saw her.
I’m sorry for the loss of your friend and Mentor. Memory Eternal Frank Ford, I’m sure many Guitar enthusiasts are welcoming you at Heaven’s Gate and praising your Luthier Skills and all the Guitars you have saved and restored.
It's like watching a dear friend go into a hospital sick. You are worried and then you meet the nice, obviously skilled doctor with impecible bedside mannor. You suddenly feel encouraged and the doctor works his magic and the friend comes out well and happy. The guitars you work on are in very skilled and careful hands. Have a Merry Christmas Ted...... We get the gift of watching true craftsmanship.
I learned how to work on guitars from a little old man who taught guitar for extra $$$ in his retirement. Since he was born and raised without electricity, he did all his work by hand. So, that's what I do. I tried to incorporate power tools but it felt wrong. I did incorporate an upright sander and drill press, but I mostly do it without. What I learned the most was, there are skilled luthiers and there are gifted luthiers. They are not the same animal. I'm a skilled one, Ted here is a gifted one. I can just hear it in his voice. The truely gifted are as calm as all get-out and cool as cucumber salad. A gifted restorer knows when not to encroach on the original build. They just maintain what is there (unless it's unavoidable). Watching Ted is like watching Bob Ross paint... they make it look easy. Merry Christmas and God bless.
God bless Frank Ford!! I bought an 1895 Washburn steel string parlor guitar from him ~ 1995. The neck had been irreparable but Frank eventually found a substitute neck from a classical guitar and seamlessly put it on. Or visa versa, I forget, maybe it was the Washburn body that had fan bracing. He fixed it, put light strings on it and I'd loved it for 20 years before selling it through famous Stan of Mandolin Bros.. Peace be with you Frank.
Frank was a wealth of knowledge. I talked with him often when I'd bring my gutar to Gryphon Stringed Instruments. What a real loss to the guitar community. RIP Frank!
I believe I met Frank just a few weeks ago, I went to Gryphon for some old style parts for a banjo project. He was a lovely man who told me to take the handful of small parts with his blessing "nobody else wants them"
Wow....just about 6 weeks ago I was down at Gryphon and met him when I had some work being done on a guitar I recently picked up. RIP Frank, you made huge contributions to the guitar community. You'll be sorely missed.
I've worked on several of these and I've never seen such obvious grain lines in the mahogany. So yeah, refinished IMHO. Which also leads me to believe that those sanding scratches on the back are from the sanding off of the old finish by someone other than the factory. I've never seen such obvious tooling scratches on a Martin either. And it looks like it was refinished with an oil finish. . . . of course it could be the the camera lighting. I noticed that the back of the peghead retained the original finish and perhaps the neck as well. When you removed the neck, the lacquer was evident so our suspicions were confirmed. Thanks once again for sharing. Happy Holidays!
My best friend of 45 years owns many (17?) vintage and non-vintage Martins. Even an 1856 parlor size gut string made in New York before Martin moved to Pennsylvania. It even has the original coffin case. Plays great! Anyway, my favorite is a 1941 0017 mahogany. It's so much fun to play. He has the matching O17 also. The finish is much darker than this guitar, a dark brown. I get to play them all😎🎸
I want to thank you very much for your videos. You are very informative in your videos. I have learned so much from you. I watch your videos every week. And I watch and listen very carefully to everything you say. Maybe one day when I decided to build my own guitar I will remember everything that you taught me. So thank you very much.
Cool, @17:22 you can see , top left in the frame, that the strings lift off the fretboard because he is about to lift the guitar up by the neck. Flexible and responsive guitar, you'd expect. Sounds like it, too.
People that weren't lucky enough to know Mr. Frank Ford personally, had at least heard of him. He will be sadly missed. On another note, I just want to tell you again how much I enjoy your videos and content. Take care, and Merry Christmas!
That guitar reminds me of the student model Gibson my father bought for me in 1966. Possibly Gibson's "copy" of that Martin. Later sold it, it was a nice instrument.
