This Guitar Smells of Rich Mahogany.

[@allenhanford]

In the late 90's I emailed Frank Ford about a Harmony archtop I had. I wasn't counting on hearing back because I was and am a nobody. The same day he emailed me back with detailed information about how to fix the instrument. Great guy.

[@kdm_entertainment]

Youre not a nobody. You are loved and special to someone

[@garywhitt98]

You are a very enlightened nobody with a knack for honoring others. Many thanks for that!

[@vincentkowski8466]

Frank Ford was my guitar repair guy since 1974. A huge loss. He had a great sense of humor too. RIP Frank. He will be sorely missed.

[@jackbarlow4104]

Absolutely loved by many!​@@kdm_entertainment

[@karelenhenkie666]

When i started building guitars i emailed a couple of high end builders and was surprised with the amount of jnfo they were willing to share. Seems the luthier community is a very pleasant and helpful community.

[@murraywagnon1841]

Sorry to hear about Frank Ford Passing away. About a year ago he did some work on my 53 year old Martin D28.

[@azbababooey]

Nothing more relaxing than watching Ted work on a guitar.

[@peachmelba1000]

RIP to Frank Ford. Merry Christmas, Ted, and everyone who watches. All the best.

[@stealingtomorrowband]

Instead of giving you a thumbs up i decided to say thank you and a Merry Christmas to you and your family as well....

[@peachmelba1000]

@@stealingtomorrowband Thanks!

[@Windiguana]

Merry Christmas

[@jimshorts6751]

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God Bless. Ted has the nicest viewers on YT.

[@scottishgentlemen6038]

RIP Frank Ford - people sharing information for the sake of sharing information are the backbone of the internet. Thank you also, Ted, for doing what you do.

[@grugotube]

RIP Frank. My wife and I got heavily into ukes in the early 2000s and we used to love reading Frank's forum.

[@Bcarn1998]

There’s something great about all mahogany guitars. Such charm. Love em! R.I.P Frank.

[@jimshorts6751]

Is it just me, or did that little mahogany box sound 10 times bigger ? The tell-tale small guitar "boxyness" was present, but in a beautiful way. It projected far better than I assumed.

[@seanj3667]

Ah, 18 minutes of peace before I go deal with extended family having too much to drink. Merry Christmas all! RIP Frank.

[@trulybtd5396]

While i am watching while having dinner to have a friendly voice at my empty table. Enjoy your family. And merry Christmas. Don't worry, its nothing too sad.

[@marions.120]

⁠​⁠@@trulybtd5396-I’m dealing with the same thing this year. Wish I could say the same as far as not being too sad, but hey, it could always be worse! Merry Christmas. ✌️🎅🏻👍

[@trulybtd5396]

@@marions.120 it's sad, but not unexpected or unnatural, so it's just life.

[@marions.120]

@@trulybtd5396 -But Mom passed and the only thing my (ex) siblings were concerned with was and still is, is money. I took care of her for 14 years and pretty much gave up my career. Two of them lived within a block and a half of her and never really saw her.

[@trulybtd5396]

@@marions.120 very similar to my situation, and she was my last parent. Luckily my siblings are supportive, but they all live far away.

[@bobross5580]

I appreciate the calmness you have when doing these repairs as it shows a skill level that only comes with experience. This is as good as it gets content wise.

[@elbowache]

These guitars are forever connected to Leslie Feist for me. Love her sound and playing.

[@telecasterbear]

Rest well, Frank. Best wishes for all of you there, Ted.

[@rodnyg7952]

...for some reason I have this scent of rich mahogany in my head

[@icedog75]

I have a 1941 O-15 and I love it...the sound and the feel are epic. This guitar has been in my family since new....Uncle to my father and ultimately to me. It has been refretted, has a later generation of Martin tuners and a headstock repair but remains a lovely instrument.

[@darlacurrey-colter3844]

i learned to play on my dads 015 almost 60 yrs ago. now i have about 30 guitars ( including the martin) and its still the most important guitar in th world to me. easy to play and the most cherished tone. when i smell th mahogony, it takes me back to him and the hours and hours of him playing and singing

[@frankwebster9110]

I love this. Thanks for sharing that!

[@hokehinson5987]

Thanx Mr. Ted and marry xmas. While attending vocational school married with family living on side jobs and $410.00 V.A. school check used to visit a small music shop fell in love with a all mahogany acoustic made in Australia 🇦🇺 called a Watson or Walton...it had a voice better than my old beater J-45. Sadly never considered a purchase...it sold before the funds could materialize from holiday gift checks. Thanx for the memory recall. Circa 1974 -75. 4:24

[@Hemifan4266]

It's like watching a dear friend go into a hospital sick. You are worried and then you meet the nice, obviously skilled doctor with impecible bedside mannor. You suddenly feel encouraged and the doctor works his magic and the friend comes out well and happy. The guitars you work on are in very skilled and careful hands. Have a Merry Christmas Ted...... We get the gift of watching true craftsmanship.

