John Frusciante’s Martin D-18

John was seen with a Martin D-18 guitar circa 1991 in a photograph taken by Karen Miller (we’re working on displaying the photo here for you to see).

While it initially seemed that this might be the same guitar John played during a Dutch television interview in September 1991, closer inspection reveals it’s a Martin D-18, not a D-28. The key detail is the lack of binding on the body, which is a distinguishing feature of the D-18. (For more about John Martin’s D-28, check out John Frusciante’s Martin D-28).

The Guitar at The Mansion

Based on visual clues and some educated guesswork, it’s likely that this was John’s main acoustic guitar during the Blood Sugar Sex Magik era. The same guitar appears in his bedroom at The Mansion during the recording sessions, as seen in the Funky Monks documentary. Given that this is the only non-12-string acoustic guitar seen in the footage, it’s possible John used it for the track “I Could Have Lied.”

The Mismatched Bridge Pin

An interesting detail supporting this theory comes from Karen Miller’s photo. In the image, the bridge pin for the G string is white, while all the others are black. This detail becomes intriguing when paired with John’s comment about the recording of “I Could Have Lied.”

Then there was the acoustic guitar on the song “I Could Have Lied.” I was playing it from my bedroom, which is where I played all the acoustic guitars and… yeah, so like the G string was missing on that. I was missing strings on a lot of songs.

Guitar World, November 1991

This suggests that John may have misplaced the original black bridge pin for the G string, didn’t have the string for a while, and eventually replaced the pin with a white one. If Karen Miller’s photo was taken after the Blood Sugar Sex Magik sessions, this could confirm that the D-18 was the guitar used on “I Could Have Lied.” However, without knowing the exact timing of the photo, this detail might just be a coincidence.