Martha Carson's BIGSBY Neck 1950 Martin D-28

Today we're back in the repair shop with Tyler because we have a incredible one-of-a-kind instrument with a ton of history! We'll let Tyler get into the details but long story short, this 1950 Martin D-28 has a customized Paul Bigsby maple neck with Martha's name inlayed into the fretboard. This beautiful piece of history has been played and loved for decades, and we're so excited that it has spent a brief time in our shop!
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[@earlsinstrumentsandtunes9732]

It is good to hear Paul Bigsby getting the credit and recognition that he deserves in guitar history.

[@ronvonryan]

Amen to that.

[@duke4172]

This guitar belongs in the Country Music Hall Of Fame!

[@chrisdebarge7138]

Nice to see someone with real knowledge and sincere enthusiasm for this era of music, its instruments, and especially Paul Bigsby. Thanks Tyler!

[@bennahughes836]

Martha was wonderful with a heart for God. She was my ex-mother in law and she played it on the Opry when her grand daughter, Michelle, was a baby 27 years ago. The guitar was promised to my daughter, but she found out through this video her dad sold it. Very sad to see he did that. Hopefully the new owners will treasure it.

[@honeywoodpilot]

Thanks for posting this very well researched story. I was fortunate to have met men and women in my lifetime with talent that bridged many needs. They always seemed undaunted by the challenges they faced. What a world we live in.

[@chris-kp3xg]

Martha told me herself that the reason the neck was changed, is she kept breaking strings touring. She played really hard and uptempo songs. I’ve had this guitar in my hand as well. Martha was one of my favorites and she was so unique

[@gregmonk9037]

Think thsts the best sounding acoustic ive ever heard, a treasure!

[@panzerlieb]

Well maybe not the best. But it sure does have tons of character

[@LPKJFHIS]

I was gonna say. This sounds epic

[@tonydeaton1967]

Guitars, in general, are an amazing thing. I have guitars in my collection that I've been beating on for over a half-century. They become, almost, living things, part of you.

[@picksalot1]

Fascinating history and story. I'll have to find some Martha Carson recordings. Thanks

[@grandudetonesnob7107]

As a fella whom has played a LOT of gospel gigs over the years, I'd like to thank Skylar for lovingly playing that guitar as it should be played. ✌️

[@birdsfabulous]

Love this history lesson. The bridge on that guitar is amazing

[@TheJacklwilliams]

Absolutely incredible. Beyond reproach and thank you for such a thorough history on the instrumment. It’s amazing how deep the art goes and it’s evolution through the years. You realize, the ability to create rich , whole, complete tone, has been there, for so long. So so long.

[@TylerECG]

Thanks so much!

[@hkguitar1984]

AMAZING Thank You for taking the time to produce and share this instrument video with us. Congrats to the new owner and a big thanks to you as well for allowing this historically significant instrument to be documented.

[@TylerECG]

Thanks for watching!

[@jrwojo9195]

I really need to see one of those pre-war D-45's ........

[@chrisva4268]

Wowee! What a special instrument, P.A. Bigsby's work is immaculate, and Fagan's bridge adds an extra layer of interest to the customized masterpiece. I've had the immense luck to have played a Bigsby instrument and can confirm that the neck was stunningly comfortable, makes you wonder how he knew to make them so well from the start!

[@likeakite]

Absolutely fantastic, what a story.

[@Danilo8208SS]

Awesome to hear the story on this one. I'm currently reading "The Birth of Loud" which is the story of Leo Fender, Les Paul, and Paul Bigsby all in the race to come out with the solid body guitar. I didn't know anything about Bigsby until yesterday.

[@TylerECG]

That's an excellent read, if you're interested in this stuff I think you'll love it. Thanks for watching!

[@frantisca]

Paul Bigsby and Ray Butts were probably the most underrated inventors in the history of Electric guitar. Leo Fender and Les Paul can be praised for their work and evolution of the instrument, but they were certainly favoured by the marketing machine of their brands (Fender and Gibson), particularly with Freddy Tavares and Ted MC Carty. The electric guitar wouldn't have been the same without them, but Bigsby and Butts were undoubtedly the founders of what modern electrified solid body guitar is today.

