Latest Acoustic Guitar Reviews and News
by Woodstock Day 1, act i – Richie Havens
August 15, 1969, Woodstock Day 1 started with Richie Havens
A lasting legacy of advocacy through music
There is along standing legend that Richie Havens was asked to entertain the crowd for three hours, due to the transportation difficulties of other acts. This was perpetuated by Richie Havens, who was exaggerating when making such a claim. But he did play longer than expected.
Rich Haven Woodstock Setlist:
- From the Prison
- Get Together
- From the Prison (reprise)
- I’m a Stranger Here
- High Flying Bird
- I Can’t Make It Anymore
- With a Little Help from My Friends
- Handsome Johnny
- Strawberry Fields Forever > Hey Jude
- Freedom (Motherless Child)
And Richie Haven’s immortal Woodstock encore
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Woodstock August 15, 16, 17
Woodstock’s three days of peace, love, and music
… along with myth, legend, and for some an undying idealism regarding all three
The original poster, by David Edward Byrd
And the second poster listing the expected performers list.
This website is perhaps the best single source regarding which artist went on when and what happened when they did. But it does have some myths woven in, e.g. Richie Havens did not perform for three hours, but he did play longer than intended.
Michael Lydon (1942 – 2025) An Appreciation
Music Writer and Cultural Historian Michael Lydon Has Died
The Rolling Stone Magazine founding editor and NYC music mainstay was 82.
A New Yorker’s New Yorker who lived the hippie life as a Yale educated historian and journalist in the heart of 1960s counter-culture California and London, England, Michael Lydon was a friend and inspiration when I came to know him though his wife and long time collaborator, the composer Ellen Mandel. Michael died on July 30 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s Disease.
An absolute prince of a guy, Michael shall be missed by all who are lucky enough to have known him. I so enjoyed jamming with him at the studio apartment he and Ellen kept as a creative work space near their East Village apartment.
We connected through our lifelong admiration of Bob Dylan, and Duke Ellington. As the first American journalist to interview a young Lennon and McCartney, and then founding editor of Rolling Stone Magazine, who toured with the actual Rolling Stones, and knew Janice, and the Dead, I found it delightful that Michael preferred singing gentle jazz standards, and composed songs in the same vein.
I was privileged to do the art direction for his final CD, coming up with a great many colorful designs before Michael and Ellen made their choice for the disc and cover.
With his long silver ponytail and rakish goatee and mustache, and svelte, debonair attire, Michael seemed less an old hippie than a timeless chevalier, if not a musketeer. I would have cast him as the retired d’Artagnan in Rostand’s “Cyrano” in a heartbeat. But he never lost the ’60s idealism that buoyed his dedication to encouraging others to love and love music.
He was even more cheerful and joyful than his music or his art. And he made others feel that way too. That is what shall remain in us long after grief and sorrow have receded.
Peace, music man, to you, and for Ellen and all who suffer your loss.
~
Martinfest 2025 – Under New Management
Guitar & Friends’ first annual Martinfest was a huge success
A new hotel and many new and old friends
Now under the umbrella of the new not-for-profit Guitars and Friends, Martinfest has been given a new lease on life and it looks like it will be every bit as fun and successful in the coming years as it ever was.
These collages are made up of videos captured during the nighttime song circles by Maury Rutch, interspersed with my personal phone videos, and sublimed with some phone videos from other attendees.
The Phoenix Arises
Martinfest began in 2002 as a gathering of members of the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum, in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Starting this year, the event was planned, orchestrated and successfully put on by a group of Martinfest enthusiasts, with the blessing of the UMGF administrators, who were ready to give up the reigns after more than two decades of laborious love, which set an example we continue to follow.
Under the tireless leadership of Jim Fortmuller, a small planning committee set out to create a new not-for-profit organization, Guitars and Friends, which is dedicated to perpetuating the comradery that keeps bring so many back to share their music and laughter with people they would have never encountered if it weren’t for Martinfest.
