In the late 90's I emailed Frank Ford about a Harmony archtop I had. I wasn't counting on hearing back because I was and am a nobody. The same day he emailed me back with detailed information about how to fix the instrument. Great guy.

Sorry to hear about Frank Ford Passing away. About a year ago he did some work on my 53 year old Martin D28.

...for some reason I have this scent of rich mahogany in my head

Frank Ford. RIP.

Ah, 18 minutes of peace before I go deal with extended family having too much to drink. Merry Christmas all! RIP Frank.

Wow....just about 6 weeks ago I was down at Gryphon and met him when I had some work being done on a guitar I recently picked up. RIP Frank, you made huge contributions to the guitar community. You'll be sorely missed.

There’s something great about all mahogany guitars. Such charm. Love em! R.I.P Frank.

Merry Christmas to all.

Billy Dee Williams and Diana Ross love this guitar.

RIP Frank. My wife and I got heavily into ukes in the early 2000s and we used to love reading Frank's forum.

Nothing more relaxing than watching Ted work on a guitar.

God bless Frank Ford!! I bought an 1895 Washburn steel string parlor guitar from him ~ 1995. The neck had been irreparable but Frank eventually found a substitute neck from a classical guitar and seamlessly put it on. Or visa versa, I forget, maybe it was the Washburn body that had fan bracing. He fixed it, put light strings on it and I'd loved it for 20 years before selling it through famous Stan of Mandolin Bros.. Peace be with you Frank.

RIP Frank Ford - people sharing information for the sake of sharing information are the backbone of the internet. Thank you also, Ted, for doing what you do.

RIP to Frank Ford. Merry Christmas, Ted, and everyone who watches. All the best.

i learned to play on my dads 015 almost 60 yrs ago. now i have about 30 guitars ( including the martin) and its still the most important guitar in th world to me. easy to play and the most cherished tone. when i smell th mahogony, it takes me back to him and the hours and hours of him playing and singing

Merry Xmas, everybody!

Rest well, Frank. Best wishes for all of you there, Ted.

I appreciate the calmness you have when doing these repairs as it shows a skill level that only comes with experience. This is as good as it gets content wise.

I have a 1941 O-15 and I love it...the sound and the feel are epic. This guitar has been in my family since new....Uncle to my father and ultimately to me. It has been refretted, has a later generation of Martin tuners and a headstock repair but remains a lovely instrument.

RIP Mr Ford. Condolences to his family and friends.

Thanx Mr. Ted and marry xmas. While attending vocational school married with family living on side jobs and $410.00 V.A. school check used to visit a small music shop fell in love with a all mahogany acoustic made in Australia 🇦🇺 called a Watson or Walton...it had a voice better than my old beater J-45. Sadly never considered a purchase...it sold before the funds could materialize from holiday gift checks. Thanx for the memory recall. Circa 1974 -75. 4:24

sorry to hear of the sad passing of your friend

Happy holidays everyone!

Frank was a wealth of knowledge. I talked with him often when I'd bring my gutar to Gryphon Stringed Instruments. What a real loss to the guitar community. RIP Frank!

I'm no Martin expert but the little Martin Marty Robbins played was definitely smaller than an O-15

It's like watching a dear friend go into a hospital sick. You are worried and then you meet the nice, obviously skilled doctor with impecible bedside mannor. You suddenly feel encouraged and the doctor works his magic and the friend comes out well and happy. The guitars you work on are in very skilled and careful hands. Have a Merry Christmas Ted...... We get the gift of watching true craftsmanship.

R.i.p. Frank. took a refret workshop from him 20 years back. been to his shop. amazing place and interesting cat. big loss.

Yeah!

I’m sorry for the loss of your friend and Mentor. Memory Eternal Frank Ford, I’m sure many Guitar enthusiasts are welcoming you at Heaven’s Gate and praising your Luthier Skills and all the Guitars you have saved and restored.

My early Xmas gift

Another great repair. Never gets old for me.