Waking up to this first thing on Christmas day morning, what a treat. So sad to hear about the passing of Frank Ford, he was such an innovator, and influenced virtually everyone in guitar repair. Thank you Ted, for a year of exceptional content, hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Christmas.🎄
In the early 60s my aunt traded me electric Gibson banjo for a Martin guitar. It was small and she loved both the size and sound.She was told that it was a lady Martin . Was there such a thing, and when I played it, it was special to both me and my father. Please clear this up for me. Thank you for what you do.
Please accept my deepest condolences for the loss of your friend and mentor. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Long may you continue repairing and improving instruments. Thank you for all you do.
You explain the sound and the string response perfectly. You put the sound into words. I had an all mahogany Martin and I used to explain it like it had a built-in compressor
I have a 5-18 Martin, actually my sister's which she bought around 1960 in Berkeley when someone said she could play a "Lady's guitar". The guy called it a "New York Martin" but the pressed identifier inside says "Nazareth, PA". Serial number is 146463 which makes it built in 1954 according to Martin's listing. It plays very nicely except the E(6) and A pin holes are worn such that the string ball end pulls up into the bridge pad and the string winding lays in the saddle notch much like your 0-15. As for Frank Ford, I met him a couple times at Gryphon when I showed him the 5-18. He let me down easy, noting that the cost to fix a few things would be more than the going price online. Also it wasn't crying for any fixes. We will all miss his vast knowledge and experience in the subtlties of instrument repair let alone his personal attention to his customers.
I have a 1997 D-15, the first year that Martin brought back the all mahogany guitars and it's one of the most responsive guitars I've ever played, with a really warm and soft tone that's lovely for fingerpicking. Even though it's a "cheaper" Martin I'd put it up against anything else they have done.
After decades of playing budget guitars I went on a quest for a Martin and being frugal/cheap it took a while found a ooo-15sm and pulled the trigger the hype is real they do inspire mediocre players to become better players thanks for wisdom
My very first guitar to play was my elder brother's nylon-stringed folk guitar with mahogany top back and sides, the same size as this one. It sounded so wonderful, and so even, and the soundhole smelled like a guitar soundhole should.
Thank You Ted, Merry Christmas!!! I will miss Frank, a Creative, Kind and Kindred Luthier indeed! RESPECT! I Love these Masterful, Martin, Mahogany Models! The d-19 instruments made in the 70's also have a surprising range of tone, and volume... all Beautiful!
RIP Frank! Btw I got the tshirt delivered. It came from Poland even though I am in the US. Anyway the main goal was to show support so I really do hope you can get your money from them. Thanks for the videos. Happy Holidays to all of you!
One of the tuners on my mandolin was failing. I went to Gryphon Stringed Instuments to look for a replacement set. Behind the repair counter was none other than builder/repair legend Frank Ford. I sheepishly said ‘hi’ and ask him about replacement tuners. He said, ‘Let’s have a look’. He grabbed a screwdriver, lowered his glasses and went to work. A few minutes later it was fixed. He also touched up the other seven. I asked what I owed him and he just mumbled ‘it’s ok’. As he was restringing I noticed he was using a string winder like I had never seen. You can’t use guitar string winders on a mandolin. I asked about it and he said that he made them. ‘I think I have another in the back if you’re interested. They aren’t cheap’. I said ‘Sold!’ before I saw it. It was just like his but with a beautifully carved maple handle. A real work of art. I will treasure it forever. Rest in peace, Mr. Ford. We will not see your like again. Oh…and God is smiling if his pre-war Martin needs a neck reset! 🙂
When I was teenager in the early 70's I had a friend who collected the early mahogany topped Martins from the 1930's. He had 3 or 4 of them. Back then you could pick them up for a few hundred dollars. Such beautiful guitars and the sound is so warm and mellow. Best of all was the incredible smell of the mahogany, I can still remember it.
Love your website. A highlight of every weekend for me. Actually the Martin 5-18 was the smallest one that Martin made from 1898 to 1989. Andrew Lardner plays a beautiful one on his cover of John Fahey's "Variations of the Coocoo".
