C. F. Martin 00-18 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1954)

C. F. Martin  00-18 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar  (1954)
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Item # 10776
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C. F. Martin 00-18 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1954), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 136373, natural lacquer finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top; mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.

The mid-1950s 00-18 is not one of Martin's rarer creations, but to many players and Martin fans constitutes one of the company's most beloved combinations of wood, wire, and inspiration. This is not a flashy guitar; the trim is discreet with tortoise celluloid on the body edges and a simple multiply sound hole ring. In classic Martin style, the elegant understatement speaks for itself.

The 14 1/4" light mahogany body makes for a very responsive guitar, with a nice mix of depth and clarity to the sound. This example was built late in 1954, one of a total of 800 00-18s shipped that year. It has typical period features with tortoise celluloid binding and pickguard, a rosewood belly bridge, and an ambered top finish over some nicely grained spruce. The tuners are the open back single-unit Waverlys, more familiarly used by Gretsch and Danelectro, among others.

While not a particularly expensive guitar by Martin standards, listing at $95.00 (plus case) the 00-18 still represented a substantial investment to many players. Despite its smaller size and lack of flash, the 00-18 remains a fully professional instrument popular with pickers of many styles. This is one of Martin's most versatile and timeless classics, an excellent recording, songwriting or performing guitar in a host of styles new and old.
 
Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).

This mahogany 00 remains nicely original and an excellent player, with a recent very clean neck reset and a replaced bone saddle. The finish is nicely aged, finely checked and ambered but it does not show excessive wear. There are pick marks scattered around the top, most notable on the upper bout, with scratches on either side of the fingerboard extension, extending from the soundhole rim around lower edge, between the upper edge and the waist and at the bottom of the pickguard. These areas have a few spots down into the wood. There are no alterations and just some relatively minor repairs.

The finish on the back and sides shows fairly light wear, with a few scratches and press marks on the back and the back of the neck is mostly quite clean with a few tiny dings and dents. There is only very minor repair to be seen from the outside; a tightly sealed short grain crack on the treble side rim at the apex of the lower bout. Other than this the guitar is crack free.

The original small maple bridgeplate is intact, though the X-brace has been reglued adjacent to the bridgeplate and there is some glue residue in the area as a result. The original rosewood bridge retains its full height and does not appear reglued; the bone saddle is a recent replacement. The original frets show light wear, particularly in the lower positions but they play well and have plenty of life left. Well past its 65th birthday this guitar feels and sounds even "older" than it actually is, with a nice dry but still mellow ring, a trait these 1950's mahogany 00's are known for. This is a super sweet guitar and extremely friendly playing Martin, clean overall but played in perfectly. It is housed in a later black tolex HSC. Overall Excellent - Condition.