For many of us, it is like a family reunion. For others, who are relatively new citizens of Martinfest, it is a rare opportunity to indulge in their love of fine acoustic guitars, while getting a chance to play and sing for the most welcoming, accepting, and non-judgmental group of music lovers one could hope for. Jim Fortmuller is one such singer/songwriter/guitarist.
Jim came to his first Martinfest shortly before the COVID pandemic broke the 19-year streak. But it had heard about it for years from some now-former coworkers. Upon his retirement, he made the pilgrimage and had fantastic time. So much so, that when it seemed there wouldn’t be a Martinfest in 2024, Jim volunteered to help the UMGF admins give it one last go – and then by the sheer will to keep the Martinfest flame lit, Jim took it upon himself to recruit like-minded diehards, and tour some 8 hotels in Eastern Pennsylvania, to find what is clearly the best hotel Martinfest ever had.
The official days were Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, although some people arrived as early as Wednesday, and some left as late as Tuesday. There was an opening night receptions, where people at their first Martinfest were singled out for welcome. And then there were loose song circles in the two conference rooms, and looser jamming in the lobby and a suite we rented as a hospitality room. Earlier that day, many people visited the Martin Guitar factory and museum and took the tour.
On Saturday, many of us attended the Martin on Main street fair in downtown Nazareth. Others stayed in the comfortable climate control of the hotel. On Sunday, we gathered at the long pavilion in Nazareth Borough Park, were we had a memorial sing-along for dearly departed attendees, and enjoyed an open mic, as well as a fun auction to help raise money to cover a portion of our operating costs. But really, it was the all-night party at the hotel that is what we look forward to all day long.
That hotel loved us, and are eager for our return in July of 2026. For more information, please visit guitarsandfriends.org.
To learn more about Martinfest and its uniquely magical spell it casts on so many, who come back year after year after year, here is an old article from its heyday.
Review: Martin CEO-11
Thomas Ripsam’s CEO-11 is an exquisite work of art
The Chief Executive of Martin Guitar has surpassed his sublime CEO-10, which is really saying something
Martin CEO-11 specs include: 14-fret Grand Auditorium body size; solid tonewoods include figured white oak sides and three-piece back; FSC-certified European spruce soundboard with unique New Horizons burst finish and custom inlays and half-herringbone “rope” purfling; European flamed maple binding; two-piece flamed maple neck with dark mahogany stain, and GE Modified Low Oval profile and neck heel; ebony fingerboard with custom abalone inlays and High Performance Taper, 1-3/4″ at the bone nut, 2-1/8″ at 12th fret; ebony bridge with bone saddle and bone pins with abalone dots; ebony headstock face plate with abalone Unalome inlay and open nickle tuners; Fishman Aura electronics with custom-voiced microphone image.
“Gorgeous to see, lovely to hear. The versatility of this acoustic-electric lap piano is immediately evident from its bass-to-treble balance and its clear yet colorful tonal pallet.”
Martin D-18 1955 and 000-18 1955 CFM 70th Birthday Guitars
Martin Guitars Like No Other for CFM IV’s 70th Birthday
The new D-18 1955 and 000-18 1955 feature reclaimed spruce tops from Alaska!
As per the company website, “1955 wasn’t just a milestone for the Martin family—it was also the year the folk boom began to sweep across the country. As artists embraced acoustic sounds and heartfelt storytelling, Martin guitars became essential companions, carrying the songs that shaped a generation. It’s fitting that these two guitars, each inspired by iconic 1955 models, mark Chris Martin IV’s own story in the year that changed everything for folk music—and for Martin Guitar.”
Reclaimed Spruce
For the first time, Martin Guitar is offering commercial instruments with soundboards from repurposed wood. Various smaller guitar makers have been doing this for some years now. But it fits in perfectly with Chris Martin’s lifelong concern for the global environment. Fittingly enough, they are offer 70 guitars in each edition.
