540 RSW A Kings Guitar - Part 1

[@shadow5oh]

When I received the guitar from my father, I told him,” I’m not sure if it is save able.” It was extremely bad. I thought the best anyone could do was possibly put a clock mechanism in it and hang it on the wall as an old relic. Jerry was able to help me decide to go with the repair. This old guitar from my uncle truly had seen better days. Caleb, you helped breath new life into this very old instrument. Everyone just wait until you see the final product! I had to contact Jerry and tell him I thought he sent me the wrong guitar. Jk. Great job Jerry and Caleb. Thank you both so much.

[@daveogarf]

HUGE Emeri fan! She has such a pure voice, and her lyrics are very poetic.

[@CapnBubbaa]

Caleb your turning to real Craftsman in a short time, Because, from what I see it seems to be your passion, if indeed it is you will always love the career path you chose, when that happens, it will never job, just a journey..

[@nickdryad]

If these sorts of videos were around in the 70’s and 80’s you wouldn’t find that many guitars in this condition. Great video.

[@daveogarf]

Basket case, Caleb! But you did it! It already looks worlds better, and that new top is killer.

[@Daniel_cheems]

Very fine work there Caleb! Jerry oughta be proud!

[@michaelpthompson]

Another classic Caleb video,complete with history.

[@lyndamcardle4123]

My goodness !.....that "souped up" classical guitar introduction was one of the first, if not the first pieces I learned to play by sight reading (and heck of a lot of practice !

[@georgeearls3338]

I for one like it when you have the story behind the instrument . This one is a good one, and ya'll have put the beginning of a new chapter in the story, awesome job so far, I can hardly wait to see the out come.

[@MrMike81800]

Cant wait to see part 2. Great job fixing this. I really enjoyed your video.

[@zapa1pnt]

Caleb, I hope you put a label inside the top, saying it was replaced, by who and when. Can't wait to see the finish.

[@JerryDechant]

Your attention to detail is wonderful. :)

[@matthewf1979]

Fantastic story! Thank you Mr. King for the beautiful story and playing. Caleb, you've come a long way in a short time. You're doing this guitar justice.

[@63vetteman]

Very nice job Caleb, you are well on your way to becoming a very skilled Luthier!

[@forthwithtx5852]

Will be sorry to see you go, young man. I’m sure Jerry feels the same. Looking forward to your future work.

[@paullyle3461]

Calbe your getting to be pretty sharp for a young fellow. Your a real plus for Jerry Thanks for sharing this crafty work for us.☺️😎💯

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

Huge skill development. Excellent Kaleb, 👍👍

[@bldallas]

Really nice job, so far, Caleb. My OCD keeps focusing on that long perpendicular blemish in the lower bout. Assuming it’s structurally sound, I guess it just adds some character to that old guitar.

[@jeffgrier8488]

That guitar has definitely seen some better times, i'm glad to see that you're bringing it back to life.

[@tedsmith4353]

I think we should call you "The Rosa Kid" Great work

[@Gunslinger320]

Excellent nickname 👌

[@markwonder4246]

Such a great skill and the music was a smash!!!

[@robertshorthill4153]

What a big job replacing a top. So many steps. If anybody has the patience and determination to make it look like the original, it would be young Mr. Cool Hand Caleb. My best wishes and many cheers, ALWAYS. Bob

[@peterbryan3081]

Great job building the new top, Caleb. When the final video is released I'll share the story of my 1948 0018.

[@mfc4591]

So much truth in the song Jerry sang. Thank you. Good job Caleb. Looking like a master taught you well somewhere!

[@craigtittsworth9440]

Great job Caleb!

[@dond.6604]

I've always wished I could build myself a guitar.. I know I would screw it up... Amazing work Caleb!!! you make it look so simple!! great background music!!

[@MattCaffell]

It would be great to watch Caleb design and build an acoustic instrument from scratch to final set up, this would make a great last video series, to mark the achievements that Caleb has come so far, and shows in full the ability he has before he moves on to be called a Luthier from being an apprentice. Caleb is showing such promise, that Jerry must be so proud and thankful that he chose Caleb out of the many that applied to become an apprentice.

[@tosh962]

Plot twist: Caleb taught Jerry everything he knows. They only implemented the 'Master Luthier'/'apprentice' schtick for the sake of the videos ;)

[@kd5nrh]

Plot twist: "Jerry" is a Disney animatronic and Caleb has been running him by remote control all along.

