Martin Introduces David Gilmour D-35 and D-12-28, Creates Retail Feeding Frenzy!

I'd better think twice the next time someone walks in with a 1969 Martin D-35 to sell. I'm ashamed to say there may have been one or two over the years that I'd passed on.

Late 60's Martins are a mixed bag for a number of reasons, most notably the move from small maple bridge plates to the larger rosewood ones. And the phasing out of Brazilian rosewood for the more ubiquitous (and legal!) East Indian substitute.

Apparently, David Gilmour was not aware of this structural change when he purchased his 1969 D-35, which begs the question: why does anyone care about this stuff?! Just play the damn guitar. If you like the sound, buy it! Which is exactly what Gilmour did and then used the very guitar to record one of the most iconic acoustic songs of all time, "Wish You Were Here." I have to be honest, I had always thought it was a Gibson SJ-200. 

So, 50 plus years later, and after Gilmour's famed D-35 sold at auction for a record setting $1.1M, Martin Guitar has come out with the commemorative D-35 David Gilmour Signature Model as well a 12-string version to celebrate an even lesser known member of Gilmour's guit-arsenal, a 1971 Martin D-12-28.

So in one fell swoop Martin has exalted two very underrated guitars, possibly doubling their resale value. At the same time, they've helped my store garner a lot of new customers desperately on the hunt for one of the elusive signature models.

The Music Emporium has been allotted a total of 2, a 6- and a 12-string. Selling them was never going to be a problem; determining who gets them will be. I've got some ideas but for now we'll focus on selling guitars that we actually have instead of ones that We Wish Were Here!