Pre Owned Vintage 1942 Martin D 18 Adirondack and Mahogany For well over a century and a half, The Martin Guitar Company has been continuously producing acoustic instruments that are acknowledged to be the finest in the world. The Martin Guitar Company has, through the years, managed to survive with each succeeding generation from C. F. Martin, Sr.’s Stauffer influenced creations of the 1830s to recent developments introduced by C. F. Martin IV. Martin has had continuous operation under family management reflecting six generations of dedication to the guitarmaker’s craft. Throughout its history, the company has adapted successfully to continual changes in product design, distribution systems, and manufacturing methods. In spite of the many changes, C. F. Martin has never veered away from its initial commitment to quality. The concern for producing the finest instruments possible in 1833 is especially evident today at Martin’s expanded facility in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. We are proud to present this Vintage Pre War, 1942 Martin D 18. The Martin D-18 is an American guitar Icon. The Style 18 Martin guitar has a spruce top, mahogany body Martin guitar that has been the mainstream of the Martin guitar line since the mid-1800s. When C.F. Martin first produced this model in 1932, for “Arkie the Arkansas Woodchopper,” little did he know the impact he was making on the musical world, as well as the world in general. Numerous stars have used the Style 18 as their main guitar (for example Elvis Presley used a WW2-time Martin D-18 guitar as his main instrument during much of the 1950s). The Martin D-18 and other style 18 models are not the fanciest appointed Martin models, but it's always been a great value, hence Martin sold a lot of them through their history. The "18" portion of the model has always indicated the style of the guitar. The letters before the "18" indicate the body size. The models D-18 and OM-18 and 000-18 are regarded as some of the most copied sizes in guitar history. Nearly every builder offers some take on these classic body shapes. This 1942 Martin D-18 features an Adirondack spruce top, scalloped bracing, mahogany back and sides, 14-fret mahogany neck, 20-fret ebony fingerboard with pearl dot inlays, 1-11/16" nut width, 25.4" scale, tortoise plastic pickguard, w-b-w-b top purfling, Rosewood peghead overlay, tortoise body binding and nickel Grover open-gear tuners with butterbean buttons. This guitar simply sounds amazing with a rich openness, depth, clarity and projection that completely fill the room. We have had this D18 appraised by the renownded Gruhn Guitars in Nashville and this is what it reads - "Upon examination, we note the following modifications and condition issues : an under-bridge pickup has been installed, the bridge, tuners, nut, saddle, and bridge pins have all been replaced, the fingerboard has been poorly re-fretted using epoxy and leaving tear out, the neck has been poorly re-set leaving visible gaps around the heel and underneath the fingerboard extension, the heel is cracked, there is a visible dowel rod repair just beneath the bridge, there is a repaired hole in the back of the neck at the 12th fret, a repaired and touch up hole at the bass-side waist, a repaired side crush using six dowels, two repaired top cracks, three repaired crushes, a strip of mahogany has been crudely glued the entire length of the bass side leaving jagged ends, the bridge plate has been replaced using tin foil scraps, a patch has been glued to the back, and a metal strap button has been added to the heel. The finish is in overall poor condition and exhibits a layer of epoxy over-coat on the pickguard, top and bridge. In other respects, this instrument conforms to typical specifications of the model for the period in which it was made with dreadnought body size. Adirondack Spruce top, Mahogany neck, back, and sides, celluloid tortoise shell grain pickguard, multi-ply soundhole rosette, Brazilian Rosewood peghead overlay, ebony fingerboard, gold-colored "C.F. Martin & CO." peghead logo decal, Mother of pearl dot fingerboard inlays, multi-ply tortoise shell grain binding on body top edge, single ply tortoise shell grain binding on body back edge, and other typical style 18 appointments." - Gruhn Guitars This guitar has some expected play wear for an instrument from this era! This guitar delivers every bit of the tone and play ability you would expect from a great Pre-War Martin. Great guitar to add to any collection. Includes Hardshell Case
Features :
Top Wood: Adirondack
Back Wood: Mahogany
Scale: 25.5"
Nut Width: 1 5/8"
Frets To Body: 14
Serial Number: 78053
Neck Wood: Mahogany
Fretboard: Ebony
Bridge: New Ebony Bridge
Bracing: Scalloped
Headstock Shape: Solid
Headstock Overlay: Brazilian Rosewood
Headstock Inlay: Martin Logo
Tuners: Nickel plated open back Grover tuners
Inlays: MOP fingerboard inlays
Rosette: Rings
Purfling: W/B/W/B
Body Binding: Tortise
Pickguard: Tortoise
Nut Material: Bone
Saddle Material: Bone
Saddle Spacing: 2 1/8"
Bridge Pins: Ivoroid with Black Dots
Neck Profile: V
Body Depth: 3 3/4", 4 3/4"
Lower Bout Width: 15-5/8"
Upper Bout Width: 11 3/8"
Pickup(s): Optional
Case: Ameritage Case with Humidifier and OHSC
List price: $7,999.99