Lead Guitarist of the Ventures Gerry McGee's Martin 000-28

1995 Martin 000-28 (14 fret to body)

This 15 inch-wide, 4 1/8 inch-deep auditorium-style guitar weighs just 4.60 lbs. East Indian rosewood back and sides with a scalloped 'X' braced, Sitka spruce top. Five-ply black & white binding on the top, three-ply black & white binding on the back. Mahogany neck with a nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches, a scale length of 25 inches and a very comfortable medium profile. Headstock with gold "C F Martin & Co./Est. 1833" decal. Individual Martin 'Grover Rotomatic' tuners with half-moon shaped metal buttons. Ebony fretboard with 20 original medium frets and with pearl dot markers and small white dot side-position markers. Three sound-hole rings in five-nine-five grouping. White bone bridge on ebony base with black pins with white dots. The model and serial number are stamped in blind on the end of the neck-block "000-28 / 55246". This is a truly wonderful example of a twenty-seven year old Martin. There is just some very minor fret-wear on the first three frets - the fretboard shows no sign of wear whatsoever. A near mint, one owner guitar in (9.25++) condition. Complete with the original twenty-page "The Care and Feeding of your Martin Guitar" booklet. Housed in the original Martin three latch shaped black hardshell case with green plush lining (9.25). This guitar has been professionally fitted (most likely for Gerry McGee) with a Fishman style 'active' under bridge pickup with an output of 9.20k, the jack input in place of the end-pin. A truly amazing sounding guitar both when used acoustically or plugged in to an amplifier.

"Martin's 000-28 acoustic guitar shares the same impeccable appointments as its Style 28 big siblings, but that's where the family resemblance ends. While a dreadnought is great for flat-picking, the smaller and exceedingly comfortable 000-28 is built for finger-picking and layering, producing a clear, balanced tone that's ideal for live performance and in the studio. Studio guitarists have long used Martin 000 guitars to add depth and dimension to a track, and the 000-28 delivers a remarkably rich, lively tone that sits beautifully in a mix. The Martin 000-28 is handcrafted true to Martin tradition, featuring a solid Sitka spruce top, with sides and back of stunning East Indian rosewood. Martin's sleek, modified low oval neck with high-performance taper offers silky playability up and down the Plek'd-to-perfection ebony fretboard."

This guitar belonged to Ventures lead guitarist Gerry McGee and was sold to Norman's Rare Guitars and then purchased by the last owner sometime around 2000.

Gerry McGee (1937-2019). Gerry joined The Ventures in 1968, stepping into the as guitarist after founding member Nokie Edwards left the group. During his tenure with the band, he recorded three of their biggest hits in Japan, including “Ame No Midosuji”, “Kyoto No Koi” and “Kyoto Bojo.” Gerry was also a famous session man who recorded with Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Linda Ronstadt and many, many others.

An informative article on Jerry McGee in the April 1997 issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine, can be seen at:
https://www.vintageguitar.com/2805/gerry-mcgee/