C.F. Martin/Southern California Music Company
Steel String Hawaiian Guitars
"M. Nunes & Sons" and "Rolando" Models 1350, 1400 and 1500
In July of 1916, with Hawaiian music all the rage, the C. F. Martin Co. shipped six samples each, of Hawaiian koa wood guitars with appointments generally similar to Martin's styles 0-18, 0-21, and 00-28, to the Southern California Music Company of Los Angeles, a chain of Southern California music stores, and one of Martin's largest accounts. SoCal provided Martin with the koa wood from Hawwaii, and asked that the trim on these guitars, designed for playing in the Hawaiian style, be as close as possible to those of SoCal's popular ukuleles. To appeal to the Hawaiian market, SoCal asked that the Martin stamp be replaced with the Southern California Music Company stamp, and affixed decals on the headstocks bearing the name "M. Nunes & Sons, Hawaii" and labels inside with either the name "M. Nunes & Sons" or "Rolando". These early samples had koa wood back and sides and tinted spruce tops, but after seeing the samples, SoCal decided to offer all koa guitars, and to market the three models as the 1350, 1400, and 1500. The first of the new SoCal models was shipped in November of 1916.
These guitars, and those Hawaiian guitars designed at about the same time for the Oliver Ditson Company, were the first Martins to be built for steel strings. And while Martin had previously used fan bracing only for their gut string guitars in the Spanish Style, and had since switched it's production to X-bracing, Martin curiously decided to build these early heavier steel string guitars with braces in the shape of a fan. The Model 1500, however, for reasons we may never know, has X bracing.
1916 Model 1400 #28, 1919 Model 1350 #14001, 1917 Model 1500 #181, and 1916 Spruce Top Sample with no serial number
The guitars designed for SoCal had serial numbers of their own. The Model 1400 shown here, from the very first batch, is number 28. Their numbers started with number 19, apparently allowing for the eighteen samples which were sent without serial numbers. The latest Southern California Music Company Hawaiians have trim similar to a regular Martin, and Martin serial numbers. While earlier SoCals bear the Southern California Music Company name on the headstock, later examples have either both the SoCal and Martin names or the Martin name only.
The early Model 1350 and 1500 examples I've seen have the "Rolando Koa Wood Guitars" label, while the 1400 has the "M. Nunes & Sons, Royal Hawaiians" label inside. The later examples have the Martin stamp inside.
C.F. Martin/Southern California Music Company Model 1400
1916 Southern California Music Company Model 1400
Beautiful original condition variation of a style 21 guitar made for the Southern California Music Company, and sold as the Model 1400.
From the first batch of production SoCal guitars, this was also one of the first batch of Martins to utilize all Koa wood construction.
Along with the early Ditson dreadnaught, also made with fan bracing, this was also one of the first production Martins made for steel strings.
The pyramid style bridge is a replacemement.
C.F. Martin/Southern California Music Company Model 1350
1919 Southern California Music Company Model 1350
Fan style braces similar to a Ditson dreadnaught.
Stamped inside, "C.F. Martin & Co., Nazareth, PA"
Stamped on back of headstock "Southern California Music Company, Los Angeles"
Both the initial samples for the Model 1350 and the earlier 1350 with the Rolando label have a single ring rosette like some of the guitars Martin made for others such as Ditson, Wurlitzer, and Foden, but the later examples with Martin serial numbers have a standard Martin three ring rosette.
Serial numbers 14001 and 14003.
#14001
#14003
In 1919, Martin began selling their less expensive guitars with rounded slots in the headstock. Previously, all Martins had square slots, a process that took extra time which was in short supply as as Martin's production was doubling yearly. Curiously, these two guitars, two serial numbers away and both from the same batch, have different style headstocks, which is not surprising if you follow Martin history. No doubt, the necks were made first, and different styles appeared when the worker reached into the pile when it came time to attach a neck.
14003 and 14001
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