In 1998-99, we had a terrible storm come through east Mesa, AZ. and hail took out a window in my bedroom. My 1964 Vox Lynx was sitting there and got water logged. I immediately gutted the electronics and dried it out in a aquarium i built in my glass shop. Then came the panic, the nitro started to craze like mad. I called 2 luthiers I knew in the Phoenix area and got Frank Fords information from both of them. I figured if he's that respected by them, he's way too good for me. He was the most professional, kind man I've met in the trade ! He taught me how to stop the cracking in 15 minutes, and how to correct the worst of it for the future. Since he took no money, I felt guilty. So I asked him if he could finish an ES-175 basket-case I recently bought and he agreed. It took 8 months (I told him it wasn't an emergency) and what I got back was THE BAR I set for all other hollow/semi-hollow restoration projects over the years... and he didn't Jesse James my wallet at all. He wasn't a personal friend, but the care he took endeared him to me forever. He went on to do 4 other restorations for myself and a friend.I never failed to forward his information to dozens of others in need of delicate repairs. I'll be sending a prayer this Christmas to him, and wish a Merry Christmas to all he endeared himself to over the years. God Bless.

Such a beautiful warm tone from that old Martin. I've always liked mahogany top, back and sides just because of their nice warm tone.

I believe I met Frank just a few weeks ago, I went to Gryphon for some old style parts for a banjo project. He was a lovely man who told me to take the handful of small parts with his blessing "nobody else wants them"

Thank you for all that you have brought to us throughout the year. Best wishes for the holidays.

Love your videos! Thanks man!

I want to thank you very much for your videos. You are very informative in your videos. I have learned so much from you. I watch your videos every week. And I watch and listen very carefully to everything you say. Maybe one day when I decided to build my own guitar I will remember everything that you taught me. So thank you very much.

0-15 is my absolut favourite guitar of all time, but I couldn’t afford one, so I build one. Never played an actual Martin but I tell my self that I got away with it okay.

This thing requires a strap made of nothing less than fine Corinthian leather.

Sounds amazing! Great job! Wow, I want one. Mahogany is the most under rated tone wood ever.

Thanks, Ted. Merry Christmas!🎄

I’m so sorry for your loss, Ted. Sending warmth and good vibes!

Thanks Ted. Happy holidays to you and yours as well.

Merry Christmas, Ted! My condolences on the passing of your colleague. I saved your video to be watched on Christmas evening because they are always a calming experience.

Thanks for posting, and merry Christmas to you, Ted!

I'm sorry to hear of Frank's passing. Happy holidays, Ted, I really enjoy your channel. thanks for taking the time .

Sorry for your loss but also Merry Christmas to all of you at Woodford Instruments.

Beautiful guitar! Love the mahogany look and sound !

Merry Christmas mate!

This righteous content you share is truly therapeutic in these uncertain times, your processes and respect for your craft makes us forget the above mentioned uncertain times....😂🙏Thanks

Who is rich mahogany and why does he smell

Thanks for sharing your memories of Frank and for sharing your experiences with us Ted. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🥳

You explain the sound and the string response perfectly. You put the sound into words. I had an all mahogany Martin and I used to explain it like it had a built-in compressor

Didn't expect a video this close to Christmas, pleasant surprise. Thank you Ted, and Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Ted and all other viewers. Thank you for all your quality work and dry sense of humour! Best channel on KZfaq. Love from Scotland 👍

Thank you so much for your videos!

Thanks Ted. Merry Christmas to you and yours

Something about those Mahogany bodies just attracts me so much. And I love that you share the mistakes you make with us, too, though I'm sorry about the extra work it's gonna cost you. Happy Christmas.

Condolences for the loss of your friend, Frank Ford. I have an all-mahogany 00 - 12 fret - slot head that I'm quite fond of. As you say, it has a very even response between the strings and registers. Happy Holidays to you and yours, Ted!

Please accept my deepest condolences for the loss of your friend and mentor. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Long may you continue repairing and improving instruments. Thank you for all you do.

Beautiful guitar!