[@fongy200]

I bet you were in awe of the tape repair eh Caleb? Have you ever seen insulating tape used to such effect? Martin and their Acoustic technology, an early side mounted sound hole, true innovation. Seriously i should imagine this Guitar is of some substantial value with it being in such company as it has.

[@johnnieboi]

Great work Caleb and a sweet song... that girl has a beautiful voice... looking forward to the next installment... 👍

[@oldtimefolkie]

Shame what someone did to it previously! Big project, save all that nice vintage spruce and binding for future repairs!!!

[@nicolen.9642]

I love those videos. A historical Martin, this babe is a real challenge. Thanks Jerry, Caleb and Emeri! 🎶🎶🎶

[@leelossi1257]

Great video Caleb. This old Martin is well worth fixing. what a beautiful sounding guitar with a lot of history

[@stu-j]

Glad you saved it! Shame it got into such a state. Trigger would be proud

[@mothereartha7]

Really good to see inside that old Martin, Caleb good work

[@bruceducker2029]

Awesome job Caleb. Getting better with everyday. Keep up the good work, learn from the master, help him where you can. Be a sponge. Thanks for the content

[@bluesingmusic3443]

Well done. I'm suprised that old Martin was still relatively intact. Can't wait for the next installment.👍👍👍👍👍👌

[@jimmer1047]

Really enjoyed Jerry's songs too! Always enjoy Jerry. I just don't recall hearing Emeri before. What relation is she? She ought to sing on one of those TV singing shows.

[@tomnance9563]

Nice job so far Caleb. I know Jerry is proud of your work. Gonna be a masterpiece when your done.

[@thebones]

CALEB great work as usual, I've searched for the chisel sharpening video that you mentioned but can't find it, where is it please?

[@wendiesioux]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipinkmd_qdOlrtk Try this one

[@LifeSavingDefense]

I'm glad you explained the natures mark on the top. It is visible in part one and I was wondering why the Peace was used . Many times I pick wood for projects specifically with natural marks on it by for a guitar top that would not have been my choice. However life happens and it is definitely one beautiful and unique guitar .

[@briansmallwood2103]

Hey Jerry love that song Don’t leave this earth with Him.

[@lrstaf6]

Hi Caleb; It's looking good so far. Nice job on that top.

[@that_thing_I_do]

I keep thinking of that Martin guitar that Kurt Russell destroyed on the set of The Hateful Eight. The more I see you gents work on these basket-case guitars the more I think it might have been able to be restored as well. If you think back to that fiddle that Jerry fixed which was nothing more than sawdust and smithereens, it came out looking fantastic. Keep playing, keep working, keep the faith.

[@josephbrabham8209]

Looking good, Caleb!

[@pawwalton2157]

That looks like a lot of work. It is progressing nicely.

[@keithwignall1428]

Love your blogs, Caleb. Your a good man.

[@jimmer1047]

More Emeri please! I loved that song. She's really good. Now I gotta figure out how to "download" it. Of course Caleb was his usual fantastic self! Lol

[@shartne]

Looks like it going to turn out good Caleb.

[@mikepower4113]

Another awesome job Caleb.

[@mccypr]

Awesome!!! I love watching you guys work on basket cases. Thanks! 😎✌️🌞🎻

[@donaldholman9070]

Great job! Thank you for sharing!

[@phil36135]

Very good work Caleb, it looks like you"ve been repairing instruments for years. I think you must of had a great teacher lol.I loved the instrumental Mr. King was playing, I think I will try to learn it on my guitar..of course I always like the Rosa songs. Thanks to you all and God bless.

[@salnichols94805]

I think it’s called Malagueña.

[@INDYOSKARS]

@@salnichols94805 That is "Malagueña" right ? I got it where Roy Clark is playing it.

[@nancymilawski1048]

@@INDYOSKARS there is also a version by Jim Stafford in a medley with classical gas (on the the Smother's Brothers show) where at one point he plays with just his left hand. Unreal talent. 😃😃

[@melodicdreamer72]

So far it is looking really good. And, I am at least pretty sure it will look great after sanding. There's that one part of the top with the line that looks like a knot in the spruce --> surely that will come out after sanding. Rock on Caleb!

[@adamkempa5157]

Wow - A new top Nice work Caleb!

