Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post

teherie · 10-20-2011, 09:24 PM

This article may help shed a little light. (At least up through 2000 when the article was written).

http://www.acguitar.com/issues/ag85/gear85.shtml

Since I first saw him perform live in 1975, I have never seen Gordon play anything but a 6 string dreadnought (Either a Martin or the McGlincy mentioned in the article link above) and a 12 string Gibson sunburst. For the last several years he has had two 12 strings on stage. His signature model Martin featured a quilted mahogany back and sides and I actually played one in a shop a couple of years ago but I have never seen GL play one on stage. The E. Fitzgerald was inlaid at the 12th fret and If I hadn't had three kids in college at the time, it would be here with me now.

Gordon Lightfoot's Martin of choice in recent years has been a 1948 Martin D-18 which has some great mojo. My guitar shop recently sold one from that era which was listed for $7,500. As stated earlier by Bill, the D-18 in mahogany provides a brighter sound that is quite different from Rosewood and probably suits his voice better these days. If you watch old reruns of the Andy Griffith show, you will see him playing a D-18 on quite a few episodes. Gordon's D-28 featured in the 1972 video would have most likely had a Brazilian Rosewood back and sides.

Terry played a D-18 for many years and the last two times I saw him he had the 000 McGlincy. As Tim state this would have given him a distinctive sound for his acoustic lead work that was more compatible with the D-18. I own a D-35 and OM-35 which both have rosewood back and sides. The OM is much nicer for lead work and has a more balanced tone. Johnny Cash and Maury Muehleisen (Jim Croce's guitar player) also favored the D-35 and each has a signature model by Martin. I believe I may have seen GL playing a D-45 once back in the 70's (like Neil Young and David Crosby used).

Carter was playing a Breedlove at Salamanca in September and has a markedly different (but equally stunning) playing style from Terry's.

10-20-2011, 09:24 PM	#5
teherie Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Erie, PA Posts: 78	Re: Guitar Changes This article may help shed a little light. (At least up through 2000 when the article was written). http://www.acguitar.com/issues/ag85/gear85.shtml Since I first saw him perform live in 1975, I have never seen Gordon play anything but a 6 string dreadnought (Either a Martin or the McGlincy mentioned in the article link above) and a 12 string Gibson sunburst. For the last several years he has had two 12 strings on stage. His signature model Martin featured a quilted mahogany back and sides and I actually played one in a shop a couple of years ago but I have never seen GL play one on stage. The E. Fitzgerald was inlaid at the 12th fret and If I hadn't had three kids in college at the time, it would be here with me now. Gordon Lightfoot's Martin of choice in recent years has been a 1948 Martin D-18 which has some great mojo. My guitar shop recently sold one from that era which was listed for $7,500. As stated earlier by Bill, the D-18 in mahogany provides a brighter sound that is quite different from Rosewood and probably suits his voice better these days. If you watch old reruns of the Andy Griffith show, you will see him playing a D-18 on quite a few episodes. Gordon's D-28 featured in the 1972 video would have most likely had a Brazilian Rosewood back and sides. Terry played a D-18 for many years and the last two times I saw him he had the 000 McGlincy. As Tim state this would have given him a distinctive sound for his acoustic lead work that was more compatible with the D-18. I own a D-35 and OM-35 which both have rosewood back and sides. The OM is much nicer for lead work and has a more balanced tone. Johnny Cash and Maury Muehleisen (Jim Croce's guitar player) also favored the D-35 and each has a signature model by Martin. I believe I may have seen GL playing a D-45 once back in the 70's (like Neil Young and David Crosby used). Carter was playing a Breedlove at Salamanca in September and has a markedly different (but equally stunning) playing style from Terry's. Last edited by teherie; 10-20-2011 at 09:27 PM.