This mid-November 1945 guitar has A Sitka Spruce top, which Martin started using in November of that year. It is an astounding sounding example of this just postwar configuration. Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, Tight grain Sitka Spruce top, Replacement Waverly tuners with ivoroid buttons, Brazilian Rosewood headstock overlay, 1 11/16" nut width, Ivory nut, Ebony fingerbaord with pearl dots, Ivoroid binding and heelcap, Herringobne top purfling, Replacement pickguard, Replacement ebony bridge with long saddle, Replacement redeye bridge pins and endpin, Zipper backstrip, Strap button added to treble side of neck heel. Top has been oversprayed.
Back, sides, and neck have been refinished. Top has 5 repaired cracks toward the tail. Bass side has 4 repaired cracks. Treble side has 2 repaired cracks. Butt area has finish disruptions from repair. Back has 4 repaired cracks at the tail and 1 small repaired crack in the widest part of the bass-side upper bout. The headstock has had Grover Rotomatic holes plugged and redrilled for the Waverly tuners. The neck was recently reset. Most recently, the fingerboard was refretted to perfection by the great Alan Perlman. This guitar is magical to play. The notes are very toneful, rich and ringing. It has a very even response from nut to the top of the fingerboard. An exceptionally good sounding and playing old Martin. With recent hardshell case.

This is the most common size and model for 19th cenutry martins that I've encountered. There is no date on the inside of the guitar or the case. The owner believes that the guitar is from the U.S. Civil War era, but I'll be more conservative and say the 1870s. Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, Adirondack Spruce top, Solid peghead with "C.F. Martin New York" stamp at rear, Ivory Friction pegs, Brazilian Rosewood headstock overlay with mysterious "The Martin" silkscreened in faint black block letters, 2-piece Cedar neck, 1 7/8" nut width, Ebony fignerbaord with no fret markers of any kind, Bar frets, Brazilian Rosewood binding line purfling and heringbone rosette (the greens in some of the line purfling is still faintly visisble), Replacement Ebony bridge with bone saddle and gurian ebony pins, Multicolored non-herringbone backstrip purfling, Original Ebony ribbon (strap) buttons with pearl insets at butt wedge and rear of headstock. Other than two small repaired top cracks at the bass-side waist and treble side lower bout and a repaired slightly opened center seam behind the bridge, the only other structural repair is a maple bridge plate cap to more firmly seat the string ends. The top has been french polished and/ or buffed out to a much higher gloss than any other part of the guitar. This replacement bridge had been made with a slanted saddle for extra light guage steel strings, but Alan Perlman has filled that slot and made a new parallel bone saddle for its current nylon strings. A well preserved guitar that really sings with nylon strings, this instrument is a joy to play. with the original black Martin coffin case.

Made from the 2nd major production year of 14 fret O-18, this guitar retains a lot of the lightness of build and responsiveness of the sightly earlier 12 Fret O-18s. Mahogany, Adirondack Spruce, Solid headstock with Brazilian Rosewood (decals weren't used yet) and chip repair on back edge, Waverly tuners installed for ease of use, 1 3/4" nut width, Replacement bone nut, Ebony fingerboard wtih original snail shell dots, Converted to tang frets rather than troublesome bar stock frets, Black binding, Brazilian Rosewood butt wedge, Original ebony bridge with 2 3/8" string spread, Ebony hellcap, replacement bridge pins and endpin. Though originally without a pickguard, this guitar picked up a small ugly Kay shape pickguard (proabbly during the folk scare of the 1960s). Repair ace Alan Perlman had made a sightly larger replacement from vintage style plastic sheet stock that I got from Henry Stocek a few years ago. Other resotrations by Alan Perlman include: Neck reset and refret, closing top, side and back cracks, and a top splint at center line between bridge and tail. I've left a couple of thin fiberglass reinforcements from 1960s era side crack repairs in place. This guitar has a wonderful rich, smooth, and loud response. The treble strings really sing in the 9-14 fret area. This is a wonderfully versatile guitar available at a very affordable price due to the repairs. With recent reproduction vintage style case.