“This is the first time we’ve used this sustainably sourced spruce, and it’s more than just repurposing materials. It’s about celebrating the strength of nature and the craftsmanship that brings it to life. When you pick up one of these guitars, you’re not just playing music—you’re giving a voice to wood that’s weathered the elements, stood through history, and found its way into your hands.”
Printed Tops Mimic Martins of Old
The 000-18 1955 featured a photo-realistic printing of top of an actual 1955 000-18 —serial number 145102. The new D-18 1955 “draws inspiration from a standout piece of history—a 1955 D-18 from the Skip Maggiora collection. That guitar, serial number 144636, was part of a legendary trove of 150 vintage instruments Skip assembled over a lifetime in the music business.”
Martin introduced printed “distressed” tops on some Standard series models, with less-expensive satin finishes. But here it is used on a limited edition with more than the tops looking like a vintage Martin.
Vintage Vibes
The short-scale Auditorium size 000 has period correct non-scalloped braces. The new D-18 limited edition has non-scalloped, rear-shifted braces, with should provide ample bass, but with greater definition across all registers.
Both instruments have an FSC-certified rosewood fingerboard (Style 18 having rosewood boards and bridges from the late 1940s until the return to ebony in the 20-teens,) and the GE Modified Low Oval neck shaping that was recently added to the Standard Series. But in each case there is a 1-11/16″ width at the nut, rather than the modern 1-3/4″, along with appropriate 2-1/8″ string spacing.
The mother of pearl dot fingerboard markers, brownish tortoise bindings and pickguards, rounded headstocks with vintage-esque Kluson® Waffleback® tuners help make these guitars look very much like 1955 Martins.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Martin
Chris Martin never intended to join the family business, but stepped in during a vulnerable time in the history of the acoustic guitar, and the family-owned business founded by his great, great, great, great grandfather. He charted and then navigated the company through dangerous waters when the popularity of the acoustic guitar was at its all-time low, and then through his own Golden Era when Martin and Eric Clapton joined together to revitalize its their popularity. C. F. Martin IV ultimately achieved glorious success by embracing innovation and modernization, while nurturing and perpetuating his ancestral legacy and the vintage Martin mystique.
These two limited editions stand alongside the new Standard Series designs, and CEO Thomas Ripsam’s recent CEO-11 model as wonderful examples of Martin combining modern technologies, sustainable and in this case reclaimed tonewoods, with construction features that make these guitars more like vintage Martins than anything created during Chris’s years at the head of the company, save only those meticulous Authentic Series reproductions.
Wishing you many happy returns, that is one man’s word on…
Martin D-18 1955 and 000-18 1955 CFM 70th Birthday Guitars
Martin Celebrates Eric Clapton’s 80th Birthday with the 000-42EC 30th Anniversary Model
The 000-EC 30th Anniversary also announced
C.F. Martin & Co. aka Martin Guitar has seen fit to release even more Eric Clapton signature models. But these new Claptons set themselves apart in their specifications and in debuting on Sunday, March 30 2025, Clapton’s 80th birthday, while also commemorating the 30th anniversary of the first EC model.
You can learn about the many previous Martin Eric Clapton Models, with exclusive insider info HERE.
000-42EC 30th Anniversary
The limited edition 000-42EC 30th Anniversary combines the aesthetic appointments of the Martin’s original Eric Clapton signature model with an “Authentic 1939” neck specifications, likely borrowed from the 000-42 Authentic 1939. With premium grade Adirondack spruce and Guatemalan rosewood, this 2025 signature model is truly a premium level guitar and an instant collector’s item, had at the premium price of $10,999 and limited to 300 guitars.
See the full specs of the 000-42EC 30th HERE.
000-EC 30th Anniversary
The more-affordable 000-EC 30th Anniversary is made with Indian rosewood and comes with a Sitka or Lutz spruce top. It does get the 1939 neck shape model like its pricier sibling. Both have a 1-11/16” nut and 2-/18 string spacing, but the 1939 heel and fuller barrel will make the hand feel less cramped than recent Martins with the 1-11/16” nut width, and a Low Profile shape, like the OMJM John Mayer model. The 000-EC retails for $4,999 and has no production limit for this special edition instrument. But Martin dealers may only order it through March 2026.