[@jimshorts6751]

I learned how to work on guitars from a little old man who taught guitar for extra $$$ in his retirement. Since he was born and raised without electricity, he did all his work by hand. So, that's what I do. I tried to incorporate power tools but it felt wrong. I did incorporate an upright sander and drill press, but I mostly do it without. What I learned the most was, there are skilled luthiers and there are gifted luthiers. They are not the same animal. I'm a skilled one, Ted here is a gifted one. I can just hear it in his voice. The truely gifted are as calm as all get-out and cool as cucumber salad. A gifted restorer knows when not to encroach on the original build. They just maintain what is there (unless it's unavoidable). Watching Ted is like watching Bob Ross paint... they make it look easy. Merry Christmas and God bless.

[@mattrogers1946]

Frank was a wealth of knowledge. I talked with him often when I'd bring my gutar to Gryphon Stringed Instruments. What a real loss to the guitar community. RIP Frank!

[@georgenahodil23]

Merry Christmas to all.

[@carlmontney7916]

Such a beautiful warm tone from that old Martin. I've always liked mahogany top, back and sides just because of their nice warm tone.

[@DTGuitarTech]

Another great repair. Never gets old for me.

[@seanhallahan14]

God bless Frank Ford!! I bought an 1895 Washburn steel string parlor guitar from him ~ 1995. The neck had been irreparable but Frank eventually found a substitute neck from a classical guitar and seamlessly put it on. Or visa versa, I forget, maybe it was the Washburn body that had fan bracing. He fixed it, put light strings on it and I'd loved it for 20 years before selling it through famous Stan of Mandolin Bros.. Peace be with you Frank.

[@TheDecguy]

Thank you for all that you have brought to us throughout the year. Best wishes for the holidays.

[@johnrathbun2943]

I want to thank you very much for your videos. You are very informative in your videos. I have learned so much from you. I watch your videos every week. And I watch and listen very carefully to everything you say. Maybe one day when I decided to build my own guitar I will remember everything that you taught me. So thank you very much.

[@ALTDOK667]

Merry Xmas, everybody!

[@Last_one_before_I_go]

Wow....just about 6 weeks ago I was down at Gryphon and met him when I had some work being done on a guitar I recently picked up. RIP Frank, you made huge contributions to the guitar community. You'll be sorely missed.

[@tperki2322]

Merry Christmas Ted.

[@markvonwisco7369]

Beautiful and warm sounding guitar. It's not an all the time sound for me, but do like the boxiness that the smaller bodied guitars have.

[@kellysnodgrass2236]

Love your videos! Thanks man!

[@norcalbob3838]

I believe I met Frank just a few weeks ago, I went to Gryphon for some old style parts for a banjo project. He was a lovely man who told me to take the handful of small parts with his blessing "nobody else wants them"

[@GeorgeSharp-rv6ez]

People that weren't lucky enough to know Mr. Frank Ford personally, had at least heard of him. He will be sadly missed. On another note, I just want to tell you again how much I enjoy your videos and content. Take care, and Merry Christmas!

[@RedRose4711]

Please accept my deepest condolences for the loss of your friend and mentor. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Long may you continue repairing and improving instruments. Thank you for all you do.

[@stevecroft5068]

Waking up to this first thing on Christmas day morning, what a treat. So sad to hear about the passing of Frank Ford, he was such an innovator, and influenced virtually everyone in guitar repair. Thank you Ted, for a year of exceptional content, hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Christmas.🎄

[@Mudder1310]

Billy Dee Williams and Diana Ross love this guitar.

[@Minorino]

Happy holidays everyone!

[@kaistutz7067]

I would have never expected a video on Christmas weekend. Awesome of course and a joy to watch, as always. Wish you a merry Christmas!

[@leftoverking]

R.i.p. Frank. took a refret workshop from him 20 years back. been to his shop. amazing place and interesting cat. big loss.

[@Idontwantthis2023]

Cool, @17:22 you can see , top left in the frame, that the strings lift off the fretboard because he is about to lift the guitar up by the neck. Flexible and responsive guitar, you'd expect. Sounds like it, too.

[@drdoktor77]

I have a 1997 D-15, the first year that Martin brought back the all mahogany guitars and it's one of the most responsive guitars I've ever played, with a really warm and soft tone that's lovely for fingerpicking. Even though it's a "cheaper" Martin I'd put it up against anything else they have done.

[@tomehCanada]

A nice tribute to Mr. Ford. Merry Christmas everyone.

[@ReVeRbx-fe5wr]

Merry Christmas, Ted!

