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So...I'm sitting at my pc last Monday and the phone rings.

Me: Hello.
Voice: Is this Hank Mauel?
Me: Yes.
Voice: My name is Elvin Rainwater and I have one of your guitars.
Me: (Knowing he's not an original customer) Which one?
Elvin: #499.
Me: That's the 4th guitar completed in 1999. How did you come upon it?

The story unfolds. Elvin bought it at a (cringe) Guitar Center in St Louis, MO in 2002. It was traded in by a young man for an electric. Elvin says it was the best sounding guitar in the place (against Martin, Taylors, et al...but what would you expect??? )
Elvin continues...he's visiting/wintering in Phoenix AZ and wants to drive up to meet me, see my shop and reunite me with one of my instruments. He says how about Thursday. Fine by me.

Fast forward to 3 hours ago. Elvin arrives and sure enough has the nearly mint Dreadnought from 1999. Digging in my records I find the original owner bought it from Klein's Music in Sonoma. I had retrofitted it with the snowflake inlays and sent it on to St. Louis in 1999. Said buyer likes it so much he commissions me to build him a custom Grand OM (now called my McCloud model). After he receives that guitar in 2000, he gives the dred to his son, who plays in a band. So...guess who traded it in for an electric???
Anyway, Elvin is close behind looking for a guitar to add to his collection. Horror of horror's, he has a 1944 D-18 he wants to trade. Does the trade for 2 other instruments (not mine), goes home, can't sleep that night, returns to invoke the 30 day satisfaction clause at Guitar Center, reclaims his D-18 (thank God!) and buys my dred outright.

So, we talk for a couple hours and he has just departed.

The guitar looks and SOUNDS great. The are only a couple little dings on the binding and the usual scratches on the clear pickguard.
Here are a couple pics of the sweetheart.


The snowflake inlay

This also responds to the old posting about showing your label.


Proud owner!

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Hank Mauel

WOW, Great story and very nice guitar Hank, Elvin sure made your day brighter, what a nice way to reunite with one of your "kids"!

Yes, Serge...and to know the kid is behaving and making something of him/her self!
Just proves the old adage amoung luthiers that the second owner is USUALLY where the guitar belonged in the first place. Hank Mauel39093.9237152778

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Hank Mauel

Great story
I love when the kids come home for a visit

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Hank, Very touching story. Thank you for sharing it with us. What a beaut....

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Great story Hank!

OH! and what a sweet looking dread!

LanceK39093.9375925926

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Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Hank, what a great story!!
Nice guitar....

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Hank,
That's a sweet guitar. Are those nickel Grovers on there?
They look perfect for a h'bone dread.

Great that your "kid" is behaving himself.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Guitars definately have their own lives and it's good to find out how and where they are doing. There are several of my earlier guitars that I am curious about but have no idea where they might be now, having built them for people that I used to know but have lost track of.
That's a cool story Hank.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Yes...nickel Grover Rotomatics. Seemed like the right thing to do, at the time.

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Hank Mauel

Isn't it great to play one of your own after its been gone for a few years?? I get to do that on occasion and its perhaps the most inspiring thing I know of. Congrats Hank.

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Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

Just another bit of trivia. The photos of the top DO NOT do it justice. The golden hue is just TASTY and the silking glows when moved around under light. The top was from an old old supply I bought from WoodMarine in Alaska. They were old log pond finds that had sunk and been under water for Lord knows how long. Several even had the toredo worm holes along the outer edges. (toredo worms eat/bore into dock pilings) The boards were the most stable wood I EVER worked. You could lay out a top set on your bench, leave it for any length of time and return to find it dead flat! Still have a couple sets and now, after hearing/seeing the results of 7 years playing, I'm going to build one for myself....someday.

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Hank Mauel

That is a very nice story Hank!It must be a great feeling when one comes home like that.It sure is a beautiful guitar and that topwood sounds like some fantastic wood you have there!Yeah,there you go- build one for yourself!! I would!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

That had to be gratifying. It's about the best unsolicited review that any luthier could get. Just goes to show that you definetely should be making guitars! How's that going, BTW? Got a whole foot back in the water yet?

Way to go Hank...great story. BTW...were you able to characterize it's sound now compared to when it was born?

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Fantastic story Hank . The guitar ain't too shabby either.   Great work obviously . Nice to get such good feedback seven years down the track .

Cheers

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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Great story Hank, and nice to see that the Kid is being well looked after and cherished.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Coolness.... Hank that was a great story.
No, it was an awesome story.
Except the part about the kid trading in that gorgeous axe.

What was he thinkin'?!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Great story Hank! I'll bet it makes you proud to see that "kid" after all those years. Wish there were kids around here dumb enough to trade in a Mauel at the GC. I'd just hang around and buy them all up.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Brought a tear to my eye

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

[QUOTE=CarltonM] That had to be gratifying. It's about the best unsolicited review that any luthier could get. Just goes to show that you definetely should be making guitars! How's that going, BTW? Got a whole foot back in the water yet? [/QUOTE]

Carlton...just got finished an entire physical last Wednesday, and at this age, you KNOW what I get to experience!
Everything seems to be fine but just a tick below the normal level for hemoglobin. So, a little iron supplement.
Anyhow, I hope to get back in the shop a day a week and see how it goes. And I still have to back out of my current "employment"...because it sucks up too much luthiery time! But the goal is back in the shop fulltime by summer and go to Healdsburg in August.

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Hank Mauel

[QUOTE=JJ Donohue] Way to go Hank...great story. BTW...were you able to characterize it's sound now compared to when it was born?[/QUOTE]

JJ...it seems fuller and the bass has matured. It has a nice sustain, probably too much for a heavy duty flatpicker, but very complimentary to the overall sound and volume. The trebles up the neck ring true and clear, without loss of oomph often found in dreds. The owner says a couple of his playing buddies who own more recent Martins are always grabbing it when he puts it down, and one (aged 78) wants him (age 71) to "will" it to him! How's that for unbridled optimism?

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Hank Mauel

Great Story Hank.............
You must be sniff... very proud!
Cheers
Charliewood

[QUOTE=Hank Mauel] the goal is back in the shop fulltime by summer and go to Healdsburg in August.[/QUOTE]
Excellent! I hope all goes well for you.