In the 19th century, with the construction of railroads across the Americas, the western frontier began to change dramatically.
Steam locomotives running at a tremendous speed, billowing smoke, symbolized that era.
Only the privileged people of the time were allowed to ride on them.
The mail car of this train was loaded with huge amounts of gold coins,
Brave and wild train robbers chased after it, taking a chance of a lifetime.
The epic drama that unfolded between them was later recreated in numerous Hollywood movies.

The D-28 "Train" guitar encapsulates that adventure and romance.

This guitar was inherited from a guitar collector on the West Coast of the United States, along with its history and feelings.
The West Coast of the United States is a city of dreams that has nurtured countless stories up to the present day, including "Hollywood," known as the sacred land of movies. The scenery of blue skies and endless sunshine is more than just urban landscapes. Recently, San Francisco has been chosen as the host city of the next Olympics, and as reported in the daily sports news, Otani has been playing baseball in San Francisco, making it a familiar place.

The first thing to note is the fingerboard. A six-car steam locomotive runs powerfully from the neck end to the head tip. Beside it, a robber holds a pistol and threatens passengers, a figure with a bag of gold coins, and a gentleman and a lady with their hands raised are reproduced with superb inlay work using Avalon pearl and stone.

one of the finest inlay artists in the world of musical instruments, began building acoustic guitars in 1972, and in 1975 he built a solid-body guitar for Rick Turner of Alembic Guitars. He learned the basics of inlay from Turner in order to cover up the scars caused by his failure to drill holes in the body, which led to his subsequent exploration of the art of inlay.

Robinson went on to hone his craft through countless inlays, and by the mid-1980s, he was known as a master craftsman, "the man to ask if you want great inlays on your instrument.
He has worked with virtually every major guitar maker in America, including Martin, Gibson, Fender, Santa Cruz Guitar Company, National Resophonic, Kevin Ryan, James Olson, Lance McCallum, and Kathy Wingert, as well as hundreds of private clients. We also take orders from

In 1994, he published his famous book, THE ART of INLAY. In this book, he reveals some of the secrets of his technique. When I was learning how to do inlay, other artists were very kind in giving me advice. So I thought this book would be a way to pass on some of that advice to future generations," he says. The book is now one of the bibles for luthiers, as it contains not only photos of the work he has done, but also tools and materials.
The book was revised in 1999 and 2005. (The photo shows the 2005 revised edition.)

In early 2002, 30 years after building his first guitar, Robinson received a phone call in his Northern California workshop from Dick Volk, head of special projects for CF Martin & Co. Robinson explains, "He told me that he was going to build his one millionth guitar soon and that he thought CF Martin IV, the company founder's great-grandson, should do something fitting to commemorate this milestone." "I had built two very ornate guitars for Martin, a D-45 China Dragon and a D-45 Peacock, and Dick said they were looking for something that would surpass them in decoration and condense the company's 171-year history. I was very honored that they chose me for such an important project."

And so the so-called #1,000,000 was completed.
He has since been responsible for the #1,500,000, #2,000,000, and other Top of the Acoustic milestones.
Incidentally, the D-200 DELUXE, made to commemorate the #2,000,000 milestone, sold for nearly 20 million yen.

His sensitive and daring approach to the guitar brings this guitar to life with a vivid story.

The pickguard and binding also make this guitar special. Sterling silver is used for the material and is finely and elaborately engraved.

Sterling silver is a high-quality silver material used for fine jewelry and accessories. It is 92.5% pure and has an elegant luster. The decoration, which extends not only around the perimeter of the body but also to the back stripe and both sides of the neck, is the ultimate in luxury. The ageing of the guitar has given it an even deeper shine.

This guitar was made by Greg Rich, who used to run the Rich & Taylor custom guitar workshop, and his craftsmanship shines through everywhere. He is an indispensable figure in the history of Gibson banjos, and his tenure at Gibson has been dubbed the "Greg Rich Era," and has captured the hearts and minds of many banjo aficionados.

Banjo making techniques have advanced so much, especially during the heyday of mainstream instruments in the 1920s and 1930s, that it is rare for a modern banjo maker to be able to not only match, but surpass, both techniques.
Greg Rich is one such figure who, through a lifetime series of work, has captured and distilled the spirit of the banjo's vibrant past into a modern banjo work of art, carrying on the construction and decorative standards of respected makers of the past.

While in Newport Beach, California, Greg Rich was intrigued by the exciting instrument he heard in the movie Bonnie and Clyde. After learning about vintage banjos from a collector named Randy "Snotty" Gregg, he took architecture classes, metal carving, wood carving, and custom painting in San Diego and taught himself the essentials of all these skills under Randy's guidance.

He then moved into Snotty's workshop and began building custom built banjos and doing custom repairs. Soon after he began his custom repair business, his reputation spread throughout Southern California. His expert skills and mindset of making things look as original and old as possible caught the eye of noted collector and musician Mac Yasuda, who took on the responsibility of repairing and restoring Tsumura's legendary collection of banjos.

With the resurgence of bluegrass music in the mid-1980s, Gibson wanted to restore its banjo line, which had fallen into a slump, to its former glory. The white feather in Gibson's cap was Greg Rich, and under Rich's leadership and abundant creative spirit, who was empowered to handpick a staff from the company's finest string instrument makers, a new banjo division was launched, and the brilliant Gibson banjos were produced during his tenure, regarded with the same admiration and respect as the company's master models of the 1920s and '30s, and many more unique art guitars and banjos are personally appreciated.

Guitars created by Greg Rich have found their way into the collections of the world's leading instrument enthusiasts, as well as stars such as Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Garth Brooks. In 2021, he was inducted into the American Banjo Museum Hall Of Fame.

Moreover, there is an anecdote that this train robbery special was scheduled to be given to "Clint Eastwood," a master of the film industry who has won the Oscar as a director and actor a total of four times. This is a symbol of western movies and a music fan, and it is a piece that truly possesses the "soul of western movies".

This guitar is truly a museum-quality acoustic guitar that conveys a timeless romance to the present.
Touch it and the winds of the western frontier land will blow into your heart.

This guitar is also featured on the top page of Shinko Music Mook/Martin GUITAR BOOK 2.