Description
This 1945 Martin OOO-21 (93211) was one of only 137 made that year and it remains in very nice condition. The Sitka spruce top has darkened to a lovely deep amber color, with a medium grain width. The tap tone of the top is nicely open and richly resonant in the lower midrange. The crack-free back and sides are fairly dense and colorful in the tap tones. The herringbone backstrip is healthy and free of any injuries. The neck is reinforced with a steel T-bar, my favorite over ebony for strong projection and colorful voice. The original Kluson flat plate tuners work well and feature the small round bushings on the headstock face that appeared in December of 1945. The original ivory nut is in good condition and did not require a shim during the recent neck reset and refret procedure performed by Alan Perlman. The ebony fingerboard shows some of the smoky grey-brown colors often seen in the first 3 years after WWII. The original pickguard is in fine condition and was lifted and reglued by Alan Perlman to relieve the shrinkage stresses. Alan reglued the original ebony bridge using hide glue, as an older reglue had used a thick layer of Titebond.The bridge pins are original, but the endpin is a replacement. Top crack repairs include: A 4″ crack form the upper bout edge, about 2 1/2″ from the treble side of the fingerboard extension, B string pickguard crack, Long crack from bridge to tail block, and a 4″ crack extending from the A string area of the bridge downward toward the tail.
This guitar is very lively and has a strong even voice all over the fingerboard. The celebrated radically tapered top brace voicing used in 1945 serves this instrument very well. With contemporary hardshell case.
SOLD