From the last year of regular production levels, this O-18 is from a period of time that the relative lightness of build still allowed a big resonant voice to come from a small guitar. Mahogany, Sitka Spruce, Original octagonal Kluson tuners, Brazilian rosewood headstock overlay, fingerboard, heelcap, and bridge, 1 11/16" nut width, Original ivory nut, Comfortable full V-shape neck profile, Tortoiseshell binding and butt wedge, Red tortoiseshell pickguard, Black plastic endpin and bridge pins, No strap button in neck heel, 2 1/8" string spacing at the bridge. Recent repairs performed by ace luthier Alan Perlman are: Neck reset and refret, Side crack repairs, Pickguard crack repair, and regluing the original bridge. This is a very healty guitar that will celebrate its 60th birthday in 2008. I really appreciate the responsiveness in the bass area and the clear, crisp and ringing quality that the trebles have. I have really enjoyed playing this guitar in duets with a mandolin player. New vintage style AVS (TKL) case is included.

A fantastic sounding scallop-voiced sunburst O-18 from one of Martin's most consistent years for great tone and volume. Mahogany back and sides, Adirondack Spruce top, Replacement Gotoh Kluson tuners with the same base plate and screw pattern as the original Kluson gears, What look to be the original black slothead tuner screws, Brazilian Rosewood headstock overlay with gold "C.F. Martin" decal, Old if not original ivory nut, 1 11/16" nut width, Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with snail shell dots, Tortoiseshell body binding, Black and white line type purfling on top and rosette, Brazilian Rosewood bridge with long replacement bone saddle and 2 1/8" string spread, Red turtle-oid pickguard, Beautiful sunburst top finish that reminds me more of 1938 than 1943, Ebony heel cap, Black line backstrip, Black endpin and bridge pins. The repairs have been limited to a nice neck reset and refret with a wedge underneath the fingerboard extension and installation of the Gotoh gears. Voice is large and forceful. The medium neck profile is a joy to play. Heavy duty black vintage style AVS case with green interior.

What a big-voiced, solid sounding, "little" guitar! Dark red Brazilian Rosewood back (with some very tight vertical grain at center) and sides, Dark red-brown Sitka Spruce top, Slotted headstock, Brazilian Rosewood overlay with "C.F. Martin" decal, Original open gear tuners, 1 7/8" nut width, Replacement bone nut, Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with white pearl dots, 24 7/8" string scale, Wonderful V-shape neck profile (I'm going to have Roy McAlister copy this one for the Smeck style guitar that he's making for me.), Tortoiseshell body binding, Cream, black, and white top purfling and rosette, Replacement Brazilian Rosewood bridge, No pickguard, Chain link style backstrip, Black butt wedge, Black with white dot endpin and bridge pins. Pickmarks to bare wood where a pickguard would go and some stray pick marks on the bass side. Other dings on the top, back, sides and end of headstock. It's a small wonder that there are pickmarks as this guitar really rewarding to play and has a huge voice for a OO size guitar. Look out, Norman Blake! The wonderful shimmering, deep light reflective quality to the Rosewood body adds to the experience. A lucky find. With new Cedar Creek hardshell case.

Martin's all-Mahogany depression era budget guitar. My first Martin was a 1943 version of this model. Mahogany neck, top, back, and sides, Original Grover single unit tuners with "gummy bear" rubbery tortoise colored buttons, Brazilian Rosewood headstock overlay with gold "C.F. Martin" decal, Ebony nut, 1 3/4" nut width, Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with small ivoroid dots, No body binding, Brazilian Rosewood bridge with 2 5/16" string spacing, Advanced X-brace position with scalloped voicing, Large pattern original pickguard, Replacement black endpin and bridge pins. Repairs include: Recent neck reset and refret, Crack repairs on treble and bass sides, Lifting and regluing the pickguard to relieve the shrinkage stress (no top cracks), Reglued back to tail block joint, Filled in areas of fingerboard wear in the first two frets, Black button replacement on the A tuner, No back cracks. There is significant finish wear on the neck and on the treble side of the otp above the pickguard. Numvberous little dings all over the guitar with buffing compound residue from a light buffout. The guitar plays beautifully and responds with a commanding, full voice. With recent hardshell case.

