The 1970 Martin D-18 acoustic guitar is a favorite among folk and bluegrass players, despite its well-known flaws such as a thudding sound, bad wood and heavy bracing on the interior.
Sometimes, though, a guitar is more than its external quality. Sometimes a guitar has character.
One Martin D-18 has a long history in Athens that continues on today. Bruce Dalzell, operator of the Front Room Open Stage, first fell in love with the guitar in the ’70s when, at the age of 13, he went to a local coffee shop to see his favorite local band, Rodeo.
He described them as a hippie band that used a lot of percussion, wind instruments and strings. Every third or fourth song, the band members would stop the improved jam and turn to their guitarist, Pat White, who Dalzell said played the most beautiful songs he had ever heard.
Ten years ago, after both men had moved away and came back to Athens, Dalzell asked if he could play White’s guitar and have it repaired — the rest is history.
“I don’t worship guitars, I don’t think they have magical properties and I don’t give them names, but this is a great guitar,” Dalzell said. “I’ve taken possession of it (not ownership). It’s the perfect guitar for me.”
The Martin has some scars, but Dalzell said most of them came before his time, and he’s never asked White how the guitar was damaged.
“He had a lively time with the guitar,” Dalzell said. “And folks aren’t always proud of their past, so I never dug into it.”
There are so many scars, in fact, that most people think the guitar is from before World War II, he said. And while it’s much younger than that, there is a place in town that sells guitars that old.
Blue Eagle Music, 40 N. Court St., currently displays three of its finest guitars on the wall next to the cash register: two acoustic guitars, a 1929 Gibson L-4 and a 1918 Gibson L-3, and a 1966 Guild Starfire electric guitar.
Frank McDermott, owner of Blue Eagle, said there are several qualities musicians look for in a superior guitar, such as the top wood it’s made of, the body shape and the strings.
“The top is the most important part for the sound of a guitar,” McDermott said. “What you’re paying for when you pay $3,000 for a guitar instead of $300 is top-grade woods and craftsman construction, not factory.”
He added the strings largely come down to personal preference, although “people will put on fisticuffs” to defend their favorite strings.
Joey Hebdo, a local solo musician, said he bought his favorite guitar at Blue Eagle Music, a ’50s Del Oro acoustic guitar with a painted Native American fret design.
“When I play it, I can feel the vibrations through the instrument. … It has a real warm sound, like it’s been through a lot,” Hebdo said. “(Guitars) keep their history with them a lot of the time. They get better over time.”
History is what drew Dalzell to the Martin, and he said he feels the tale should be shared with anyone who wants to experience it. He brings the guitar into open mic nights so anyone can play the instrument and feel its character.
“People sign up for the open stage just to play this guitar; it’s kind of magical that way,” Dalzell said. “You can’t hide something like that — it wouldn’t be fair.”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
