By Jim Downey

I’m 62 now. I bought my first guitar (a Goya nylon string) as a knee jerk reaction to seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. And I mean seeing them! I was in the audience for that history making show. Remember when you first started playing? The pain, the seemingly impossible barred F chord and the millions of dissonant choices that eventually fell away as we fell in love with the guitar. Today, I can say that I appreciate the guitar just as much as when the romance was new. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to own some pretty great instruments. Examples by Dana Bourgeois, Richard Hoover (Santa Cruz) and Bill Collings were each stars in their own little universes. Oddly, I found myself dismissing Martin as a true contender. Sure, a pre-war D28 will certainly humiliate any banjo in its path and once you get up into the more deluxe models, a new Martin will still hold its own against most contenders. I guess, ashamedly, I’d become a guitar snob.

Continue reading “Lifelong Guitar Guy Encounters Milestone.” »

If you are reading this post, you have discovered what we hope is a wonderful and welcome new experience in Wildwood Music’s continued presence on the Internet! This is the first overall change in our Web image since 1995, and we thought it might be appropriate to do some “updating.”

We have had many kind offers from several multi-talented customers—all experts in the field of Web Design; their suggestions were generous, and are much-appreciated! Our accepting of Ted and Paula, and TH Design, was a product of Fate: Marty and I were ready to change our Website, and Ted and Paula–who happened to have wonderful expertise in Web Design—came to visit Wildwood at that precise moment!

Continue reading “Welcome to the New Face of Wildwood!” »