Great Acoustics: Earl Scruggs’ Iconic 1955 Martin D-18

Though Earl Scruggs revolutionized the banjo and became its most influential and recognizable player, he was also an exceptional fingerstyle guitarist. With his longtime partner Lester Flatt, Scruggs often reached for this 1955 Martin D-18, which he used from the late 1950s onward, typically capoed high up the neck, and kept until his death in 2012.

Scruggs bought the guitar from country star Don Gibson in 1957 (some sources say 1958). Before then, Gibson had asked steel guitarist and luthier Shot Jackson to modify it—adding an expansive double pickguard, thinning the neck, and installing an adjustable truss rod with a headstock cover. Thanks to Scruggs’ frequent appearances on Grand Ole Opry television shows, including the Pet Milk and Martha White programs, this distinctive D-18 was widely documented throughout the late ’50s and ’60s.

Years of heavy use meant the guitar saw plenty of repair work over time, including multiple fret jobs and a refinish in the early ’80s that left it with a smaller pickguard. “It was in physically good condition, but the sound wasn’t coming through,” says James Kee, guitarist with the bluegrass band East Nash Grass, who purchased the instrument from the Scruggs estate.

“When I played it where Scruggs did a lot of his high capo stuff—the seventh, eighth, and ninth frets—it had a special voice that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck,” says Kee. Still, he knew it needed more attention to be fully playable. He turned to luthier Hugh Hansen for a thoughtful restoration that returned the guitar to its ’50s and ’60s heyday, while preserving its history and Scruggs’ hand-carved signature on the back of the headstock.

Hansen completed the year-long restoration in spring 2025, just in time for Kee to fulfill his dream of playing the Scruggs D-18 onstage at the Ryman last July. “This guitar is one of one, and since Earl was such a big influence on me, I wanted to have a role in its life,” Kee says. “We’re just caretakers of these instruments, and they will be here after us.”

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2026 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.