I only Gibson version of that about the same year. I’d say it’s early to mid 50’s and all mahogany it’s such a beautiful guitar to play and it’s about three-quarter size I think
This righteous content you share is truly therapeutic in these uncertain times, your processes and respect for your craft makes us forget the above mentioned uncertain times....😂🙏Thanks
One of these is my go to guitar for acoustic and voice. It took a while for me to find the heart of the thing, but oh my. Cellos and trumpets. Just an amazingly subtle guitar with the "right" strings and approach etc. Pure luck finding it in a shop in myrtle beach. A luthier friend installed an invisible mic and piezo combo that suffices well with no impairment of the sound in the room or mic'd. Seems like these are a somewhat less aporeciated design.
Thanks for this video, and your channel. I'm a guitar PLAYER who is dreadfully frugal (cheap), so I've learned to perform most jobs on my own guitars. Frank Ford's site was a lucky find for me, and I've used the information many times over the years. Thanks, Frank; rest in peace.
I guess Frank has the best seat in the house this Christmas. A man of influence for decades and will certainly be remembered as such. To the rest of us here on planet Earth... Merry Christmas Everyone!🎄🏝🤙
Something about those Mahogany bodies just attracts me so much. And I love that you share the mistakes you make with us, too, though I'm sorry about the extra work it's gonna cost you. Happy Christmas.
RIP Frank! He very kindly gave me a thorough tour of his shop at Gryphon Strings when I was starting to make guitars. Very generous man! While I would never ask you to police anybody, there are a couple of us I think who would be interested in your take on Ben Crowe’s recent neck reset on a rare old Gretsch. Looked like a sturdy job, but a few of us thought he went overboard and may have made future resets more difficult. Merry Christmas! Looking forward to another year of learning from you!
In the late 90's I emailed Frank Ford about a Harmony archtop I had. I wasn't counting on hearing back because I was and am a nobody. The same day he emailed me back with detailed information about how to fix the instrument. Great guy.
Youre not a nobody. You are loved and special to someone
You are a very enlightened nobody with a knack for honoring others. Many thanks for that!
Frank Ford was my guitar repair guy since 1974. A huge loss. He had a great sense of humor too. RIP Frank. He will be sorely missed.
Absolutely loved by many!@@kdm_entertainment
When i started building guitars i emailed a couple of high end builders and was surprised with the amount of jnfo they were willing to share. Seems the luthier community is a very pleasant and helpful community.
Sorry to hear about Frank Ford Passing away. About a year ago he did some work on my 53 year old Martin D28.
Nothing more relaxing than watching Ted work on a guitar.
There’s something great about all mahogany guitars. Such charm. Love em! R.I.P Frank.
Is it just me, or did that little mahogany box sound 10 times bigger ? The tell-tale small guitar "boxyness" was present, but in a beautiful way. It projected far better than I assumed.
I appreciate the calmness you have when doing these repairs as it shows a skill level that only comes with experience. This is as good as it gets content wise.
These guitars are forever connected to Leslie Feist for me. Love her sound and playing.
RIP to Frank Ford. Merry Christmas, Ted, and everyone who watches. All the best.
Instead of giving you a thumbs up i decided to say thank you and a Merry Christmas to you and your family as well....
@@stealingtomorrowband Thanks!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God Bless. Ted has the nicest viewers on YT.
RIP Frank. My wife and I got heavily into ukes in the early 2000s and we used to love reading Frank's forum.
RIP Frank Ford - people sharing information for the sake of sharing information are the backbone of the internet. Thank you also, Ted, for doing what you do.
In 1998-99, we had a terrible storm come through east Mesa, AZ. and hail took out a window in my bedroom. My 1964 Vox Lynx was sitting there and got water logged. I immediately gutted the electronics and dried it out in a aquarium i built in my glass shop. Then came the panic, the nitro started to craze like mad. I called 2 luthiers I knew in the Phoenix area and got Frank Fords information from both of them. I figured if he's that respected by them, he's way too good for me. He was the most professional, kind man I've met in the trade ! He taught me how to stop the cracking in 15 minutes, and how to correct the worst of it for the future. Since he took no money, I felt guilty. So I asked him if he could finish an ES-175 basket-case I recently bought and he agreed. It took 8 months (I told him it wasn't an emergency) and what I got back was THE BAR I set for all other hollow/semi-hollow restoration projects over the years... and he didn't Jesse James my wallet at all. He wasn't a personal friend, but the care he took endeared him to me forever. He went on to do 4 other restorations for myself and a friend.I never failed to forward his information to dozens of others in need of delicate repairs. I'll be sending a prayer this Christmas to him, and wish a Merry Christmas to all he endeared himself to over the years. God Bless.
