Naturally, Lutz, it's just my personal dislike (the LD model) - what struck me as a youngster when I first saw a Martin was its understated appearance. Martin have alays made more-ornate models for those that want it (the 41s and 45s, for example); Lonnie was known for the '21' and '28' series, so I was surprised that he asked Martins to embellish the LD to such an extent.

Again, this is only my feeling - others will disagree. My friend in England (he founded 'Hank's Guitars' on Denmark Street in the West End) was horrified when he first saw the LD - he 'phoned me to say, "It looks like a Christmas tree!!!!!".....

I'm sorry - I know almost nothing about his banjos. He played a Vega many years ago, and a recent picture showed a Gibson Mastertone. He really only played guitar-chords on banjo, choosing to tune it to the top four strings of a standard guitar tuning. He did have a terrific right-hand technique, though, even if he never learned the banjo's tuning.

RR