The 000-EC has no style indicator in the name, because it combines the herringbone top trim and sound hole rosette of the popular 000-28EC with colorful Golden Era Style 42 position markers at frets 5, 7, 9, 12 and 15, just like a 1939 000-42. This may cause some confusion since modern Style 42 models use a vintage Style 45 fingerboard pattern that has markers on frets 1 and 3, including the Standard Series 000-42 and the original 000-42EC model.
See the full specs of the 000-EC 30th HERE.
At various times over the decades, Eric Clapton has had enormous influence on popular music. But none more so than his 1992 appearance on the hugely popular program MTV Unplugged, where he performed with a rare 1939 000-42 (SS #72234,) and sideman Andy Fairweather Lowe played Clapton’s 1966 000-28 (serial #208511) converted to Style 45 Mike Longworth. That one evening’s performance, and its hugely popular soundtrack album, single-handedly set off a seismic shift in the popularity of the acoustic guitar.
Martin received so many requests for a guitar like the ones featured on MTV Unplugged that it led to the first of many Eric Clapton signature models, 1995’s 000-42EC, a limited edition that was followed the next year by the special edition 000-28EC. The latter remains one of the best-selling Martin models of all time.
Watch my pal Dick Boak tell his tale of designing the original Eric Clapton models
It may be hard for some people to remember just how highly-regarded Eric Clapton was during the first decades of his career, starting with the electric British Blues band the Yardbirds. He left that band to form the first “super group” with bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, who boldly declared themselves to be “The Cream,” eventually shorted to just Cream. He left that band to return to the Blues in Delaney and Bonnie, before collaborating with Duane Allman on the album Layla by Derek and the Dominoes, and finding time to perform with George Harrison, and John Lennon a short time later. But in all of this, Clapton was playing electric guitars.
In 1995, at age 50, the venerable rock legend garnered countless new fans after he switched his electric guitar for acoustic guitars that resulted in the phenomenal success of his Unplugged performance. At a time when acoustic guitar sales were at an all time low, the most famous electric guitarist in the world reminded us just how awesome acoustic guitars can be, especially in the right hands.
Happy birthday, Eric. Or as they say in France, joyeux anniversaire!
Martin 3,000,000th Guitar, D-300, CEO-11 and Other NAMM Stunners
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Martin Standard Series Refresh for 2025
C. F. Martin adds new upgrades and new models
The venerable Standard Series just got better
For NAMM 2025, the models of Martin’s Standard Series received upgrades to the neck and bracing. The results are a collection of classic Martin model that sound more open and resonant, and perform with enhanced playability. The new models were announced today: The 000-17 and D-17 make their debut in the Standard Series, with considerably improved specs from previous modern guitars designated as Style 17.
The OM-45 stands out on its own as a top-shelf Martin featuring similar appointments to the flagship D-45, but with an Auditorium Size body. It is a long-awaited addition that has the added benefits of waiting for the new Standard Series upgrades.
GE Bracing
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Golden Era bracing is now a standard feature of the Martin guitars that set the worldwide standard for a professional level acoustic guitar. The shaping of the scalloped braces and tone bars removes more mass from previous bracing, making them more flexible, leading to a soundboard with increased responsiveness. Each frequency-damping node at the peak of each scallop are narrower, making the targeted damping area more precise, honing the tone even further.
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The main X brace is tapered all the way up to wear the center of the X. The small tone bars on either side of the sound hole are carved to a peak, much more like prewar bracing. The main tone bars that run across the bottom bout also have a lengthier taper and different angle they they rise up to the peaks of the scalloping. The bridge plate appears to be narrower, again more like a pre-war Martin.
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The venerable D-28 is receiving scalloped bracing for the first time since the 1940s. This will mean it has the same bracing as the HD-28 and the difference will be the 1950s look on the D-28 vs. the 1930s look on the HD-28. In the last decades of the twentieth century, the HD tended to get higher grade tops, even though both models were designated as Grade 5/6. It is unclear if that will happen in this case.