Thanx Mr. Ted and marry xmas.
While attending vocational school married with family living on side jobs and $410.00 V.A. school check used to visit a small music shop fell in love with a all mahogany acoustic made in Australia 🇦🇺 called a Watson or Walton...it had a voice better than my old beater J-45. Sadly never considered a purchase...it sold before the funds could materialize from holiday gift checks. Thanx for the memory recall. Circa 1974 -75. 4:24
Rest well, Frank. Best wishes for all of you there, Ted.
Merry Christmas to all.
I have a 1941 O-15 and I love it...the sound and the feel are epic. This guitar has been in my family since new....Uncle to my father and ultimately to me. It has been refretted, has a later generation of Martin tuners and a headstock repair but remains a lovely instrument.
Billy Dee Williams and Diana Ross love this guitar.
i learned to play on my dads 015 almost 60 yrs ago. now i have about 30 guitars ( including the martin) and its still the most important guitar in th world to me. easy to play and the most cherished tone. when i smell th mahogony, it takes me back to him and the hours and hours of him playing and singing
I love this. Thanks for sharing that!
Ah, 18 minutes of peace before I go deal with extended family having too much to drink. Merry Christmas all!
RIP Frank.
While i am watching while having dinner to have a friendly voice at my empty table. Enjoy your family. And merry Christmas.
Don't worry, its nothing too sad.
@@trulybtd5396-I’m dealing with the same thing this year. Wish I could say the same as far as not being too sad, but hey, it could always be worse! Merry Christmas. ✌️🎅🏻👍
@@marions.120 it's sad, but not unexpected or unnatural, so it's just life.
@@trulybtd5396 -But Mom passed and the only thing my (ex) siblings were concerned with was and still is, is money. I took care of her for 14 years and pretty much gave up my career. Two of them lived within a block and a half of her and never really saw her.
@@marions.120 very similar to my situation, and she was my last parent. Luckily my siblings are supportive, but they all live far away.
...for some reason I have this scent of rich mahogany in my head
I’m sorry for the loss of your friend and Mentor. Memory Eternal Frank Ford, I’m sure many Guitar enthusiasts are welcoming you at Heaven’s Gate and praising your Luthier Skills and all the Guitars you have saved and restored.
It's like watching a dear friend go into a hospital sick. You are worried and then you meet the nice, obviously skilled doctor with impecible bedside mannor. You suddenly feel encouraged and the doctor works his magic and the friend comes out well and happy. The guitars you work on are in very skilled and careful hands. Have a Merry Christmas Ted...... We get the gift of watching true craftsmanship.
I learned how to work on guitars from a little old man who taught guitar for extra $$$ in his retirement. Since he was born and raised without electricity, he did all his work by hand. So, that's what I do. I tried to incorporate power tools but it felt wrong. I did incorporate an upright sander and drill press, but I mostly do it without. What I learned the most was, there are skilled luthiers and there are gifted luthiers. They are not the same animal. I'm a skilled one, Ted here is a gifted one. I can just hear it in his voice. The truely gifted are as calm as all get-out and cool as cucumber salad. A gifted restorer knows when not to encroach on the original build. They just maintain what is there (unless it's unavoidable). Watching Ted is like watching Bob Ross paint... they make it look easy. Merry Christmas and God bless.
God bless Frank Ford!! I bought an 1895 Washburn steel string parlor guitar from him ~ 1995. The neck had been irreparable but Frank eventually found a substitute neck from a classical guitar and seamlessly put it on. Or visa versa, I forget, maybe it was the Washburn body that had fan bracing. He fixed it, put light strings on it and I'd loved it for 20 years before selling it through famous Stan of Mandolin Bros.. Peace be with you Frank.
