C. F. Martin 0-18 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1926)

C. F. Martin  0-18 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar  (1926)
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Item # 10188
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C. F. Martin 0-18 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1926), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 27225, natural lacquer finish, Adirondack spruce top, Honduras mahogany sides and neck, ebony fingerboard and bridge, black tolex hard shell case.

This is a beautiful and overall nicely preserved 0-18 from mid/late 1926, from the golden era of these original 12-fret "old style" standard Martins. In 1926 the 0-18 had only just settled into its specifications as a steel-string guitar, which was still a fairly new idea at Martin. This model has slightly beefed-up bracing compared to its early 1920s gut-strung ancestors, but by modern standards the scalloped X pattern remains extremely delicate.

The Style 18 had begun to be offered with steel strings only in 1923; this model was Martin's first spruce top guitar so equipped from the factory and soon became a very popular instrument. Legions of Hawaiian players, vaudeville players and string band musicians were looking for guitars just like this in the mid-20s, and Martin had hit on a formula that scored big. As a result 1926 was the peak production year for the 0-18 with 900 shipped, second only to the budget all-mahogany 2-17 in sales volume. The price was raised from $35 to $40 in the middle of the year likely indicating the factory was having trouble keeping up with demand!

The 0-18 is a 13 1/2" wide mahogany-bodied guitar with relatively plain trim. It would only be continue to be built in this 12-fret form up through the end of this decade before the advent of pickguards and 14-fret neck joints changed its character in the 1930s. This 1926 guitar has its tight-grained Adirondack spruce top braced to handle steel string tension but is identical cosmetically to its gut strung ancestors. The other features remain as before; the top and back are bound with rosewood and the narrow flat-ended bridge and 1 13/16" wide fingerboard made of very high-grade dark ebony. The position marks are three simple descending-sized pearl dots, the nut is ebony, and the tuners on the slotted headstock are unplated Waverly strips with grained ivoroid buttons.

This small-bodied mahogany guitar may have been near the bottom of the Martin line, but this was still a more expensive instrument than many competing 1920s flat-tops. It is built throughout to the lofty standards that only C.F. Martin & Co. ever sustained, most discerning players at the time would have considered this 0-18's combination of features and price to be the best of its type in the world.

This is a very fine playing instrument, considered a classic old-time string band or solo guitar but really suitable for just about any style of play. The sound is more powerful than one might expect from an instrument this size, full-bodied with surprising depth. It makes a great fingerstyle guitar but also works quite well with a flatpick. This is simply a wonderful 12-fret guitar, and in this lovely used but unaltered condition something we just don't see that much anymore.
 
Overall length is 38 in. (96.5 cm.), 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).

This is a nicely original and well-preserved 95 year old Martin, showing some general play wear but no abuse or major repair. The finish remains original everywhere except the back of the neck, which shows a light buffed overspray. The very thin lacquer shows minor dings, dents, and scrapes with some noticeable pickwear in the area below the soundhole. These are into but mostly not fully through the finish, shallower and less obtrusive than the heavy strumming wear often found on older flat tops.

Amazingly enough there is only one repaired crack, a small split under the fingerboard extension that is only visible when a mirror is placed in the soundhole. There are no other cracks anywhere on the instrument, which is extremely rare today on Martins from this era. There is one noticeable small gouge in the wood behind the bridge.

The original small ebony bridge has been reglued and shaved down somewhat and the bone saddle has been replaced. The neck has been very neatly reset and the original bar frets are still intact and very playable, neither they or the fingerboard showing much wear at all. On the whole the interior including the beautifully scalloped braces appears completely original and unaltered.

While not absolutely pristine, this guitar is a wonderful survivor in well above average condition for an early lightly braced steel-string Martin. The great majority of these scallop braced 12-fret steel-string Martins show far more use and repair --often poorly done -- than this one, usually due to decades of heavy stringing through the 1930s, '40s and '50s. This one has survived those times intact and remains simply a superb playing and sounding instrument, this 0-18 includes a modern hard shell case. Ninety+ year old Martins really don't turn up like this much any more, and when they do are always a treat to see, play, and especially hear. Excellent - Condition.