Martin 00-18 (1938)

The many hours logged on this 00-18 are evident in its voice: it's an amazing sounding guitar, bafflingly lightweight and responsive, with huge low end for its size alongside beautiful warmth and roundness of tone.

1938 is a transitional year for Martin flattops: it's when the manufacturer moved to what's known as "rear-shifted" (i.e. a bit further back from the edge of the sound hole) X-bracing. And this 00-18, serial number 71642, is amongst the earliest guitars to receive the new bracing pattern (it was stamped on November 17, 1938, and cleared final inspection on May 31, 1939).

We acquired the guitar from the son of what we sentimentally think of as its original owner. As the story goes, "Dad" purchased the guitar in a pawn shop in 1940; so someone had owned it for about a year before that. Perhaps the first owner was someone who just didn't take to the guitar after receiving it as a gift. Perhaps they were forced to sell due to the tough economic climate of the day. But whatever the case was, "Dad" took to this guitar very much, performing with it and playing it every day up until his passing approximately 25 years ago. The many hours logged on this 00-18 are evident in its voice: it's an amazing sounding guitar, bafflingly lightweight and responsive, with huge low end for its size alongside beautiful warmth and roundness of tone. The 14-fret 00 may be the ideal small-bodied guitar; and the incredible amount of tone per pound lurking in this one is enough to convince any player it should be their one and only.

This guitar sat largely unplayed for the last 25 years or so, though the owner's family did take it to an authorized Martin warranty center for appraisal about 5 years ago. At that time, a neck reset and re-fret were performed; and the bridge plate was replaced. A new nut was also installed. When we received the guitar, its original bridge was still on it, though a crack between the pin holes led us to replace it with one of TJ Thompson's modern replicas.

There are no cracks in the guitar, though there are three small witness holes near the end wedge from a previously-installed trapeze tailpiece. The finish is original throughout.

In all, this guitar plays beautifully up and down the neck; and it's worth repeating that the sound is terrific. The owner's family only had an extremely weathered chipboard case with the guitar, so we've paired it with a new 5-ply Martin hard case. Interested parties are welcome to contact us for an in-hand description. Payment requested by check or wire transfer.