Merry Xmas, everybody!
Frank was a wealth of knowledge. I talked with him often when I'd bring my gutar to Gryphon Stringed Instruments. What a real loss to the guitar community. RIP Frank!
Such a beautiful warm tone from that old Martin. I've always liked mahogany top, back and sides just because of their nice warm tone.
Frank Ford. RIP.
"From all of me at Woodford Instruments"!!! 🤣 Happy Christmas Ted, RIP Frank.
R.i.p. Frank. took a refret workshop from him 20 years back. been to his shop. amazing place and interesting cat. big loss.
Happy holidays everyone!
Thank you for all that you have brought to us throughout the year. Best wishes for the holidays.
Love your videos! Thanks man!
sorry to hear of the sad passing of your friend
I believe I met Frank just a few weeks ago, I went to Gryphon for some old style parts for a banjo project. He was a lovely man who told me to take the handful of small parts with his blessing "nobody else wants them"
Another great repair. Never gets old for me.
Wow....just about 6 weeks ago I was down at Gryphon and met him when I had some work being done on a guitar I recently picked up. RIP Frank, you made huge contributions to the guitar community. You'll be sorely missed.
I've worked on several of these and I've never seen such obvious grain lines in the mahogany. So yeah, refinished IMHO. Which also leads me to believe that those sanding scratches on the back are from the sanding off of the old finish by someone other than the factory. I've never seen such obvious tooling scratches on a Martin either. And it looks like it was refinished with an oil finish. . . . of course it could be the the camera lighting. I noticed that the back of the peghead retained the original finish and perhaps the neck as well. When you removed the neck, the lacquer was evident so our suspicions were confirmed. Thanks once again for sharing. Happy Holidays!
My best friend of 45 years owns many (17?) vintage and non-vintage Martins. Even an 1856 parlor size gut string made in New York before Martin moved to Pennsylvania. It even has the original coffin case. Plays great!
Anyway, my favorite is a 1941 0017 mahogany. It's so much fun to play. He has the matching O17 also. The finish is much darker than this guitar, a dark brown. I get to play them all😎🎸
Thanks. Nice tribute for Frank Ford. I discovered his treasury of online resources years ago too. So good.
I'm fortunate to own a number of guitars and my favorite is my 1958 00-17. It still has that sweet scent of mahogany.
I want to thank you very much for your videos. You are very informative in your videos. I have learned so much from you. I watch your videos every week. And I watch and listen very carefully to everything you say. Maybe one day when I decided to build my own guitar I will remember everything that you taught me. So thank you very much.
Cool, @17:22 you can see , top left in the frame, that the strings lift off the fretboard because he is about to lift the guitar up by the neck. Flexible and responsive guitar, you'd expect. Sounds like it, too.
People that weren't lucky enough to know Mr. Frank Ford personally, had at least heard of him. He will be sadly missed. On another note, I just want to tell you again how much I enjoy your videos and content. Take care, and Merry Christmas!
That guitar reminds me of the student model Gibson my father bought for me in 1966. Possibly Gibson's "copy" of that Martin. Later sold it, it was a nice instrument.
I'm no Martin expert but the little Martin Marty Robbins played was definitely smaller than an O-15
I would have never expected a video on Christmas weekend. Awesome of course and a joy to watch, as always. Wish you a merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Ted.
RIP Mr Ford. Condolences to his family and friends.
Waking up to this first thing on Christmas day morning, what a treat. So sad to hear about the passing of Frank Ford, he was such an innovator, and influenced virtually everyone in guitar repair.
Thank you Ted, for a year of exceptional content, hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Christmas.🎄
In the early 60s my aunt traded me electric Gibson banjo for a Martin guitar. It was small and she loved both the size and sound.She was told that it was a lady Martin . Was there such a thing, and when I played it, it was special to both me and my father. Please clear this up for me. Thank you for what you do.
Sounds amazing! Great job! Wow, I want one. Mahogany is the most under rated tone wood ever.