This is an especially powerful sounding example, helped by Mark Tossman's work. Mahogany, Sitka Spruce, Grover tuners, Brazilian Rosewood headstock overlay with "C.F. Martin" decal, 1 11/16" nut width, Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with pearl dots, Tortoiseshell binding, butt wedge, and pickguard, Line type purfling, Replacement bridge with long saddle, Original endpin and bridge pins, Brazilian Rosewood heelcap, Black line backstrip. Washington's Mark Tossman performed a neck reset and refret, made the new bridge, pulled the pickguard and reglued it to eliminate the shrinkage tension, and repaired the two top cracks and single back crack. This guitar has a powerfully incisive voice with great suatain and complex harmonics. An very expressive instrument. With TKL hardshell case.

1950s era Martin Brazilian Rosewood was often pretty darn nice. This guitar features 100% perfectly straight quartersawn reddish brown Brazilian Rosewood, Tight grain Sitka Spruce with a little bearclaw figure (sometimes an indicator of extra stiffness), Grover Sta-Tite tuners, Brazailian Rosewood headstock overlay with gold Martin decal, Dart neck volute, V-shape neck profile, Ebony fingerboard withh pearl dots, White binding and butt wedge, Line style purfling and rosette, Ivoroid heelcap, Replacement Ebony bridge with drop-in saddle made by Alan Perlman, Red turtle-oid pickguard, Modern era 28 style backstrip[. The tuners were changed at some pont to Grover Rotomatics, so I had Alan Perlman re-install the appropriate style Grover Sta-Tite open back gears. Alan did a great refret, making the guitar play very easily. I specified the drop-in saddle for versatility in playing styles. There are dings on the back of the neck. The top shows a lot of pick marks and a few shallow dings. There is a small repaired crack on the back near the very edge of the bass-side lower bout. This is a strong-voiced guitar that would be appropriate for a lot of different flatpick and fingerstyle types of play. I like it a lot. With new TKL hardshell case.

This guitar is from the period just before the change in bracing to accept steel string tension, so it is strung with silk and steel strings. Vertical grain Brazilian Rosewood, Adirondack Spruce top, Original strip tuners with engraved plates, Brazilian Rosewood headstock overlay, 1 7/8" nut width, diamonds and squares inlay, Ivoroid body binding and heelcap, Herringbone top purfling, Replacement ebony pyramid bridge, A new Martin style pickguard replaces the awful red firestripe Regal pickguard that was inappropriately applied in the bad old days, Zipper backstrip, New redeye endpn and bridge pins. Other old repairs include a neck reset, an internal spruce patch in the bridge plate area and new bridge plate, and an old crack repair at the lower bout area of the top. The entire guitar has been oversprayed. Alan Perlman reseated the bar frets and levelled them. Alan also repaired two back cracks. The guitar plays very well for fingerstyle play, Norman Blake style flatpicking, or Django swing playing. A nice player's guitar. With 1970s hardhsell case.

To many this is the ultimate Martin fingerstyle guitar, a 12 Fret OOO braced for steel strings with rectangular bridge and no pickguard. Dead straight Brazilian Rosewood, Adirondack Spruce top, Slothead with engraved halfplate tuners, C.F. Martin stamp on rear of head, Brazilian Rosewood headstock overlay, Nut as been shimmed after refret, 1 7/8" nut width, Ebony fingerboard with short pattern diamonds and squares inlay, Ivoroid binding and heelcap, Thin herringbone top purfling, 2 5/16' string spread at bridge, Virtually unangled bridge saddle, Solid pins, Zipper backstrip. The repairs have been limited to a neck reset and refret by T.J Thompson and his judicious application of varnish to the wear at the rear of the neck between the nut and 4th fret. With original hardshell case. This is as fine sounding an original 12 Fret OOO as you are ever likely to play.

Mahogany, Adirondack Spruce top, Grover G-98 tuners, Brazilian Rosewood headstock overlay with Martin decal, 1 3/4" nut width, Snail shell dots inlay, Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard and bridge, 24 7/8" string scale, Tortoiseshell binding, Clean original finish, Original softshell case. This is a one-owner home played guitar. It is the cleanest prewar Martin that I've had in the shop. It had a big, clean sound or its size. It will be out on the shop floor soon with a fresh neck reset and refret.