My favorite Martin

I have never owned a Martin guitar before.  I always wanted one.  I own two old red label Yamaha acoustics.  They have aged well and have a nice rich sound.  Though I've always wanted a Martin, my Yamaha's sound better than most Martins I've ever tried out.  For years I just couldn't justify the sound quality with the big price difference.

Last week while at my favorite pawn shop, I saw my Martin hanging on the wall.  I had seen one just like it about four years ago in a guitar store in Atlanta.  I didn't have the money then, but had never forgotten it.  The guitar is a CF Martin 00CXAE Grand Concert Acoustic Electric Guitar.  It is a beautiful thing.

I spent the week thinking about it.  I have never had a guitar on my mind like I had that one.  Like Obama says about himself, that guitar was THE ONE I had been waiting for.

I still don't have the money to buy a guitar, so I had to think of something of mine that my pal Ron Greer wanted.  I had my old 1960 Fender Champ Amp.  It was an amp that I've used to play blues harp with for well over twenty years.  My brother Brook gave it to me years ago.  He bought it for a song and gave it to me.  I loved that amp, but I wanted the guitar more.

Ron sweetened the deal by tossing in a CRATE GX-65 amplifier into the trade.  Losing the Champ meant that I didn't have an amp in which to play my Fender Telecaster.  I plugged my Tele into it last night and played it for a long while before going to bed.  It's a nice amp.

 So I made the trade and drove on to work.  I showed Gina my new Martin and she flipped.  I let her hold it and she claimed it as HER guitar.  I admit that the size of the guitar makes it easier to learn.  I was surprised.  She is just as excited about the guitar as I am.  So even though I no longer have my little Fender tube amp - I'm very satisfied with the trade.