A nice tribute to Mr. Ford. Merry Christmas everyone.
Thanks for posting, and merry Christmas to you, Ted!
Beautiful and warm sounding guitar. It's not an all the time sound for me, but do like the boxiness that the smaller bodied guitars have.
Solid mahogany acoustics are my favorite. You get such a warm beautiful tone from them. Especially playing with your fingers.
I bought one of these in 2006, every time I take it out of it's case I nearly always take a deep sniff at the sound hole it has a beautiful smell.
On the refin, dead-give away for me was the headstock. The corners were way too rounded.
Great show, Man. Thanks!
Thanks. Merry Christmas 🤓
Please accept my deepest condolences for the loss of your friend and mentor. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Long may you continue repairing and improving instruments. Thank you for all you do.
You explain the sound and the string response perfectly. You put the sound into words. I had an all mahogany Martin and I used to explain it like it had a built-in compressor
Those were some very kind words for Frank… your mentor. RIP
Beautiful guitar!
I have a 5-18 Martin, actually my sister's which she bought around 1960 in Berkeley when someone said she could play a "Lady's guitar". The guy called it a "New York Martin" but the pressed identifier inside says "Nazareth, PA". Serial number is 146463 which makes it built in 1954 according to Martin's listing. It plays very nicely except the E(6) and A pin holes are worn such that the string ball end pulls up into the bridge pad and the string winding lays in the saddle notch much like your 0-15. As for Frank Ford, I met him a couple times at Gryphon when I showed him the 5-18. He let me down easy, noting that the cost to fix a few things would be more than the going price online. Also it wasn't crying for any fixes. We will all miss his vast knowledge and experience in the subtlties of instrument repair let alone his personal attention to his customers.
I have a 1997 D-15, the first year that Martin brought back the all mahogany guitars and it's one of the most responsive guitars I've ever played, with a really warm and soft tone that's lovely for fingerpicking. Even though it's a "cheaper" Martin I'd put it up against anything else they have done.
Nice sort of Burl Ives relaxing patter to this.
Happy 2024. One of your many fans.
i love the way the old 15 series Martins sound. Happy New Year all!
After decades of playing budget guitars I went on a quest for a Martin and being frugal/cheap it took a while found a ooo-15sm and pulled the trigger the hype is real they do inspire mediocre players to become better players thanks for wisdom
My very first guitar to play was my elder brother's nylon-stringed folk guitar with mahogany top back and sides, the same size as this one. It sounded so wonderful, and so even, and the soundhole smelled like a guitar soundhole should.
Thank You Ted, Merry Christmas!!! I will miss Frank, a Creative, Kind and Kindred Luthier indeed! RESPECT! I Love these Masterful, Martin, Mahogany Models! The d-19 instruments made in the 70's also have a surprising range of tone, and volume... all Beautiful!
Merry Christmas, Ted!
RIP Frank!
Btw I got the tshirt delivered. It came from Poland even though I am in the US. Anyway the main goal was to show support so I really do hope you can get your money from them.
Thanks for the videos. Happy Holidays to all of you!
One of the tuners on my mandolin was failing. I went to Gryphon Stringed Instuments to look for a replacement set. Behind the repair counter was none other than builder/repair legend Frank Ford. I sheepishly said ‘hi’ and ask him about replacement tuners. He said, ‘Let’s have a look’. He grabbed a screwdriver, lowered his glasses and went to work. A few minutes later it was fixed. He also touched up the other seven. I asked what I owed him and he just mumbled ‘it’s ok’. As he was restringing I noticed he was using a string winder like I had never seen. You can’t use guitar string winders on a mandolin. I asked about it and he said that he made them. ‘I think I have another in the back if you’re interested. They aren’t cheap’. I said ‘Sold!’ before I saw it. It was just like his but with a beautifully carved maple handle. A real work of art. I will treasure it forever.
Rest in peace, Mr. Ford. We will not see your like again.
Oh…and God is smiling if his pre-war Martin needs a neck reset! 🙂
From what I can tell over TH-cam it sounds a lot like a Gibson LG0. I had a 1967 LG0 and loved the sound.