[@TylerECG]

Ray Butts is another interesting figure. As you might know, Ray once built a special ordered set of humbuckers to fit inside Bigsby-sized enclosures. In 1961 he charged $100 apiece for them, I would love to know where those things are now!

[@panzerlieb]

Hey let’s not forget about Seth Lover. There would be no much revered PAF’s without him

[@GarySeabreeze]

Idk what’s more cool. The Bob Wills “Bad Brains” style shirt, or the guitar.

[@paul_sebastian1154]

Fascinating history lesson, really interesting, thanks for the video

[@TylerECG]

Thanks for watching Paul!

[@chris2fur401]

Martha was born in my little coal town of Neon, Ky. Our only “home of…..” sign in our town.

[@petiewheat82]

I like a bridge where you don't have to stick the pegs in there...wish they made more like that.

[@elsqueezer]

Way to go Tyler! It's Legs from Guitar town, AZ.

[@jasonmyers3847]

Very cool! Just a side note. Crocker motorcycles are the rarest of the rare, and are worth a pretty penny.

[@ElGatoCiego]

I got shivers down my spine...

[@rickcurtis2983]

Excellent video, thank you!!

[@leonstancliff7218]

Only a guy in Seattle would not recognize the man holding the mic for Martha Carter on that "public access" show as Ralph Emery. He is a Country Music Hall of Fame member and hosted syndicated shows nationwide from 1963 until 2015. If you were a new act in Nashville his morning TV show was the way to break into the business.

[@slicksnewonenow]

Only that the guy holding the mic for her on the nationally televised public access show is Billy Walker and her name is Martha Carson.

[@jrm2fla]

Great guitar playing !

[@nickspitzley8539]

I love my fender acoustic (mahogany special Newporter) and people are never sure what to make of the headstock but man the strings are so easy to change. The bigsby headstock is even weirder

[@Zeonoid]

now we know where Leo Fender gets his headstock inspiration from

[@jerrymorganjr]

Who made the cool pickguard? There were a lot of whacky custom pickguards in those days, and I've always wanted to know who made them.

[@DNA2000-8bit]

Nice to see Paul and Merle get their due. No matter how you slice it, those two men are uniquely responsible for the vast majority of what guitarists play and how they play it. Bigsby could make it happen, but Merle Travis appears to have invented the roadmap and idea for the modern solid-body guitar and the most famous style of playing. Ever. That's nuts when you think about it.

[@DubMartin]

Thank you sooo much for this video. It’s wonderfully done. Did you precisely measure every aspect of the Bigsby neck? I’ve been fascinated by these for many decades but I’ve never seen published specs for the necks. Things like nut width, width at the twelfth fret, string spacing neck thickness and taper, fretboard radius, etc. Was the Broadcaster/Telecaster neck made to the same specs? I realize that info is beyond the scope of this video about an historically important guitar but I’d guess a lot of us would like the technical details.

[@cristobalcampos1513]

The headstock on this guitar looks so close to the Fender strat.

[@JobyP]

Sad part is Skylars likely the Last person who will truly play that guitar. You know it’s headed for a glass case and that’s fine but it sure sounds nice.

[@oscarsantos2608]

Seems to me Fender kinda copied the head stock... What an amazing sound that guitar has! 🤩

[@mclark42]

I understood Bigsby's significance in creating the first modern solid body electric, but I never knew why Merle Travis and others wanted Bigsby necks on their acoustics.. Thanks for explaining that. I just wish I understood why so many performers in the 50s and 60s glued those big whopping pickguards to their acoustic tops. I guess the visual statement meant more than the sound quality(?)

[@tomdevaney2]

yes !

[@andrewbowen6875]

How strange I was only wondering why Left Frizells J200 had a Bigsby neck about a week ago after an Otis Gibbs video? I love seeing vids from that era just to see all the vintage gear and huge pick guards

[@UncleTadhg]

That shirt, though. Almost as amazing as the guitar!

[@TylerECG]

Thanks so much! Check out the Emerald City channel to see a video I did all about Bob's personal 1941 Martin D-45!

[@UncleTadhg]

@@TylerECG I'll certainly check out the video! And where can I get one of those shirts...?