Happy Christmas to you and ALL on this channel.May all of your 2024 be filled with sweet music. Doc BC

I would have never expected a video on Christmas weekend. Awesome of course and a joy to watch, as always. Wish you a merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas. Thanks for all of your fine videos. Here’s wishing you a great new year of many more!

Thanks for the great Christmas present of this video Ted. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas Ted and thank you for all the fabulous videos. Take care and Keep safe.

Excellent job! You always do it right and i love it

Rest In Peace Frank 🙏 Wonderful video and the guitar sounds awesome!

RIP Frank! Btw I got the tshirt delivered. It came from Poland even though I am in the US. Anyway the main goal was to show support so I really do hope you can get your money from them. Thanks for the videos. Happy Holidays to all of you!

Waking up to this first thing on Christmas day morning, what a treat. So sad to hear about the passing of Frank Ford, he was such an innovator, and influenced virtually everyone in guitar repair. Thank you Ted, for a year of exceptional content, hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Christmas.🎄

Happy Holidays! Thanks for another year of great content!

Always such a pleasure seeing your work. Thanks so much for sharing, best wishes for the new year.

Thanks for another year’s worth of stellar repair work and videos. I look forward to many more in the new year. Merry Christmas Ted,to you and all your loved ones. All the best.

I Love the Love that You Give to these Harmony Models! I remember a three-parter on another one with no binding and it was inspiringly impressive. So I know you are gonna fix the bridge saddles. Happy XMas and Boxers or whatnot.

I really appreciate your work, and the tremendous amount of technical knowledge you share. Thank you!!

Happy holidays Ted! Thanks for all the great videos and instructions! Here's to another year full of great content from the website most beloved luthier!! Cheers

Merry Christmas Ted, thank you for the great Content and all the Best from Germany!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you, Ted.

Thanks Ted. Another great video. Even though you have done these types of things before, there is always a new wrinkle to work through. Great education for the rest of us.

Beautiful sound.

I love mahogany guitars. I have an 80's Alvrarez Yairi that has a wonderfully warm tone. As usual Ted, your work is outstanding.

"From all of me at Woodford Instruments"!!! 🤣 Happy Christmas Ted, RIP Frank.

Thank you as always much appreciated

Beautiful and warm sounding guitar. It's not an all the time sound for me, but do like the boxiness that the smaller bodied guitars have.

Happy holidays, Ted. Thanks for the continually excellent content.

RIP Mr. Ford. His good work has touched and influence many, many people.

Saved this for Xmas morning watching.. I would like to wish you a very happy Xmas. Thank you for all the wonderful output this year. You really to add to my life in a very positive way. 🙂

Great vid as always, RIP Frank Ford.

Happy Christmas or holiday or whatever Boss. I have never so much as touched a guitar but have not missed an episode. I like to learn, and you teach.

Great job as always !! Sounds nice !!

I just had one of these in the shop for a neck reset, a 1962 model...beautiful little guitar!

Thank you Fred and Merry Christmas 🎅👍🎸

Thanks for a great year In guitar repair instruction! Best of luck in 2024.

Happy Xmas and a peaceful New Year from a wet England. Thank you for all these video's, so much to look forward to see in each task.

People that weren't lucky enough to know Mr. Frank Ford personally, had at least heard of him. He will be sadly missed. On another note, I just want to tell you again how much I enjoy your videos and content. Take care, and Merry Christmas!

Superb work as always Ted. A very merry Christmas to you and yours from here in the UK. Thank you for your content, I look forward to it every time.

Merry Christmas mr. Woodford. Nice video as usual. 👍

I'm fortunate to own a number of guitars and my favorite is my 1958 00-17. It still has that sweet scent of mahogany.

Merry Christmas Ted, to you and yours, and thanks for another great year of great videos, and common sense………

RIP Frank! He very kindly gave me a thorough tour of his shop at Gryphon Strings when I was starting to make guitars. Very generous man! While I would never ask you to police anybody, there are a couple of us I think who would be interested in your take on Ben Crowe’s recent neck reset on a rare old Gretsch. Looked like a sturdy job, but a few of us thought he went overboard and may have made future resets more difficult. Merry Christmas! Looking forward to another year of learning from you!