Try Grade 30 ($30) S (Smooth)
We know in 1950 the Straight Grains cost $10-25 and you had to trust Bertram. Each one was purely crafted according to price, more money, better grain. And if you actually walked into Bertram with $30, $50, or even $200 those old Germans would take your money and you’d wait longer, but you’d get your moneys worth. Anything above $25 in 1950 was a special commision, just like today.
For example, when David and I played the nursing homes for all the donuts and coffee and tea we could drink, my best Guitar was likely my 1992 Fender (Taiwan made) SX1500.
That guitar cost $1,500 in 1992, the year Fender had it made in Taiwan.
Porter Wagner had a Martin D41, which was $41 before the war.
With pipes and guitars like Fenders and Gibsons and Martins the quality of the tone woods (like an old violin) determined the quality, plus of course, the Touch of the Master’s Hand.
I always recited this, while David played in the background.
David started with a cheap Epiphone his parents got him as a kid and bought his Martin HD28 from a broke MU employee going through a divorce for only $500.
I guess it’s not hot.
The man was ordered to sell it as part of a divorce, and I have the paperwork where he bought it.
A truly high end guitar and a high end Algerian straight grain are about as close to holy grails as modern objects get.
You can take one that’s busted and always have a master fix it.
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Willie paid $600 for Trigger in 1969. It’s the most valuable Martin in existence, but like the Mona Lisa, there’s only one Trigger.