Nope, this ain't the score of a high school football game, or even the ages on a rural marriage license, but it's more amazing (to me) than either.

Mudcatter "Shug" (posts under "Dizzie" for some reason) lent me a video of the 1994 Fiddler's Convention at Union Grove. Wonderful music...Old time...Bluegrass...Gospel, etc. After watching for about twenty minutes I thought, "boy, almost everyone's playing Martin D-28s or D-18s". Then, just out of curiosity, I thought I'd rewind it and start from the beginning, counting guitar brands. Should I have been surprised that the final tally was:

Martin...58

Gibson...2.!

Taylor...1

Gallagher...1

unidentified (Martin copies?)...4

unidentified (others) 3 (or 4)

Not the same with banjos. Some Mastertones, some Vegas, many unidentifiable (by me)

I know very well the "Martin mystique" that goes with country music, but I was truly amazed at just HOW pervasive it is. From 6 year olds to 90 year olds, it appears to be the axe of choice. Peter T asked how folks were able to afford them (I suspect very few of the participants are even close to wealthy). All I can think of is that it's a case of "priority".

After pondering on this surprising ratio (you're right, I DO need to get a life!) it occured to me that perhaps the most amazing part was that I didn't identify ONE Yamaha.(the world's most popular guitar)

Rick