C. F. Martin 0-18K Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1934)

C. F. Martin  0-18K Flat Top Acoustic Guitar  (1934)
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Item # 9484
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C. F. Martin 0-18K Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1934), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 58165, natural lacquer finish, koa wood body; mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black chipboard case.

Starting in the mid-1910's Martin began to be deluged with requests to make Hawaiian style guitars, as a craze for native musical stylings had taken hold of the country. After some in retrospect quizzical experiments with fan-bracing tops, Martin settled on simply replacing the rosewood and spruce normally used for the guitar body with native Hawaiian koa wood. The scalloped X-bracing pattern was the same as used on the standard Martins, beefed up a bit as these were intended from the start to use steel strings. Many were destined to be used as lap-style instruments, but some examples were shipped set up standard style.

The 0-18K was the simplest such model, first built in 1918 but not officially cataloged by Martin until 1923. This guitar is one of 103 shipped out in 1934, the model's penultimate production year. This was a fairly low production total even for the Great Depression, but flat-top Hawaiian guitars were no longer a sales success, and production of this model would cease in 1935. After the mid-20's Martin usually shipped them in a dedicated Hawaiian mode, this guitar has been neatly converted to the standard Spanish style.

The guitar is built on the by then mostly obsolete twelve fret body style, retained by martin on only a few models. It uses nicely grained koa for the top, back and sides in place of the spruce and mahogany of the standard 0-18's. The 12-fret neck is mahogany, with a slotted headstock and unbound dot-inlaid ebony fingerboard. The body bindings are 5-ply while the tuners are Grover riveted and clipped plate individual tuners with metal buttons. Construction is very light overall, especially for a guitar expected to hole the old "High-A" Hawaiian tuning.

Martin's koa models were somewhat more expensive than standard models in any given style; the 0-18K listed for $45 in 1934 which was a $5 premium over the standard 0-18. The woods were imported from Hawaii, usually using an intermediary on the west coast so the process must have added considerable expense. This guitar is built with the harder flamey-grained koa Martin settled on by the mid-1920s which offered more dramatic look than the earlier supplies. Koa Martins like this are really a connoisseur's delight, a different and distinct flavor of some of the best small body flat tops ever made and especially favored for fingerpicked (and Hawaiian!) styles.
 
Overall length is 37 7/8 in. (96.2 cm.), 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 3/16 in. (10.6 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 7/8 in. (48 mm.)., 3.5 lbs.
This 92 year old guitar is in very fine playing condition overall, showing mostly light dings and scrapes, and of course the work required to convert the instrument from the original Hawaiian lap-style configuration to Spanish-style play. There are no cracks, which on a koa instrument of this vintage is a delightful situation!

The guitar retains its original lacquer finish without any noticeable overspray. There are three indentations and some scuffing, some through to the clear coat underneath, on the bass side of the top next to the fingerboard extension. The thin lacquer shows light checking and small dings, scrapes and dents throughout

The conversion entailed a neck reset and the fabrication of a replacement bridge. This ebony bridge is the correct style, slightly larger than the original and fitted with a compensated bone through saddle. The original ebony fingerboard was refretted with bar frets to replace the original flush frets. It retains three graduated pearl dots at the fifth, seventh and ninth positions, two dots at the twelfth fret and a single dot at the fifteenth. The original ebony nut has been shaved down to the proper height.

The guitar retains its original clipped plate Grover tuners with cast metal butterbean buttons. The interior of the guitar is clean complete with the undamaged original small maple bridge plate. This is a lovely example of a 1930's koa Martin, perfectly converted for standard use and an excellent player. The 0-18K is not a fancy model but a discreetly elegant guitar with a very fine sound, especially when fingerpicked. It resides in a modern HSC. Excellent Condition.