C. F. Martin 00-18 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar
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C. F. Martin 00-18 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1947), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 103379, natural lacquer finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top; mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.
This late 1947 00-18 has seen some kind of life over the past nearly 80 years and has the scars to prove it. There is tons of play wear everywhere but a killer vibe to go with it, putting this one in "real relic" territory. While we all love a clean old Martin, these heavily played ones often have a sonic advantage, and lots of stories to tell.
The 00-18 in general 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 right at the end of 1947, one of an even 600 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 slightly wavy grained spruce. The tuners are the just-postwar open back single-unit Klusons with a large baseplate typical of the period.
While not a particularly expensive guitar by Martin standards, listing in 1947 at $64.00 (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, and one of Martin's most versatile and timeless classics. It looks like more than one player got a lot of use out of this one along the way, and it has plenty more music in it still.
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 venerable 00 is a very well worn in example, a hard-working guitar that still remains substantially original, sounding and playing very nicely. The original finish overall shows considerable wear over the entire instrument with a varied collection of dings, dents, scrapes, press marks and numerous areas of loss, but no signs of overspray or added finish. The top has heavy strum wear all around the original pickguard, under strings below sound hole, and along both sides of fingerboard extension. There is what looks like an old sticker mark on the lower top, and a couple of deep scratches adjacent.
The back and sides have a large and varied collection of dings, scrapes and scratches practically everywhere. The back has numerous deep scratches and a large area of extensive belt buckle wear to the wood. The back of the neck is heavily worn down to the wood over most of its length with ancillary dings and dents.
Structural repairs are comparatively minor; there is one small top crack sealed and cleated, running along outside edge of the pickguard. No other crack repairs are evident. A newer rosewood bridge has been fitted with a discreetly compensated bone saddle. Internally the original braces and bridgeplate reman intact, a very thin metal "plate saver" strip has been patched over the bridgepin holes.
The neck has been neatly reset, the fingerboard trued and refretted with appropriate wire. There are some filled divots in the rosewood between the B & E strings in the 2nd-6th fret areas. A later bone nut has been fitted and a strap button installed on treble side of heel. Amazingly the original openback Kluson tuners are intact and remain fairly shiny, still working well. This is very nice sounding and playing guitar, a "Real Relic" for sure but a very friendly veteran instrument ready for the road or studio. Overall Very Good Condition.
This late 1947 00-18 has seen some kind of life over the past nearly 80 years and has the scars to prove it. There is tons of play wear everywhere but a killer vibe to go with it, putting this one in "real relic" territory. While we all love a clean old Martin, these heavily played ones often have a sonic advantage, and lots of stories to tell.
The 00-18 in general 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 right at the end of 1947, one of an even 600 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 slightly wavy grained spruce. The tuners are the just-postwar open back single-unit Klusons with a large baseplate typical of the period.
While not a particularly expensive guitar by Martin standards, listing in 1947 at $64.00 (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, and one of Martin's most versatile and timeless classics. It looks like more than one player got a lot of use out of this one along the way, and it has plenty more music in it still.
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 venerable 00 is a very well worn in example, a hard-working guitar that still remains substantially original, sounding and playing very nicely. The original finish overall shows considerable wear over the entire instrument with a varied collection of dings, dents, scrapes, press marks and numerous areas of loss, but no signs of overspray or added finish. The top has heavy strum wear all around the original pickguard, under strings below sound hole, and along both sides of fingerboard extension. There is what looks like an old sticker mark on the lower top, and a couple of deep scratches adjacent.
The back and sides have a large and varied collection of dings, scrapes and scratches practically everywhere. The back has numerous deep scratches and a large area of extensive belt buckle wear to the wood. The back of the neck is heavily worn down to the wood over most of its length with ancillary dings and dents.
Structural repairs are comparatively minor; there is one small top crack sealed and cleated, running along outside edge of the pickguard. No other crack repairs are evident. A newer rosewood bridge has been fitted with a discreetly compensated bone saddle. Internally the original braces and bridgeplate reman intact, a very thin metal "plate saver" strip has been patched over the bridgepin holes.
The neck has been neatly reset, the fingerboard trued and refretted with appropriate wire. There are some filled divots in the rosewood between the B & E strings in the 2nd-6th fret areas. A later bone nut has been fitted and a strap button installed on treble side of heel. Amazingly the original openback Kluson tuners are intact and remain fairly shiny, still working well. This is very nice sounding and playing guitar, a "Real Relic" for sure but a very friendly veteran instrument ready for the road or studio. Overall Very Good Condition.