{{Short description|Acoustic guitar}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Infobox Guitar model |title = Martin D-45 |image = 250px |caption = Gene Autry's original 1933 D-45, s/n 53177, photographed at the Autry National Center; one of only three pre-war D-45s with 12-fret neck (and longer body), all the remainder have 14-fret necks. |manufacturer = C. F. Martin & Company |period = 1933–1942, 1968–present |bodytype = Square-shoulder dreadnought |necktype = Dovetail |woodbody = Sitka Spruce or Adirondack top <br />Rosewood back and sides |woodneck = Mahogany |woodfingerboard = Ebony |bridge = Ebony |pickups = Optional L.R.Baggs Element Active |colors = Natural }}
The '''Martin D-45''' is a steel-string acoustic guitar model made by C. F. Martin & Company. The model was manufactured from 1933 to 1942, and in a second production series since 1968. Martin originally made the guitar's sides and backs of Brazilian rosewood. Martins are ranked among the highest-quality, as well as among the most expensive guitars, and the D-45, regarded as one of the first "luxury guitars",<ref name=johnstone116/> was listed in 2011 as the most valuable production-model guitar.<ref name=greenwood/>
==History==
===First series, 1933-1942=== {{Main|List of original (pre-war) Martin D-45s}} The first D-45 was a dreadnought guitar based on the Martin D-28 with luxury ornamentation (the "45" designation),<ref name=greenwood/> made especially for Gene Autry who, in 1933, ordered "the biggest, fanciest Martin he could."<ref>Johnston pp. 82–83.</ref> This guitar is now encased in glass in the Gene Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California.<ref>Boak p. 7.</ref> The next year, Martin made one for Jackie "Kid" Moore, a "12-year-old singing cowboy from Milwaukee, Wisconsin."<ref>Soros.</ref> These first two had a 12-fret neck; most others (except for the 6th, made in 1937) made afterward had a 14-fret neck.<ref name=gruhn450/> Two more were made in 1936 and two again in 1937;<ref name=gruhn450/> the D-45 wasn't catalogued until 1938.<ref name=gruhn421>Gruhn p. 421.</ref> Other versions included a D-45S (with a special neck, 1939) and a D-45L (left handed, 1940).<ref name=gruhn450/> The D-45 was the top model of the dreadnought line,<ref>Bacon p. 12.</ref> which also included the D-28 and D-18 models, priced much lower.
In 1942, as a result of World War II, Martin officially ceased production of the D-45 (as well as other Martin models such as the archtops).<ref name=gruhn450>Gruhn p. 450.</ref> This first series of D-45's consisted of only 91 instruments.<ref name=johnstone116/>
===Second series, from 1968=== thumb|Stephen Stills, 1978 with a D-45 guitar [[File:David crosby-1547297410.jpg|thumb|David Crosby with his well travelled, second series Martin D-45, live in Belgium, 2018]] The luxurious D-45 resembled the less ornate D-28 model enough to entice entrepreneurial guitar builders and craftsmen to modify the latter to look like the former by adding a pearl border and changing the stamps on the neck block, so they could sell them as the more expensive model. One of those craftsmen was Mike Longworth, a banjo player from Tennessee, who Martin hired specifically to bring the D-45 back. The new D-45, released in 1968, cost $1,200 and was the most expensive flat-top steel-string guitar made in the United States at the time. By 1969, Martin sold twice as many D-45s as during the entire 1933–1942 run; customers included David Crosby and Jimi Hendrix.<ref name=johnstone116/> In 1971, a 12-string model was made,<ref name=johnstone116>Johnston p. 116–17.</ref> and in 1973, another one.<ref name=gruhn450/>
Longworth also designed a more affordable model, the D-41, making sure that the pearl inlays were done in such a way that the guitar could not be modified to look like a D-45.<ref name=johnstone116/> Since 1968, Martin has produced a number of special versions, including the C.F. Martin Sr. Commemorative D-45 (200 guitars in 1996) and the C.F. Martin Sr. Deluxe D-45 (91 guitars in 1996).<ref name=gruhn450/>
====Post-1968 models, selection==== *D-45S (with 12-fret neck and slotted peghead, similar to 1936 models, 1969–1993)<ref name=gruhn450/> *SD12-45 (12-string, two made in 1971 and 1973)<ref name=gruhn450/> *D-45LE (with hexagonal outlines, 1987)<ref name=gruhn450/> *D-45 Deluxe (with upgraded binding, inlays, etc., 1993)<ref name=gruhn450/> *D-45 Gene Autry (12-fret neck, "Gene Autry" on fingerboard, 1994)<ref name=gruhn450/> *D-45SS (Stephen Stills signature model, based on Stills' 1939 model, 1999)<ref name=gruhn450/> *D-45 Celtic Knot *D-45 Golden Era *D-45 Authentic