Thanks Ted. Merry Christmas to you and yours
When I was teenager in the early 70's I had a friend who collected the early mahogany topped Martins from the 1930's. He had 3 or 4 of them. Back then you could pick them up for a few hundred dollars. Such beautiful guitars and the sound is so warm and mellow. Best of all was the incredible smell of the mahogany, I can still remember it.
Love your website. A highlight of every weekend for me. Actually the Martin 5-18 was the smallest one that Martin made from 1898 to 1989. Andrew Lardner plays a beautiful one on his cover of John Fahey's "Variations of the Coocoo".
I only Gibson version of that about the same year. I’d say it’s early to mid 50’s and all mahogany it’s such a beautiful guitar to play and it’s about three-quarter size I think
This righteous content you share is truly therapeutic in these uncertain times, your processes and respect for your craft makes us forget the above mentioned uncertain times....😂🙏Thanks
I just had one of these in the shop for a neck reset, a 1962 model...beautiful little guitar!
Sorry for your loss but also Merry Christmas to all of you at Woodford Instruments.
Happy Christmas or holiday or whatever Boss. I have never so much as touched a guitar but have not missed an episode. I like to learn, and you teach.
sorry to hear about Frank Ford. He helped me out with an issue I was stumped a couple of times!
Sir, Merry Xmas, and Happy Holidays.
Never tire of tthe polishing polishing polishing or the neck reseting. You make it look likely far easier that it actually is
RIP Frank and thank you for sharing his philosophy on spreading the “dark art” of lutherie. (😉) Happy Holidays and best wishes for an enjoyable 2024.
Merry Christmas 🎅 and a happy 🎉new year from Nottingham uk 🇬🇧
Happy Holidays! Thanks for another year of great content!
One of these is my go to guitar for acoustic and voice. It took a while for me to find the heart of the thing, but oh my. Cellos and trumpets. Just an amazingly subtle guitar with the "right" strings and approach etc. Pure luck finding it in a shop in myrtle beach. A luthier friend installed an invisible mic and piezo combo that suffices well with no impairment of the sound in the room or mic'd. Seems like these are a somewhat less aporeciated design.
Thanks for this video, and your channel. I'm a guitar PLAYER who is dreadfully frugal (cheap), so I've learned to perform most jobs on my own guitars. Frank Ford's site was a lucky find for me, and I've used the information many times over the years. Thanks, Frank; rest in peace.
Great vid as always, RIP Frank Ford.
RIP Mr. Ford. His good work has touched and influence many, many people.
Merry Christmas to Ted and family and all the community.
I love the all mahogany Martins as well. Shame about that saddle. I over carved a nut the other day and had to redo. Love the channel!
I remember hearing Chet Atkins in concert around 1969 and for a few songs he played an all mahogany guitar and I loved the sound.
I have a 1955 0-15T tenor that looks just like it but is in almost mint condition. The tone is remarkable.
I guess Frank has the best seat in the house this Christmas. A man of influence for decades and will certainly be remembered as such.
To the rest of us here on planet Earth...
Merry Christmas Everyone!🎄🏝🤙
Something about those Mahogany bodies just attracts me so much. And I love that you share the mistakes you make with us, too, though I'm sorry about the extra work it's gonna cost you.
Happy Christmas.
Merry Christmas Ted, thank you for the great Content and all the Best from Germany!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you, Ted.
😎🎸🙏🏼R.I.P. Mr Frank. 🤘🏽🎅🏽🎸👍🏽🎄 Merry Christmas and thank you for your videos.
RIP Frank! He very kindly gave me a thorough tour of his shop at Gryphon Strings when I was starting to make guitars. Very generous man!
While I would never ask you to police anybody, there are a couple of us I think who would be interested in your take on Ben Crowe’s recent neck reset on a rare old Gretsch. Looked like a sturdy job, but a few of us thought he went overboard and may have made future resets more difficult.
Merry Christmas! Looking forward to another year of learning from you!
Beautiful sound.
Thank you Fred and Merry Christmas 🎅👍🎸