It’s fair to say that playing a museum-grade Martin guitar is a bucket list experience for any avid acoustic guitar fan, but when Chris Buck picked up a 1928 0-42 for the latest issue of Guitarist, flashbacks to a high-profile Hollywood six-string scandal played heavy on the mind.
The story of Kurt Russell’s on-set guitar smash during the filming of The Hateful Eight – in which the actor unwittingly destroyed a priceless 145-year-old Martin on loan from the firm’s museum – is, by now, common knowledge.
Though Russell himself didn’t much care much about the mishap, it had pretty big ramifications. Martin, by all accounts, was furious, and changed its policy to never loan guitars out for film sets ever again.
Sure, the smashed remains of the acoustic were put on public display for the first time last NAMM, but now whenever a museum-grade Martin enters the conversation, everyone involved tenses up a bit.
And Martin isn’t the only one to feel this way. In the new issue of Guitarist, Buck was on hand to demo a 1942 Martin 0-42, which gave the blues rock ace flashbacks to Russell-gate.
“I rarely feel scared of playing a guitar, but there’s something about handling a Martin that’s about to celebrate its 100th birthday that is absolutely terrifying,” Buck says. “Even in the controlled conditions of a video shoot. There was never any danger of going ‘full Kurt Russell’ with it, but accidents happen... especially around me!”
Regardless of his apprehension, Buck did indeed test the guitar, and had some insightful words on what exactly it is like to play such a historic instrument.
“Consequently, it’s hard to judge it purely as an instrument without becoming swept up in the romance of playing a guitar that quite literally resonates with history,” he continues.
“Pretentious nonsense aside, it was truly a superb guitar that, after taking a few minutes to acclimatise to its new surroundings, rung like a bell and – much like every great acoustic or electric guitar I’ve ever played – appeared to come with its own compression and reverb.
“Notes virtually leapt off the fingerboard and seemed to fill the room in a manner at odds with its diminutive size. Its condition and elaborate inlays – I hesitate to use the word ’bling’, but... – all felt undeniably modern with the only obvious nod to its vintage being the width of the neck.
“While this meant that more intricate lead playing was a bit of a challenge, the increased string spacing made fingerpicking that much easier and more defined. This no doubt gives some indication as to the type of music it would have made in the first part of its life.
“As someone who doesn’t particularly play a lot of acoustic guitar, I’m ashamed to say most of the subtitles and nuances of such an historically significant instrument are most likely lost on me.
“So the fact it left such an impression, especially on a day spent playing innumerable old, valuable instruments, is testament to there being some magic in them there strings.”
This particular Martin recently sold at auction for £12,000.
Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitarist, which features interviews with Brian May, Eric Johnson, Rosanne Cash and more.