[@alexbostelle287]

This righteous content you share is truly therapeutic in these uncertain times, your processes and respect for your craft makes us forget the above mentioned uncertain times....😂🙏Thanks

[@emilychristoff9404]

I’m sorry for the loss of your friend and Mentor. Memory Eternal Frank Ford, I’m sure many Guitar enthusiasts are welcoming you at Heaven’s Gate and praising your Luthier Skills and all the Guitars you have saved and restored.

[@bldallas]

Thanks for posting, and merry Christmas to you, Ted!

[@5018jamesb]

Sounds amazing! Great job! Wow, I want one. Mahogany is the most under rated tone wood ever.

[@stringlocker]

You explain the sound and the string response perfectly. You put the sound into words. I had an all mahogany Martin and I used to explain it like it had a built-in compressor

[@ghostface_grilla1155]

Beautiful guitar!

[@mperkins37]

I only Gibson version of that about the same year. I’d say it’s early to mid 50’s and all mahogany it’s such a beautiful guitar to play and it’s about three-quarter size I think

[@kennethkowalchuk7868]

Thanks. Nice tribute for Frank Ford. I discovered his treasury of online resources years ago too. So good.

[@cameronwhite9959]

"From all of me at Woodford Instruments"!!! 🤣 Happy Christmas Ted, RIP Frank.

[@jonhillier1]

Thanks. Merry Christmas 🤓

[@garethsnaim8174]

Happy Christmas or holiday or whatever Boss. I have never so much as touched a guitar but have not missed an episode. I like to learn, and you teach.

[@davidsigglekow1349]

Those were some very kind words for Frank… your mentor. RIP

[@silverstem2964]

My best friend of 45 years owns many (17?) vintage and non-vintage Martins. Even an 1856 parlor size gut string made in New York before Martin moved to Pennsylvania. It even has the original coffin case. Plays great! Anyway, my favorite is a 1941 0017 mahogany. It's so much fun to play. He has the matching O17 also. The finish is much darker than this guitar, a dark brown. I get to play them all😎🎸

When I was teenager in the early 70's I had a friend who collected the early mahogany topped Martins from the 1930's. He had 3 or 4 of them. Back then you could pick them up for a few hundred dollars. Such beautiful guitars and the sound is so warm and mellow. Best of all was the incredible smell of the mahogany, I can still remember it.

[@billylindros3023]

Love your website. A highlight of every weekend for me. Actually the Martin 5-18 was the smallest one that Martin made from 1898 to 1989. Andrew Lardner plays a beautiful one on his cover of John Fahey's "Variations of the Coocoo".

[@mrclaus859]

Thanks Ted. Merry Christmas to you and yours

[@edwardpetersen4309]

I've worked on several of these and I've never seen such obvious grain lines in the mahogany. So yeah, refinished IMHO. Which also leads me to believe that those sanding scratches on the back are from the sanding off of the old finish by someone other than the factory. I've never seen such obvious tooling scratches on a Martin either. And it looks like it was refinished with an oil finish. . . . of course it could be the the camera lighting. I noticed that the back of the peghead retained the original finish and perhaps the neck as well. When you removed the neck, the lacquer was evident so our suspicions were confirmed. Thanks once again for sharing. Happy Holidays!

[@morganghetti]

Solid mahogany acoustics are my favorite. You get such a warm beautiful tone from them. Especially playing with your fingers.

[@swaffy101]

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[@davespears2241]

I bought one of these in 2006, every time I take it out of it's case I nearly always take a deep sniff at the sound hole it has a beautiful smell.

[@thomaslemonds8493]

I love mahogany guitars. I have an 80's Alvrarez Yairi that has a wonderfully warm tone. As usual Ted, your work is outstanding.

[@scottwong979]

I'm fortunate to own a number of guitars and my favorite is my 1958 00-17. It still has that sweet scent of mahogany.

[@markdoyle9642]

Thank You Ted, Merry Christmas!!! I will miss Frank, a Creative, Kind and Kindred Luthier indeed! RESPECT! I Love these Masterful, Martin, Mahogany Models! The d-19 instruments made in the 70's also have a surprising range of tone, and volume... all Beautiful!

[@billbrayley6836]

Happy Holidays! Thanks for another year of great content!

[@hkguitar1984]

RIP Mr. Ford. His good work has touched and influence many, many people.

[@rustyaxelrod]

RIP Frank and thank you for sharing his philosophy on spreading the “dark art” of lutherie. (😉) Happy Holidays and best wishes for an enjoyable 2024.

[@markbernier8434]

Merry Christmas to Ted and family and all the community.

[@lesliepeters7966]

Merry Christmas 🎅 and a happy 🎉new year from Nottingham uk 🇬🇧

[@tigdogsbody]

Sir, Merry Xmas, and Happy Holidays.

