Tom M

Great recap and great pics. Thanks for writing it. I wanted to come but had a gig. I bet it was all fantastic!

Looks great!

I'd get the Clapton sunburst and not have any second thoughts. I have the D15 all mahogany as my first Martin and its not in the same class as the standard or the artist models. Id say its more entry level and the 000-15m will be a good solid guitar but you will end buying 2, that and a Clapton. I'd call Maury of Maurys guitars and look at his vids and demos. He will treat you right. I don't think you have to play them. Some will disagree but never bothered me. The Clapton's are in short supply these days. I do think the artist signature guitars are really nice.

I'm a Martin dread guy. Thats an easy one for me. It's about the tone and once you get that tone in your head you cant get it out. Each time I go to buy a Taylor, i think i could put this money in a Martin. A good friend got a Taylor 814ce and its very nice but for that price i could got a very nice martin. He has a d35 an likes both. My Martins are set up to play very well and in my opinion just as good as any Taylor. Martin s today are making great guitars. @matonanjin the clapton is the one i always wanted and came close several times but ended up with a om28 and an 000-18. I luv the neck on the clapton and the short scale. Ive played several great ones. My 000-18 fills my need for a short scale and the om28 vts custom shop is a much fuller sound than the clapton and i got a great deal on it. and the deal sold it... Tom

i don't subscribe but used to stop and get them at Barns and Nobles. I stopped because there is so much good stuff in them I could never get thru them. I have a pile of them to go thru.

So sad to read this. I met him at a Gathering as he was doing videos. He was such a nice guy. He did a fantastic job doing all the vids. RIP Paul!

It was a great cruise... and I got a few pics with Jade that made Ron’s day! And here is me with Tommy!

I have several Martins and always wanted a Clapton. I've played good ones, great ones and ones that were just ok. Martin just raised their prices so thats an issue too. I do love the short scale on it and have an 000-18. The clapton is rosewood and is numbered 000-28EC. Those that have them love them. I went custom shop OM28 and love it. The custom shop is a step above the standard or signature models. The new OM28 modern deluxe is something to look at too. Check the unofficial Martin forum site for some excellent deals on used Martins. I got my custom shop there and it was mint. It did come from MyFavorite Guitars and you can call Jon and he will help you out and talk you thru them. He knows how to design a custom shop model and probably has several in stock. There was a clapton one for sale in the martin forum and at Nazfest . message me and i will put you in touch with the person who has it. Im sure you could beat the deal on the one from the shop that got away. lHe got a sinker 0000--18 and is selling it. Its a sunburst one in great shape. Tom

Great recaps. Thank you Diane. I couldn’t make it this year but the way you are describing it, i feel like I am there... Tom

Is anyone going on the Joe Bonamassa cruse next year. It’s sold out I think. I was on the last 2 and they were fantastic.. Tom

Just got a new amp a vox ac10 and it sounds fantastic with my strat. Perfect combination if size , weight and a huge sound. Only thing is that it runs hot. According my local Amy guy, it’s a design that the tubes are always working. . Tom

I seen Jason Isabell bought the red eye 59 les Paul. Tom

It will probably be hard to find them all together. The s is 12 fret and the L sized like a ceo7. A guitarist named angela petrilli has many vids of the black 000-17. I think its a big step up soundwise and wood quality with an 000-18.

I have a martin D15 and it’s a nice guitar and is all mohogany. I would not pay the extra for the retro fishman pick up. The 00-15 is a small guitar and will sound small. It won’t project and if you plan on playing with others it will get buried. if you want a small Martin I would look at a ceo7 or 000-18 and also put your money into the wood and not electronics. You can always add a k & k pickup up or Lr Baggs. I went with an 000-18 but also look at the 17 series. The new martins with the Lr Baggs pickup sound killer though and I’d much pref that over the fishman aura. Tom

I have a mesa boogie 5:50. a great sounding amp and goes from 5 watts to 25 to 50 watts. I been thinking of a princeton or a deluxe reverb.

Will McFarland used JHS pedals at the gathering. He got a fantastic sound with them.

the boss katana would be a great choice too. I have the vox vt50 i got for my son and its decent and fairly big and loud. the advantage of the boss is that it has all the boss effects built in. I don't know how much you want to spend. for the money its hard to beat the boss katana.

I really enjoyed your web site and story Mark. Also you have a great song list. I played my sons wedding a few years ago and they picked out all the songs. I did go get some lessons and learned a few classical pieces. One thing learned from my teacher was that to keep the bridal walk simple and short. I did cannon in D and had some crazy arrangement that my teacher said was way too long. He was correct in that I didn’t even get thru it and the preache signaled me too cut it short. I did all you need is love for the brides maids walking in, cannon d for the bride March and here comes the sun when everyone was leaving. I used a martin and a fishman amp and got a pretty good sound. I always wanted to do more so your story is a great example of how to focus and provides a great song list. Very nice vids. Tom

I can’t get to mine Paul. It makes me sit on to goggle and then takes me to a different page. Can you make mine public.