"What," you say, "an entire website about one guitar model?" Well, not exactly. This is more a website about Perry Bechtel, how he changed guitar history by asking the Martin Guitar Company to make a custom guitar just like he wanted and how the true story finally came to light 77 years later. To get a better picture of the story, we suggest that you read the article "The 14-Fret Bet" that appears in issue 6 of The Fretboard Journal. We excerpt parts of the article here and fill in around all of the edges of the story.
If you have an interest in guitars--and we assume you do or you wouldn’t be looking at this site--we also hope you’ll check out The Fretboard Journal. If you like in-depth articles about fretted instruments, the artists who play them, and the people who build and repair them, you’ll love this classy, quarterly magazine.
But before you go running off to the Fretboard Journal site, look around here. We have pictures and information including all of the specs on the 000 Perry Bechtel Special. We are adding new content daily so keep checking back!
Update: They're here!
We now have a few of the 000 Perry Bechtel Specials here at Gryphon Stringed Instruments for your inspection and purchase. A few of these have already been sold to some smart folk who know how special these guitars are, so don't wait too long.
New Stuff
Check out the Extras page. We now have an mp3 of Perry playing and some of the original corrispondence about the guitar online! |