With its abalone trim and Brazilian rosewood back and sides, the D-45 is the flagship of the Martin line. They made very few D-45s in the early ‘40s, stopped completely with WWII, and reintroduced them in 1968.

Neil got his in 1969 around the same time as the other members of CSNY. This was a major guitar for him early on, recording many of his early hits with it, such as “Heart of Gold” and …

Stereo White Falcons are rare and complex Gretches, and very different from all other guitars. The best way to explain a stereo White Falcon is to consider it to be two 3-string guitars in one body. One guitar for the low strings (EAD ) and another for the high strings (GBE). Neil has two of these guitars. Both have Bigsby vibratos. His main one is a single cutaway (1961).

The other is a double cutaway …

This 1941 Martin D-18 is another guitar that Neil got from GTR in Nashville in the late ‘60s. With its mahogany back and sides and scalloped braces, it has a wonderful tone—rich and full. He has played it a lot both in recording and shows.

It has had a hard life though. Once down at the ranch, early on, I opened the case and found a crack that ran the full length of the upper …

Neil purchased this 1945 Martin in the late sixties, in Nashville from Gruhn Guitar’s predecessor GTR (George Gruhn/Tut Taylor/Randy Wood).

The D-45 style inlay on the peghead is not original to the guitar.

The most unusual thing about this guitar, so the story goes, is that long ago, before Neil bought the guitar, it suffered a bullet wound. I don’t know the circumstances. The bullet entered on the side of the guitar

and exited, blowing …

My name is Larry Cragg. I toured with Neil for 35 years, taking care of his guitars, amps and keyboards. Over the years I got to play banjo, baritone sax, keys, 12 string, pedal steel, broom and percussion, and was a photographer and actor.

It all started in 1972 when I got a phone call from Randy Smith, my partner at Prune Music in Mill Valley, California, where he worked on amps and I worked …

It gets its Ball Bearing name because it has springs embedded into the rim

with a ball bearing on top of each spring.

The tone ring sits on top of the ball bearings and the head is stretched over that.

The idea was to keep the same tension on the calf-skin head, which was all they had at the time.

Back in the day, banjo players would tighten the head to sound good in one …

HANK RETURNS TO THE STAGE OF THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.

It was for the concert movie “Heart of Gold.”

Once owned by Hank Williams, he last played it at the Opry in 1952. Fifty-three years later, Neil brought the D-28 home to sing again.

“Hank” is a 1940 Martin D-28 with Brazilian rosewood back and sides, herringbone trim and scalloped braces. Most people consider these pre-war Martins the …