[@albertlevy3721]

What you could use for measuring the thickness of the top of the guitar is something called a deep throat micrometer.

[@enzopalumbo2164]

I think what he tried using near the beginning of the video was a deep throat micrometer but couldn't fit it through the sound hole.

[@albertlevy3721]

@@enzopalumbo2164 I have used them and they are quite a bit smaller and could have fit through the hole of the guitar...

[@HBTwoodworking]

I can see you feeling a bit like a mosquito over a nudist colony wondering where to start….great job! -Phil

[@artbylarry]

good work on a big job

[@bobl2995]

Great video fantastic work Caleb 👍

[@jimmymelia3637]

Great Video and Music .

[@parachuteman4]

Nice work Caleb!

[@billmumbo2697]

I loved the clutterfull comment it's very discriptivisational Caleb 👍☮️🇫🇴🇫🇴

[@mitchmatthews6713]

Classic soundtrack!

[@mikequenzer9100]

amazingly talented!!

[@daciuk8]

Caleb the sorcerers apprentice 👍🇬🇧👍

[@corny5128]

I can't take my eyes off the flaw that seems to run across the grain of the lower bout. Hope it's not there in the finished repair. Otherwise a nice job Caleb.

[@janetflecher2683]

You do realize that we expect Caleb to do an entire guitar build next month . . . .

[@barrygandersleeve3396]

I suggested this before....watching Caleb gluing up the cracks in the back, I have to think that an old cabinet makers trick would make gluing this kind of crack easier and get better glue application. Put a line of glue on the crack and on the other side of the wood, use a shop vac to draw a vacuum on the crack. The glue will suck down into the crack completely......

[@Gunslinger320]

EXCELLENT JOB!!!

[@fireantsarestrange]

That is some nice work.

[@brisca88lolo65]

Nice job Caleb ,I'm looking forward to listen to this guitar ,so please could you record it with good microphones thank-you very much Hello Jerry!!!!

[@johnjones-bv5df]

You are gonna be one fine luthier.

[@bruceducker2029]

btw, nice music intro

[@tonywampler217]

Very good

[@tonywampler217]

Keep it up

[@scaira60]

Good job Caleb, making a new top was the right call & trying to match the bracing pattern You are a Very talented kid & You be a good luthier if you decide to keep doing this as a profession. God Bless🙏🙏🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸🎹🎼🎸👨🏻‍🦯👨🏻‍🦯

[@MaximilianBocek]

I wasn't there, looking in detail at the top of this old Martin, and maybe RSW did the right thing replacing it. I've had hours of pleasure and education watching this channel, and I'm grateful for that. But I think they should have fought to preserve the top of this guitar. On about any other guitar, I would have said, "yeah, the top is shot," but a classic like a '42 Marin? No. The top with its bracing is what adds the most personality to a guitar and value to an old classic, as we all know. Instead in their place I believe I would have taken off the back of the guitar and worked on the top from two sides, adding support where the spruce was thin.

[@shadow5oh]

Please everyone, you must realize, this guitar was really bad, I’m not sure if my uncle worked on it or someone else, but, the top had been sanded so thin you couldn’t fix it. I didn’t even believe there was any hope for it at all. The incorrect pick guard that was on it was so badly placed and glued, i couldn’t even begin to tell you. It had no bridge and as Caleb showed it was practically ripped off the soundboard anyway . Perhaps I should have chosen to have Jerry and Caleb replace the new top with another more clear piece of wood, but I didn’t have the heart to make them take it off. Also I understand how there are variations in nature, a tree will have a branch which results in a knot or two. I even joked with Jerry, I can now give it a nickname, like “scar”, one commenter called it “grizzly “ I kind of like that. True, I was worried about the knot, but by the number of good comments I feel even better by my decision. Heck I’ve even had an offer on it already. The guys, Jerry and Caleb, did a great job and turned this unplayable kindling into a great instrument, Jerry assured me the soundboard would sound great and he was right. I have a 74’ Yamaki, It was custom built for the previous owner, I bought it around 84’ it’s a Martin copy, it plays and sounds amazing. I’m sure it equals any Martin it was a copy of. This repair by the guys is just as impressive. I do agree and appreciate your dedication to preserve history and an instrument, but shame on the person, my uncle or the guy he got it from for allowing it to wind up in the poor condition it arrived to me. This is a very interesting set of opinions, I apologize to the purists, and I appreciate all that accept the decision for what it is. I had a budget, and we made choices. I did have it repaired as an investment, I’m sure the value would be greater if it was all original, but at what point do you take an 80 year old unplayable instrument repair it and make it playable? Now I know it will last probably another 80 years and bring pleasure to whom ever decides it is worth buying. In the meantime I plan to enjoy it and appreciate it for what it is. A really old guitar. I mean no offense, unfortunately I cannot undo the choices made, good or bad, it is now what it is. Care to buy a 42’ Martin? 😀

[@kirkrogers6968]

Great job dude!!!

