MY ARTS AND CRAFT GUITAR STORY

Sam Talarico and his C F Martin Guitar

This C F Martin Limited Edition Guitar is the pinnacle of a lifetime love affair and carrier I’ve had with old growth, quarter sawn White Oak. It all started when Linda Davis-Wallen who is the wood buyer for the C F Martin Guitar Co. in Nazareth, PA called and asked if I had any instrument grade quartersawn white oak for the backs and sides of a limited edition Arts & Crafts guitar. I have known Linda, Dick Boak and a few others from the days in the late 70’s and early 80’s when they used to custom cut logs for me when they had their sawmill running. I had one log that I had cut in stock from a forest in Germany that grows the best tight grained white oak in the world that I felt had the right kind of figure for a guitar. I told Linda I had one. What blew my mind though was that Linda never asked for a sample. She just said pull it and send us an invoice. After all, only the very best wood goes into making a guitar. Linda obviously knew I was the go to guy for white oak and trusted my judgment. I took it as an amazing compliment. I deal with musical instrument makers all the time and know how fussy they are picking wood for instruments. When she received the wood she agreed. I had to have one of these guitars and ordered one. I could hardly wait for the day to arrive when I would pick it up. Understand, I am a blues singer that started singing Doo Wop on the street corners of Reading Pa. and love music to my soul, but I do not play the guitar. I just had to have one. The fact that it would be made by C F Martin from my favorite wood, old growth qtrd white oak and cutting it is one of the passions of my life. I had to own one. I also knew It would get played at any and all the jam sessions that happen at my house from time to time.

To my mind, the ultimate use and highest calling for any piece of wood is for it to be made into an acoustical musical instrument or better yet a guitar. I could only imagine what the C F Martin Co. one of the leading guitar makers in the world would put together with my choice of wood. I made an appointment for me and my employees to tour The C F Martin facility. My friend Dick Boak met us at the reception desk and handed me a case that held my guitar. I was stopped dead in my tracks since I was told it wouldn’t be ready on my visit. I fumbled with the latches and popped the case open. I pulled it out of the case and fondled my guitar. Looking at it, turning it and looking at Dick and Linda speechless like a child at Christmas. Dick had picked it out for me from all the other guitars in production because of its stunning and uniform figure. I could not have done better. At that moment all I could think about was man, If I could just play like Taj Mahal. What a joy it would be to sit down on the spot and pull a blues rift out of that instrument and complete the circle from log to lumber to a fine and beautiful instrument. My guitar stands in my music room to look at where I spend most of my time in front of a pair of great speakers listening to lots of my favorite music that I call “BIG MEDICINE”. My guitar is so stunning it could almost play itself. It has a good home.

Peace,
SAM TALARICO
OWNER OF TALARICO HARDWOODS