C. F. Martin 00-21 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1938)
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Item # 12906
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C. F. Martin 00-21 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1938), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 70478, natural lacquer finish, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This is a well played but still lovely 00-sized Brazilian rosewood Martin from the later 1930s, a time when this older 12-fret design was practically an endangered species! 12-fret steel string Martins of the 1920s and '30s are some of our very favorite guitars from any period and this is a very cool example. The 00-21 was a legacy model at the time' only sparingly made after 1931; later '30s examples are particularly scarce.
By the mid-1930s Martin had altered nearly all their designs to the newer 14-fret neck "Orchestra Model" style leaving the 00-21 as one of the few models still offered in the original 19th century pattern. All of 15 of these were shipped in 1938 when this "old fashioned" style had pretty much dropped out of favor. The general layout remained much as it had since the 1880s, with a slotted headstock over the wide ebony fingerboard on the neck joining the body at the 12th fret. This early-mid 1938 guitar has the larger ebony belly bridge adopted at the beginning of the decade and is also factory-equipped with a tortoise Celluloid pickguard, a standard fitting by this time. The scalloped bracing is a wee bit beefed up compared to the 1920s but still extremely graceful and delicate compared to what was to come.
Style 21 was the lowest graded Martin built with rosewood back and sides. The bookmatched Brazilian back and sides on this guitar show some strong figure, with some wavy and cross-grain patterning but straighter than many 21s. The very tight grained red spruce top features a herringbone soundhole inlay and rosewood binding. The mahogany neck has a very soft "V" contour, not as shallow as some. This is topped by an ebony fingerboard with small notched diamond pearl inlay; the nut is slightly slimmer than earlier examples at 1 27/32". The slotted headstock mounts nickel Waverly strip tuners with grained ivoroid buttons. The list price in 1938 was $65, plus case.
Overall, this is a worn in but truly superb steel-string 12 fret Martin with a huge sound for a 00 sized guitar. It is a real treat to play either fingerstyle or "plectrum" as it would have been termed back when this was a new guitar. In any application it is a powerful tone machine, a delightful instrument with a deep voice belying its (by modern standards) small size.
Overall length is 38 1/4 in. (97.2 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 27/32 in. (47 mm.).
This nearly 90 year old Martin remains in excellent playing condition showing a decent amount of general wear and typical repair but remaining more original than many similar guitars of this vintage. Overall the original finish shows checking, particularly on the top, with dings, dents and scrapes over much of the instrument. There is significant strum wear along the upper bout on both sides of fingerboard extension and the lower edge of the soundhole rim with smaller marks scattered over the rest of the top. The top lacquer has deeply ambered, with a lovely well-aged patina and some complex checking. Some very small touch up was added to the area down to the wood under the fingerboard extension, otherwise the top lacquer remains original.
The largely original lacquer finish on the rese of the guitar shows a small area of overspray on the back/side area of the treble side lower bout, related to an ancient crack repair along the back coming off the treble side of the lower bout that was internally reinforced with bias tape. The back and sides show general cosmetic wear but less than the top. The lacquer is worn through lightly along the sides and spine the lower positions on the back of the neck, with a deeper divot behind the first fret once filled in and now partially worn through again.
The top is delightfully entirely free of cracks. The original bridge was lowered long ago the top and neatly reglued with a new bone saddle; the original slim scalloped braces and small maple bridgeplate are original, the pin holes in the plate were patched and redrilled. The original tuners have a darkened patina but still work fine. The neck has been neatly reset with the fingerboard trued and refretted with wire slightly larger than the original so playability is excellent. This is simply a delightful instrument to play or to hear, with a rich and powerful sound. It resides in a modern hard shell case, a splendid and rare 12-fret survivor of what many consider Martin's best period. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This is a well played but still lovely 00-sized Brazilian rosewood Martin from the later 1930s, a time when this older 12-fret design was practically an endangered species! 12-fret steel string Martins of the 1920s and '30s are some of our very favorite guitars from any period and this is a very cool example. The 00-21 was a legacy model at the time' only sparingly made after 1931; later '30s examples are particularly scarce.
By the mid-1930s Martin had altered nearly all their designs to the newer 14-fret neck "Orchestra Model" style leaving the 00-21 as one of the few models still offered in the original 19th century pattern. All of 15 of these were shipped in 1938 when this "old fashioned" style had pretty much dropped out of favor. The general layout remained much as it had since the 1880s, with a slotted headstock over the wide ebony fingerboard on the neck joining the body at the 12th fret. This early-mid 1938 guitar has the larger ebony belly bridge adopted at the beginning of the decade and is also factory-equipped with a tortoise Celluloid pickguard, a standard fitting by this time. The scalloped bracing is a wee bit beefed up compared to the 1920s but still extremely graceful and delicate compared to what was to come.
Style 21 was the lowest graded Martin built with rosewood back and sides. The bookmatched Brazilian back and sides on this guitar show some strong figure, with some wavy and cross-grain patterning but straighter than many 21s. The very tight grained red spruce top features a herringbone soundhole inlay and rosewood binding. The mahogany neck has a very soft "V" contour, not as shallow as some. This is topped by an ebony fingerboard with small notched diamond pearl inlay; the nut is slightly slimmer than earlier examples at 1 27/32". The slotted headstock mounts nickel Waverly strip tuners with grained ivoroid buttons. The list price in 1938 was $65, plus case.
Overall, this is a worn in but truly superb steel-string 12 fret Martin with a huge sound for a 00 sized guitar. It is a real treat to play either fingerstyle or "plectrum" as it would have been termed back when this was a new guitar. In any application it is a powerful tone machine, a delightful instrument with a deep voice belying its (by modern standards) small size.
Overall length is 38 1/4 in. (97.2 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 27/32 in. (47 mm.).
This nearly 90 year old Martin remains in excellent playing condition showing a decent amount of general wear and typical repair but remaining more original than many similar guitars of this vintage. Overall the original finish shows checking, particularly on the top, with dings, dents and scrapes over much of the instrument. There is significant strum wear along the upper bout on both sides of fingerboard extension and the lower edge of the soundhole rim with smaller marks scattered over the rest of the top. The top lacquer has deeply ambered, with a lovely well-aged patina and some complex checking. Some very small touch up was added to the area down to the wood under the fingerboard extension, otherwise the top lacquer remains original.
The largely original lacquer finish on the rese of the guitar shows a small area of overspray on the back/side area of the treble side lower bout, related to an ancient crack repair along the back coming off the treble side of the lower bout that was internally reinforced with bias tape. The back and sides show general cosmetic wear but less than the top. The lacquer is worn through lightly along the sides and spine the lower positions on the back of the neck, with a deeper divot behind the first fret once filled in and now partially worn through again.
The top is delightfully entirely free of cracks. The original bridge was lowered long ago the top and neatly reglued with a new bone saddle; the original slim scalloped braces and small maple bridgeplate are original, the pin holes in the plate were patched and redrilled. The original tuners have a darkened patina but still work fine. The neck has been neatly reset with the fingerboard trued and refretted with wire slightly larger than the original so playability is excellent. This is simply a delightful instrument to play or to hear, with a rich and powerful sound. It resides in a modern hard shell case, a splendid and rare 12-fret survivor of what many consider Martin's best period. Overall Very Good + Condition.