==Value== Models produced between 1933 and 1942 (also referred to as "pre-war Martins") are among the most expensive production-model guitars ever made. A listing for $135,000 was noted in a 2005 publication,<ref>Brookes 274-75.</ref> and in 2011, a ''Vintage Guitar'' ranking of valuable guitars saw the D-45 (models made between 1936 and 1942) in first place, worth between $250,000 and $400,000.<ref name=greenwood>Greenwood 38.</ref> George Gruhn remarked that pre-war D-45s fetch "more than 20 times as much as a recent issue D-45, even though there is relatively little difference in design."<ref>{{cite web|title=Martin d45 d-28 hd-28 copy dreadnought acoustic guitar|url=http://www.balachka.com/martin-d-45-standard-dreadnought-acoustic-guitar.html|website=Music Gear|publisher=Tamer Lorin|accessdate=19 March 2015}}</ref><ref>Gruhn p. 7.</ref>
==Notable owners== *David Crosby, who owns three of these—of them at least two are late '60s models. *Marty Stuart owns a D-45 previously owned by Hank Williams, Jr. who traded it to Johnny Cash, who gave it to Stuart<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/reply/1559820/Marty-Stuarts-D45#.VNxIobBsLIU|title = The Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum-Marty Stuart's D-45| date=19 April 2009 }}</ref> (claims that this guitar was once owned by Hank Williams, Sr. are refuted in that source). *Stephen Stills owns a 1939 D-45<ref name=gruhn450/> *Travis Tritt owns a custom D-45<ref>Boak p. 23.</ref> *Neil Young's D-45<ref>Schiller p. 180</ref> is his "principal acoustic guitar", on which he wrote many songs including "Old Man"<ref>Gulla p. 243.</ref> *Gabor Szabo played a D-45 as his primary instrument.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dougpayne.com/equip.htm|title = Gabor Szabo's Equipment}}</ref> *James Taylor owns a custom D-45<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jamestaylor.com/biography/|title=Biography : JamesTaylor.com|website=www.jamestaylor.com}}</ref> *John Mayer owns a D-45 and Martin makes a custom John Mayer D-45 * Roger Waters owns a D-45 standard
==See also== *List of original (pre-war) Martin D-45s
==References== {{commons category|Martin D-45}} ;Notes {{reflist}} ;Bibliography *{{cite book|last=Bacon|first=Tony|title=Electric Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia|year=2000|publisher=Thunder Bay|isbn=978-1-57145-281-8|author2=Dave Burrluck |author3=Paul Day |author4=Michael Wright}} *{{cite book|last=Boak|first=Dick|title=Martin Guitar Masterpieces: A Showcase of Artists' Editions, Limited Editions, and Custom Guitars|year=2003|publisher=Hachette Digital|isbn=978-0-8212-2835-7|author2=Steve Miller}} *{{cite book|last=Brookes|first=Tim|title=Guitar: an American life|year=2005|publisher=Grove Press|isbn=978-0-8021-1796-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fT6Pesat3hwC&pg=PA274}} *{{cite news|last=Greenwood|first=Alan|title=25 Most Valuable Guitars|newspaper=Vintage Guitar|date=April 2011|author2=Gil Hembree|pages=38–40}} *{{cite book|last=Gruhn|first=George|title=Gruhn's guide to vintage guitars: an identification guide for American fretted instruments|year=1999|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=978-0-87930-422-5|authorlink=George Gruhn|author2=Walter Carter|url=https://archive.org/details/gruhnsguidetovin00gruh}} *{{cite book|last=Gulla|first=Bob|title=Guitar Gods: The 25 Players who Made Rock History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DL3I9qQWdeAC&pg=PA243|year=2009|publisher=ABC_CLIO|isbn=9780313358067}} *{{cite book|last=Johnston|first=Richard|title=Martin guitars: a history, Book 1|year=2008|publisher=Music Dispatch|isbn=978-0-634-03785-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_sLskDHcU3QC|author2=Dick Boak |author3=Mike Longworth}} *{{cite book|last=Schiller|first=David|title=Guitars: A Celebration of Pure Mojo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OOwGrgjU3zEC&pg=PT180|year=2008|publisher=Workman|isbn=9780761138006}} *{{cite web|last=Soros|first=Bianca|title=Great Acoustics -- Jackie Kid Moore's 1934 D-45|url=http://www.themomi.org/museum/articles/singingcowboys/2.html|publisher=TheMOMI.org|accessdate=15 February 2011|date=December 1999}}
Category:C. F. Martin acoustic guitars D-45