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The D-35 remains 1/4″ non-scalloped bracing, but it is not exactly the same shaping as previous years.
GE Modified Low Oval Profile
The neck retains the Modified Low Oval profile and High Performance fingerboard shaping that advanced the Standard Series in the previous “reimagined” upgrade in 2018. This means the nut width remains 1-3/4″ while the width at the 12th fret remains 2-1/8″. But there is an elongated diamond valuate at the back of the neck where it meets the headstock, resembling vintage Martin volutes, and the heel where the neck meets the body has adopted the narrow shaping used on the Martin’s Modern Deluxe series, which resembles heels from the 1930s but with a narrower width. The combination adds subtle changes to the feel along the neck, enhanced further by the tweak to the string spacing at the nut and the alterations where the neck meets the fingerboard, which has been reduced in depth to the same specs used on Martins elite Authentic Series models.
This new Golden Era modified low oval neck profile and reduced fingerboard combination had a sneak preview when Martin released the O’ahu HG-28 near the end of 2024.
Style 17 Reborn
The new 17s receive full Standard Series construction, including (according to my insider sources) “Genuine Mahogany” back, sides, and top, even if that is not reflected on the spec sheet (so no guarantee on how long they will remain thus.) They also feature the full-size dovetail neck joint with solid mahogany neck block, and the (new to the Standard Series in 2025) Sitka spruce Golden Era bracing, which has reduced mass and more-precise damping nodes thanks to the narrower peaks on each brace and tone bar, as found on the Modern Deluxe models.
They retain the satin finish of a pre-war Style 17 instrument, and the modest appointments that are now seen on the 15 Series (short pattern diamond fret markers on an ebony fingerboard,) which originated on the original 00-17 from the 1930s.
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OM-45 Returns
The OM-45 looks like the OM-45 introduced in 1990, with the large hexagon fret position markers. But otherwise, it has the vintage Martin appointments seen on recent Standard Series Martins and the GE bracing and the GE Modified Low Oval Profile neck shape that is as of today, a NEW feature of all Standard Series Martins. This includes a more 1930s shaping to the volute to the back of the neck where it meets the headstock, along with the more vintage-esque heel shape that looks vintage but has less mass (e.g. as used on the Modern Deluxe Series) which result in a subtly different feel the entire neck compared to previous Standard Series models.
Intelligent Improvements
The Authentic Series fingerboard depth is also NEW to all Standard Series models, and was likewise adapted from the Modern Deluxe Series. This should allow more energy to make its way from the fretted strings down to the body where it will contribute to tone production. The change in fingerboard depth brought about other tweaks.
There is a “comfort bevel edge” where the fingerboard meets the mahogany neck that should be welcome by most players. The string spacing has received an (unannounced) tweak at the nut, and to the string angle as it crosses the nut between fingerboard and headstock has also changed. Known as “on-angle,” this is yet another spec from pre-war Martins that founds its way on the modern Authentic Series models, and now is being resurrected on the “standard” models that descended from those legendary Martins from the 1930s.
Oh, and the Standard Series models now all sport either bone or ebony pins on the slightly reshaped bridge, which is likewise titled GE and has wings with less mass, with the same goal of increased responsiveness.
Retro Plus Arrives
In other Martin news, there are also two very exciting new models added at the top of the Road Series, the DE Retro Plus and the 000E Retro Plus. These new Road Series instruments receive appointments that look a lot like the D-18 and 000-18. But while they retain the Road series Performing Artist neck profile (which I love) and Tusq saddle (which I am not crazy about) they have a full gloss body and a TORRIFIED top.
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A discussion of the newly “refreshed” Standard Series and Road Series models will appear later today on the Martins and More podcast, found on major pod platforms and YouTube, and of course full reviews of these new models will appear at One Man’s Guitar as soon as my busy life allows me to edit the video from the factory and write up the exclusive reviews.