C. F. Martin 0-18 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1950)
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Item # 10322
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C. F. Martin 0-18 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1950), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 114747, natural lacquer finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This lovely little Martin 0-18 was built in mid-1950, looking used but not abused in the years since Harry Truman was in the White House. The mahogany body carries the typical period features including tortoise celluloid binding on the edges, a tortoise celluloid pickguard and long-saddle Brazilian rosewood bridge. The spruce top shows a nice even grain under the ambered thin nitrocellulose lacquer finish. The headstock is adorned with the "CF Martin" gold decal on the face and mounts individual openback large-plate Kluson tuners characteristic of the late 1940s.
This guitar, like all made prior to 1964, is the product of the "old" red brick Martin factory, before the move to the modern facility down the road that year resulted in many changes in the way the guitars were made. These post-war 1940-50s 0-18s are lovely-sounding instruments, no longer scallop-braced but still rather lightly built compared to examples from a decade or so later.
Exactly 551 of these small mahogany-and-spruce marvels were shipped from Nazareth in 1950, priced at $70 (Plus case). This one offers plenty of volume (more than many expect in a smaller body guitar) and a nicely even ringing tone. This is a superb-playing and sounding small-body Martin, showing only some minor wear and repair and relatively few signs of the passage of over seven decades since it first left Nazareth PA.
Overall length is 38 3/4 in. (98.4 cm.), 13 9/16 in. (34.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
Overall this is a very well preserved guitar, showing just some light wear and minor repairs. The original top finish has a few small areas of overspray, most notably around the edge of the pickguard where areas of pickwear previously were. A pickguard crack at the bottom of the 'guard next to the waist was reglued and cleated. Pickwear on the bass side of the soundhole near the fingerboard extension was lightly oversprayed. A small grain crack near the apex of the lower bout on the bass side was lightly touched up.
The treble side rim has a number of discreetly completed touch ups, done over small scratches and scuffs. The back also shows fairly minor scuffs and scratches but no heavy buckle wear. The back of the neck is free of capo marks or major finish loss, with only one touch up in the area on the lower side of the heel where a strap button was once located.
The interior, including the bridge plate, remains original except for the previously mentioned cleat under the pickguard. The neck has been carefully reset and the original bridge has been shaved down somewhat, but it still retains plenty of height. The bone nut and saddle appear replaced; the tuners remain original. The frets have been replaced with period-correct small fretwire showing only very minor wear with plenty of life left in them. This guitar plays extremely well with a comfortable action and offers a lot of sound for a small body instrument. Includes a nice modern HSC. Overall Excellent - Condition.
This lovely little Martin 0-18 was built in mid-1950, looking used but not abused in the years since Harry Truman was in the White House. The mahogany body carries the typical period features including tortoise celluloid binding on the edges, a tortoise celluloid pickguard and long-saddle Brazilian rosewood bridge. The spruce top shows a nice even grain under the ambered thin nitrocellulose lacquer finish. The headstock is adorned with the "CF Martin" gold decal on the face and mounts individual openback large-plate Kluson tuners characteristic of the late 1940s.
This guitar, like all made prior to 1964, is the product of the "old" red brick Martin factory, before the move to the modern facility down the road that year resulted in many changes in the way the guitars were made. These post-war 1940-50s 0-18s are lovely-sounding instruments, no longer scallop-braced but still rather lightly built compared to examples from a decade or so later.
Exactly 551 of these small mahogany-and-spruce marvels were shipped from Nazareth in 1950, priced at $70 (Plus case). This one offers plenty of volume (more than many expect in a smaller body guitar) and a nicely even ringing tone. This is a superb-playing and sounding small-body Martin, showing only some minor wear and repair and relatively few signs of the passage of over seven decades since it first left Nazareth PA.
Overall length is 38 3/4 in. (98.4 cm.), 13 9/16 in. (34.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
Overall this is a very well preserved guitar, showing just some light wear and minor repairs. The original top finish has a few small areas of overspray, most notably around the edge of the pickguard where areas of pickwear previously were. A pickguard crack at the bottom of the 'guard next to the waist was reglued and cleated. Pickwear on the bass side of the soundhole near the fingerboard extension was lightly oversprayed. A small grain crack near the apex of the lower bout on the bass side was lightly touched up.
The treble side rim has a number of discreetly completed touch ups, done over small scratches and scuffs. The back also shows fairly minor scuffs and scratches but no heavy buckle wear. The back of the neck is free of capo marks or major finish loss, with only one touch up in the area on the lower side of the heel where a strap button was once located.
The interior, including the bridge plate, remains original except for the previously mentioned cleat under the pickguard. The neck has been carefully reset and the original bridge has been shaved down somewhat, but it still retains plenty of height. The bone nut and saddle appear replaced; the tuners remain original. The frets have been replaced with period-correct small fretwire showing only very minor wear with plenty of life left in them. This guitar plays extremely well with a comfortable action and offers a lot of sound for a small body instrument. Includes a nice modern HSC. Overall Excellent - Condition.