A mahogany Marquis, you say? Well, yes! What we have here is essentially a Martin 000-18 Golden Era in all but the name. The team in Nazareth built this 000-18 Marquis as a prototype when developing the Marquis and Golden Era series of '30s-inspired instruments. The heel block stamp even bears the word "prototype" below the model and serial number.

Ultimately they would assign the "Golden Era" and "Marquis" designations to mahogany- and rosewood-bodied guitars, respectively. That makes this beauty of an 000-18 an outlier, and the best way to stump your friends at the next gathering of acoustic guitar history buffs.

There is a reason these guitars are so revered among Martin lovers. This 000 sounds excellent, with great low-end authority, a very warm, present midrange, nothing strident on top, and serious headroom for a short-scale small-body guitar. Specs worth highlighting include the Adirondack spruce top, a generous, soft "V" neck profile, and a super comfortable 2 5/16" bridge spacing. While we are selling this as a used guitar, for all intents and purposes this is new old stock, direct from Martin.

Priced with hard case.

• Adirondack spruce top
  
• Mahogany back and sides
  
• Ebony fingerboard and bridge
  
• 1 3/4" nut width
• 24.9" scale length
• Serial #23464