[@johnsmith-bk4ps]

I missed one of these around 1990. For 200 dollars. My pal called me said the guy was trying to but a bus ticket. I told him i would pay a thousand for it. He couldnt find the guy again. This one prolly went to dirk.

[@gamjammer]

One has to wonder how much that huge pick guard hurt the resonance of that guitar.

[@gluteusmaximus1657]

Stauffer style six-on-a-side headstocks are pretty common on early Martin guitars. Could it be that Christian Friedrich Martin learned this from Johann Georg Stauffer? :-)

[@jay5467]

Shout out to the mighty Bob Wills 💪

[@kinkfloydd]

being in Seattle you should know this, but Paul Bigsby is one of the early solid body guitar makers, but the father of electric guitar should go to Paul Tutmarc who lived right here in Seattle who was making solid body electric guitars before bigsby, paul also invented the electric bass guitar, but not the solid body electric guitar that distinction goes to leo fender

[@jimmycollette9209]

Saw her playing this guitar in KZbin video. It has the Bigsby neck but a different pick guard. The white pick guard must have been put on later maybe.

[@BaBaBaBenny]

The only person I can imagine doing this guitar justice is Jeff Tweedy.

[@karlj.shields7645]

Very cool guitar! A technical question: Does that Bigsby neck have a truss rod?

[@slicksnewonenow]

Yes... They had truss rods.

[@TylerECG]

Great question! This one does have an adjustable truss rod, but many of Bigsby's Spanish style guitars did not, and none of his mandolins did either. As far as I know, the first Bigsby with a truss rod was Grady Martin's famous double neck electric that was completed in October of 1952. Some clips of him playing it on the Ozark Jubilee are floating around KZbin and are worth a watch! To my knowledge, all Spanish style Bigsby guitars (excluding tenor guitars) and acoustic necks built after this time were equipped with adjustable truss rods, and all previously built instruments were without neck reinforcement. Thanks for watching!

[@dekedickersonilikerecords2393]

I would like to say this in the most helpful way possible: if anybody else has a Bigsby instrument and wants to produce a video like this, or write about a Bigsby instrument, please contact me first. I consider myself to be the number one Bigsby historian and am happy to share information. This video isn’t bad, it’s mostly correct, but I wish I could’ve been involved to help make it 100% correct. Just a few simple errors. Once again, I’m easy to find.

[@dekedickersonilikerecords2393]

All Bigsby necks had truss rods. Before 1952, all of his necks had a large, non-adjustable rectangular piece of tempered steel running underneath the fretboard and about an inch and a half or 2 inches into the head stock. After 1952, he adopted an adjustable truss rod.

[@TylerECG]

Hi Deke, I just messaged you on Instagram regarding some corrections. Thanks!

[@crocks2871]

What happened to the guitar now? Where is it?

[@mr.classicalmusic5607]

Martha was a nice Christian lady. Loved her music. It would be fun to know what the guitar sold for.

[@bigearl33]

I want to see that "Bob Wills"/"Bad Brains" shirt He is wearing.

[@mariacardona2690]

Kool

[@Dang...]

That's a pickguard made for radio😆!

[@ladukie69]

How much???

[@ofershragay]

Crocker bikes are sold with higher prices then bursts ...

[@stephenrobinson7945]

Still a booming guitar. Typical for the Martin. Larry Briggs, who owned Strings West in Tulsa, owns a lot of Merl Travis' items, including the last Cadillac Travis bought.

[@TylerECG]

Very cool!

[@jharvey433]

Interested

[@jasonmyers3847]

Great sounding guitar. Aside from those annoying as hell commercials during his playing....sheesh!!

[@camilo1455]

I got none.

[@andorrasrevenge1683]

Did Joe get this?

[@aaron_gossett]

I can’t imagine being the family and wanting to sell this. I’m sure she had many more guitars that were less sentimental that they could have sold.. no respect.

[@leighcecil3322]

That's what happens when you got no friends to dance with..! 🤷

[@kensargent3817]

Dude needs to wash his hair. Well, both of them, actually. A little guitar tuning wouldn't hurt, either.

[@BarronVonSchnoot]

Boring!

[@_Moses44]

It’s exceptionally ugly

[@timothywong4485]

I love the video!!! Become an online boss = *Promo sm*!