Tony Rice, RIP

[Westerly Wood]

@Rambozo96, Tony Rice's guitar that he got from Clarence White was actually a Martin D-28, that somewhere along the line had its sound hole enlarged...not known whether that was because it was so scored up from playing or whether an attempt to enhance its sound.

the repair was done as the sound hole on the D28 was all messed up. it was not done to enhance the sound, and from my own experience enlarging the sound hole of a D35 I once owned, it does not really enhance the sound at all. i mean i prefer the larger sound hole look for sure, but it did not really change a whole lot, mostly aesthetic. what i heard is Clarence's dad bought Clarence the D28 from another player who had just beat it to hell and they fixed it by cutting away the busted up wood. lol

my guess it was a total hack job and mostly done as the only other option was to leave it as is. now you can purchase dreads with this look as standard ROFL

 

[Bill Ashton]

Tim Stafford (guitarist for Blue Highway and also holder of a PhD in History) and Caroline Wright authored Still Inside, The Tony Rice Story in 2010. Starting on Page 246, is a ten-page account by Tony Rice himself regarding the history of the guitar, as he knew it. Following that is a nine page account from a number of "Family, Friends and Fans" of Tony's as to their take on the guitar's story.

Quick summary (from this book) is that "The Antique" was purchased by Tony from a friend of Clarence White's (after his passing), whom he had left the guitar with as collateral for a loan. White had previously purchased the guitar used from a music store in LA, who had received it in trade from a handicapped young lady, exchanging it for a new Martin. The enlarged soundhole work had been done by the young lady's father, due to damage. The guitar is a 1935 Martin D-28 Herringbone.

Seems each time the guitar changed hands it needed extensive repair/rebuilding, including several times while Tony Rice was playing it. It actually has the neck of an OM (originally) and a Gretsch fingerboard.

Stafford quotes Tony as saying "I don't know what will happen to it after I am gone. I don't have a written will, but I've told my lawyer what I'd like to see happen, in the event of my death, is for the guitar to go to Billy Wolf. Billy would know who the next logical owner should be. Probably Wyatt, but I don't know." (Billy Wolf is an engineer on many of Tony's records, one of his closest friends, and his accountant)

 

[Rayk]

Didn’t he widen the sound hole on his guitar/guitars ? It by popped into my head as going over the thread and watched the vid above .

 

[Bill Ashton]

Read my thread above this...

 

[ruedi]

Larkin Poe just came out with this beautiful cover of "Church Street Blues" to honor Tony Rice.