[@MrMike81800]

When will we see the next episode?

[@dannydoyle3687]

Jerry is Kala your son. I just watched him remove the badly damaged top & make a new one. I think he is talented. Also has he got a website doing what he does.

[@michaelalexander4331]

Could you have used the old braces?

[@costrio]

I was thinking you could push a nail through the bridge pin hole from the inside, upwards. Then at the outside mark the nail where it meets the top. Then measure the distance on the nail.

[@joeturner7959]

Why does this Martin guitar have a brace at the sound hole, and NOT at the bridge? Hmm...

[@luigiseli2552]

Enjoyed the video. I would have taken the time to remove the old braces that were salvageable and installed them on the new top . . . give that new top some of the original vintage bones. Thanks for your time.

[@enzopalumbo2164]

It would have taken a lot of effort and time to remove the old braces. I don't think the client would want to spend the money.

[@howbouthat5479]

As has been said before discretion is the better part of valor. Sometimes you just have to let it go.

[@teodelfuego]

The neck side of the rosette looks a bit wonky. Will the fret board cover that?

[@brandonkoch3852]

Yes the fretboard does almost always cover the rosette top.unless it's a cut away fretboard like on some ovations or other ornate designs.

[@teodelfuego]

@@brandonkoch3852 thanks, I wondered about that

[@byroncrump4390]

Nice rosette

[@INDYOSKARS]

That is "Malagueña" right ?

[@ThePopeDr]

We’re the old braces too bad to salvage and reuse?

[@albertyktan4678]

A great master like Jerry would not have a second grade disciple, there goes the Chinese saying!

[@nickdryad]

What happened to the to brace at 19:07?

[@ramspencer5492]

Top replacement? Woah..... I couldn't have made that call.... The top is pretty much the sound.... No criticism.... You did what you believed you needed to do from a builders perspective.

[@MrEst1953]

You got grounds for buying a new guitar , that one is a wall hanger .

[@deandee8082]

for me I would have looked for an older yamaha FG or similar with an Ezo top, recycled it, never be afraid to look for damaged instruments from said era and recycle parts that can be used, at least your wood is era correct and the cure is close to the same, I say yamaha cuz their cure and wood selections are superior, specially back then.. to pay $250 or so for a good used top from that era wouldn't be a bad thing, then if its Ezo or better its an upgrade for the Martin, hold its value and its tone, as it is it will be a few years before that top wakes up to its full potential and may be a gamble if it gets there?

[@Gary-td7sd]

Please share the Love of the Son of God. Please write His Words in your Heart, and share them. Immanuel, God with us...

[@brandonkoch3852]

Some of that curfing should have been replaced.before that top was glued back on on.where its busted out is almost certain to be where that top separates eventually.heck maybe its 20-30yrs down the line before it does.depending on relative humidity and where it's kept.constructive criticism never made anybody worse at their job😁 Still gave a thumbs up and appreciate your growth as a luthier.keep it up!

[@vaccarioou22]

Ship of Theseus ? Sure it will be better than the original as that was mass produced

[@RoderickNairb]

Would it be possible to "laminate" the original top?

[@georgefrench1907]

I suspect it would be theoretically “possible,” but the sound of the guitar likely would be degraded. Also, the work time would be far greater and more costly than making a new top.

[@joetaverna5264]

Hey Caleb it's a shame Jerry has to let you go you've come such along way it's truly a damn shame however you never no what's going to happen once your on your own it could very well be the sky's the limits God bless you and your family

[@AmosBHaven]

Only into vdo about 10 minutes and haven't read any of the comments. So about the time ya weren't so sure about the thickness of the top, and couldn't get the "checker" in to confirm? Tis about the time I started humming that old Noxema skin cream commercial! "Take it OFF!"...."Take it ALL off!" lololol

[@keithwignall1428]

I meant "you're"