1990 Wayne Henderson O00-42 Custom guitar #107
Ultimate sound & playability, a “dream-some-true” guitar!
A truly extraordinary guitar made by Wayne Henderson of Rugby, Virginia, expressly for Bluegrass/Old Time music legend Alice Gerrard. The most remarkable of the many unique features of this guitar is that the back of sides were made from old-growth Quarter-sawn Brazilian Rosewood harvested from the bar in Truman Capote’s yacht! The guitar was commissioned in 1982, finished in January of 1990 and can be heard on many recordings by Ms. Gerrard.
The design of the Henderson #107 was based on the 1934 C. F. Martin model 000-42, with many of those specifications elaborated. Features and appointments of this guitar include Adirondack spruce top; Mahogany neck; Brazilian Rosewood back, sides and overlay on peghead; abalone floral motif peghead inlay with engraved Henderson logo; “W. C. Henderson, Rugby Virginia” stamped on back of peghead; fourteen frets clear the body; position markers consisting of slotted diamonds and snowflakes; top border, fingerboard extension and sound hole rosette consisting of abalone and black-white binding; zig-zag back stripe; scalloped bracing, Gold-plated Rotomatic tuners; and as was the case on a few of the 1934 000s Martins, this guitar also features the longer OM scale. As mentioned above, the quarter-sawn, old growth Brazilian Rosewood used to make this guitar was sourced from the bar of Truman Capote’s yacht and a letter signed by Wayne Henderson dated May 15, 2013, details the marvelous story of the procurement of the rosewood.
Wayne Henderson began building guitars in the 1960s, inspired by the great sound of the Martin guitar Estil C. Ball. After working briefly with legendary luthier Randy Wood at GTR in Nashville, Tennessee, he set up a shop near his home in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Over the years, the quality of his guitars drew great attention in the Southeast, and as his legend grew, and he became sought after by musicians from all over the world. He has built guitars (and mandolins) for many artists of note, including Doc Watson, Vince Gill and Eric Clapton.
Since this guitar has seen constant use in the last 30-plus years, we asked world-class restoration expert Hugh Hansen of Nashville, Tennesse, to go over the guitar to optimize sound and playability. The result is a magnificent sound and effortless playabilty. (We are happy to provide detail assessment and photographs of the work performed).
We now offer the legendary Henderson/Gerrard/Capote 000-42 for sale, and will include George Gruhn appraisal, original Calgary Calton case #5639 custom made for this guitar upon delivery to Ms. Gerrard, and a document of authenticy from Wayne Henderson. Please inquire for price and terms.
Ready for this? A dream guitar for collector and player! Please inquire for price and terms:
Contact us by email: mandolincentral@gmail.com