[@MrBullethead63]

I just had one of these in the shop for a neck reset, a 1962 model...beautiful little guitar!

[@mbyard356]

I’m sad to hear of Frank’s passing. Gryphon is one of my local shops, and I had chatted with him a few times, while shopping there. He was very knowledgeable and loved to talk about the instruments.

[@gwbuilder5779]

I guess Frank has the best seat in the house this Christmas. A man of influence for decades and will certainly be remembered as such. To the rest of us here on planet Earth... Merry Christmas Everyone!🎄🏝🤙

[@chillpillology]

love the title Ron. how’s the jazz flute treating you?

[@frankwebster9110]

I was wondering if anybody else caught the reference!

[@rlm2112]

😂

[@franklinslamo]

i love the way the old 15 series Martins sound. Happy New Year all!

[@andreasb.somogyi4890]

Merry Christmas Ted, thank you for the great Content and all the Best from Germany!

[@stephenbridges2791]

I like that size guitar. I have a Seagull Coastline Grand that I am pretty fond of.

[@PaisleyPatchouli]

Condolences for the loss of your friend, Frank Ford. I have an all-mahogany 00 - 12 fret - slot head that I'm quite fond of. As you say, it has a very even response between the strings and registers. Happy Holidays to you and yours, Ted!

[@fepatton]

RIP Frank! He very kindly gave me a thorough tour of his shop at Gryphon Strings when I was starting to make guitars. Very generous man! While I would never ask you to police anybody, there are a couple of us I think who would be interested in your take on Ben Crowe’s recent neck reset on a rare old Gretsch. Looked like a sturdy job, but a few of us thought he went overboard and may have made future resets more difficult. Merry Christmas! Looking forward to another year of learning from you!

[@kennethhymes9734]

One of these is my go to guitar for acoustic and voice. It took a while for me to find the heart of the thing, but oh my. Cellos and trumpets. Just an amazingly subtle guitar with the "right" strings and approach etc. Pure luck finding it in a shop in myrtle beach. A luthier friend installed an invisible mic and piezo combo that suffices well with no impairment of the sound in the room or mic'd. Seems like these are a somewhat less aporeciated design.

[@johnnybird7593]

Merry Christmas mate!

[@mrkkitson]

Beautiful guitar! Love the mahogany look and sound !

[@Mytwocentsisallicanafford]

After decades of playing budget guitars I went on a quest for a Martin and being frugal/cheap it took a while found a ooo-15sm and pulled the trigger the hype is real they do inspire mediocre players to become better players thanks for wisdom

[@tuskedbeast]

Nice sort of Burl Ives relaxing patter to this. Happy 2024. One of your many fans.

[@randybecker7339]

Sorry for your loss but also Merry Christmas to all of you at Woodford Instruments.

[@kevinhill1848]

Merry Christmas Ted and thank you for all the fabulous videos. Take care and Keep safe.

[@FlipDahlenburg]

My very first guitar to play was my elder brother's nylon-stringed folk guitar with mahogany top back and sides, the same size as this one. It sounded so wonderful, and so even, and the soundhole smelled like a guitar soundhole should.

[@daviswall3319]

I love the all mahogany Martins as well. Shame about that saddle. I over carved a nut the other day and had to redo. Love the channel!

[@petedazer3381]

Merry Christmas Ted, to you and yours, and thanks for another great year of great videos, and common sense………

[@PierceThirlen2]

I remember hearing Chet Atkins in concert around 1969 and for a few songs he played an all mahogany guitar and I loved the sound.

[@thebiggerbyte5991]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you, Ted.

[@JoseOchoa-dw9vk]

Frank Ford. RIP.

[@timyoung4280]

On the refin, dead-give away for me was the headstock. The corners were way too rounded. Great show, Man. Thanks!

[@JxH]

RIP Mr Ford. Condolences to his family and friends.

[@stevesoldwedel]

Happy holidays, Ted. Thanks for the continually excellent content.

[@mikemarin77]

Excellent job! You always do it right and i love it

[@monday6524]

Thanks Ted. Another great video. Even though you have done these types of things before, there is always a new wrinkle to work through. Great education for the rest of us.

[@2009numan]

sorry to hear of the sad passing of your friend

[@CothranMike]

Beautiful sound.

[@frankwebster9110]

Happy holidays Ted! Thanks for all the great videos and instructions! Here's to another year full of great content from the website most beloved luthier!! Cheers

[@ncc74656m]

Something about those Mahogany bodies just attracts me so much. And I love that you share the mistakes you make with us, too, though I'm sorry about the extra work it's gonna cost you. Happy Christmas.

[@vadenk4433]

I'm no Martin expert but the little Martin Marty Robbins played was definitely smaller than an O-15