OK, technically this doesn’t qualify as being a PRE World War II Martin, since construction began in early June of 1943, but it has all the pre-war features including an Adirondack soundboard and scalloped top bracing. But what makes this 00-18 even more interesting are the features necessitated by the war itself. Restrictions on steel meant Martin returned to using an ebony neck reinforcement (as they’d used a decade earlier), and the original tuners you see here are about as spartan as could be imagined: no bushings in the headstock facing, and blued, not plated. To our surprise, the tuners work quite well (the celluloid buttons are still solid) and combined with the lack of a steel T bar in the neck the result is one of the lightest acoustic guitars you’ll ever pick up (barely over 3 lbs). The result is an abundance of “player feedback” when played in your lap, the kind of response that makes these early guitars such a joy.
This has had a recent neck reset and refret, the finish, pickguard, and bridge are original, and the only crack is from pickguard shrinkage (which won’t get worse as we released the ‘guard and reglued it).
Includes a new Superior Hardshell case.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.