| Martin D-45 | |
| Manufacturer: | C. F. Martin & Company |
| Period: | 1933–1942, 1968–present |
| Bodytype: | Square-shoulder dreadnought |
| Necktype: | Dovetail |
| Woodbody: | Sitka Spruce or Adirondack top Rosewood back and sides |
| Woodneck: | Mahogany |
| Woodfingerboard: | Ebony |
| Bridge: | Ebony |
| Pickups: | Optional L.R.Baggs Element Active |
| Colors: | Natural |
The Martin D-45 is a steel-string acoustic guitar model made by C. F. Martin & Company. The model was manufactured from 1933 to 1942, and in a second production series since 1968. Martin originally made the guitar's sides and backs of Brazilian rosewood. Martins are ranked among the highest-quality, as well as among the most expensive guitars, and the D-45, regarded as one of the first "luxury guitars", was listed in 2011 as the most valuable production-model guitar.
See main article: List of original (pre-war) Martin D-45s. The first D-45 was a dreadnought guitar based on the Martin D-28 with luxury ornamentation (the "45" designation), made especially for Gene Autry who, in 1933, ordered "the biggest, fanciest Martin he could."[1] This guitar is now encased in glass in the Gene Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California.[2] The next year, Martin made one for Jackie "Kid" Moore, a "12-year-old singing cowboy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin."[3] These first two had a 12-fret neck; most others (except for the 6th, made in 1937) made afterward had a 14-fret neck. Two more were made in 1936 and two again in 1937; the D-45 wasn't catalogued until 1938.[4] Other versions included a D-45S (with a special neck, 1939) and a D-45L (left handed, 1940). The D-45 was the top model of the dreadnought line,[5] which also included the D-28 and D-18 models, priced much lower.
In 1942, as a result of World War II, Martin officially ceased production of the D-45 (as well as other Martin models such as the archtops).[6] This first series of D-45's consisted of only 91 instruments.
The luxurious D-45 resembled the less ornate D-28 model enough to entice entrepreneurial guitar builders and craftsmen to modify the latter to look like the former by adding a pearl border and changing the stamps on the neck block, so they could sell them as the more expensive model. One of those craftsmen was Mike Longworth, a banjo player from Tennessee, who Martin hired specifically to bring the D-45 back. The new D-45, released in 1968, cost $1,200 and was the most expensive flat-top steel-string guitar made in the United States at the time. By 1969, Martin sold twice as many D-45s as during the entire 1933–1942 run; customers included David Crosby and Jimi Hendrix. In 1971, a 12-string model was made,[7] and in 1973, another one.[6]
Longworth also designed a more affordable model, the D-41, making sure that the pearl inlays were done in such a way that the guitar could not be modified to look like a D-45.[7] Since 1968, Martin has produced a number of special versions, including the C.F. Martin Sr. Commemorative D-45 (200 guitars in 1996) and the C.F. Martin Sr. Deluxe D-45 (91 guitars in 1996).[6]
Models produced between 1933 and 1942 (also referred to as "pre-war Martins") are among the most expensive production-model guitars ever made. A listing for $135,000 was noted in a 2005 publication,[8] and in 2011, a Vintage Guitar ranking of valuable guitars saw the D-45 (models made between 1936 and 1942) in first place, worth between $250,000 and $400,000.[9] George Gruhn remarked that pre-war D-45s fetch "more than 20 times as much as a recent issue D-45, even though there is relatively little difference in design."[10] [11]
. Gruhn's guide to vintage guitars: an identification guide for American fretted instruments. 1999. Hal Leonard. 978-0-87930-422-5. George Gruhn. Walter Carter.