C. F. Martin 00-28G Classical Guitar (1960)
LOADING IMAGES
This item has been sold.
Item # 10549
Prices subject to change without notice.
C. F. Martin 00-28G Model Classical Guitar (1960), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 173814, natural lacquer finish, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, spruce top, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black chipboard case.
The popularity of the fine-playing 00-28G guitar got a boost in the early 1960s due to the Folk-boom market's seemingly insatiable appetite for easy-to-play nylon string guitars. Many aspiring players of the time were not comfortable with steel-strings but wanted a genuine Martin, so the 00-28G classical guitar became a popular choice in a pro-grade "Folk" guitar. 1960 was just a couple of years before the model was dropped from the line, with 176 sold at $270, without case. The model was replaced by the 00-28C, the big change being the adoption of Martin's traditional 12 fret 00 body in favor of the 14 fret body style of the 00-28G. The new guitar with a more traditional look was even more keenly focused on the booming folk market.
The 00-28G is built with Martin's traditional materials: Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, a mahogany neck and a finely grained spruce top. It uses the standard Martin 00 body shape and headstock, but internally is a delicately fan-braced like a classical guitar. The fingerboard and bridge are ebony; the bridge is a classical "tie off" style with rounded wings and a bone saddle.
This particular style Martin is not well remembered now, but was popular at the time with amateur and some professional folk players strumming in the "Hoots" of the '60s. It was most associated with Fred Hellerman of the Weavers, who played one through much of the band's career. This is a lovely and sweet-sounding guitar that deserves a better appreciation than it often gets, neither "fish nor fowl" perhaps to many modern players but an appealing creation nonetheless.
Overall length is 37 5/8 in. (95.6 cm.), 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/4 in. (641 mm.). Width of nut is 2 in. (51 mm.).
This guitar shows some light play wear but overall appears not too heavily used over the last 60+ years. The finish is relatively clean overall but the top shows overall finish checking, dings, dents, and scrapes, most notably a group of press marks on the treble side between the bridge and the end block. There are two small spots of "strap burn" on the back of the headstock on the bass side, but nothing to severe. The guitar appears all original with no visible alterations; there is one very tight grain crack coming off the back of the bridge off the lower bridge wing, solidly sealed. There are no other evident repairs.
This is a pleasant-playing and very nice sounding guitar, and while unlikely to challenge anyone's Ramirez in an actual concert hall performs quite well as intended. It makes for a very good knock-around nylon string, a useful studio tool for the non-classical player who needs that sound now and then and a lovely "Folk" instrument for voice accompaniment of solo playing in the original 1960s mode. Paired with a long-neck Vega banjo it can niftily re-create the Weavers' signature sound, or one could always add a Baldwin pickup and pursue dreams of Willie Nelson (he has a Martin N-20, but the effect is the same!) We think it sounds lovely just as it is! Excellent Condition.
The popularity of the fine-playing 00-28G guitar got a boost in the early 1960s due to the Folk-boom market's seemingly insatiable appetite for easy-to-play nylon string guitars. Many aspiring players of the time were not comfortable with steel-strings but wanted a genuine Martin, so the 00-28G classical guitar became a popular choice in a pro-grade "Folk" guitar. 1960 was just a couple of years before the model was dropped from the line, with 176 sold at $270, without case. The model was replaced by the 00-28C, the big change being the adoption of Martin's traditional 12 fret 00 body in favor of the 14 fret body style of the 00-28G. The new guitar with a more traditional look was even more keenly focused on the booming folk market.
The 00-28G is built with Martin's traditional materials: Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, a mahogany neck and a finely grained spruce top. It uses the standard Martin 00 body shape and headstock, but internally is a delicately fan-braced like a classical guitar. The fingerboard and bridge are ebony; the bridge is a classical "tie off" style with rounded wings and a bone saddle.
This particular style Martin is not well remembered now, but was popular at the time with amateur and some professional folk players strumming in the "Hoots" of the '60s. It was most associated with Fred Hellerman of the Weavers, who played one through much of the band's career. This is a lovely and sweet-sounding guitar that deserves a better appreciation than it often gets, neither "fish nor fowl" perhaps to many modern players but an appealing creation nonetheless.
Overall length is 37 5/8 in. (95.6 cm.), 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/4 in. (641 mm.). Width of nut is 2 in. (51 mm.).
This guitar shows some light play wear but overall appears not too heavily used over the last 60+ years. The finish is relatively clean overall but the top shows overall finish checking, dings, dents, and scrapes, most notably a group of press marks on the treble side between the bridge and the end block. There are two small spots of "strap burn" on the back of the headstock on the bass side, but nothing to severe. The guitar appears all original with no visible alterations; there is one very tight grain crack coming off the back of the bridge off the lower bridge wing, solidly sealed. There are no other evident repairs.
This is a pleasant-playing and very nice sounding guitar, and while unlikely to challenge anyone's Ramirez in an actual concert hall performs quite well as intended. It makes for a very good knock-around nylon string, a useful studio tool for the non-classical player who needs that sound now and then and a lovely "Folk" instrument for voice accompaniment of solo playing in the original 1960s mode. Paired with a long-neck Vega banjo it can niftily re-create the Weavers' signature sound, or one could always add a Baldwin pickup and pursue dreams of Willie Nelson (he has a Martin N-20, but the effect is the same!) We think it sounds lovely just as it is! Excellent Condition.