Cleaning House
Acoustic Guitars for Sale
Please let me know what guitars you're interested in, and what other information you need, and I'll get back to you with prices and whatever else you need as soon as I am able to.
I have been overwhelmed with inquiries and busy with other things, so I'm sorry to say I have been very slow to get back to you all. Do feel free to send me a friendly reminder if you're waiting to hear from me. And thanks for your patience.
Robert
Martin 1919 So Calif 0-18K / 1350
An important and very historic koa wood Martin, the sister to my SoCal which is illustrated in the New Longworth book and Washburn & Johnston. Made by Martin for the Southern California Music Company, these were the first production guitars Martin ever made for steel strings. Made with fan braces similar to those Martin used at the same time on the original Ditson Dreadnaught. Stamped inside: "C.F. Martin & Co., Nazareth PA, Stamped on the back of the headstock "Southern California Music Company, Los Angeles."
Martin 1927 0-18K
Beautiful koa wood Martin, converted from original Hawaiian set up for excellent standard play, with a new bridge with compensated saddle and T-frets added to the original thick fretboard. Scalloped braces, and wonderful clear focused tone. Old style Martin brand on back of headstock.
Martin 1928 00-21
Refinished, patch in top, "Slipped block" neck set, a bargain price for a stable, great sounding steel string rosewood 12 fret from Martin's best years for 12 frets. Herringbone rosette, slotted square inlays, original bridge plate.
SOLD
Martin 1930 2-17
All original, with the possible exception of the bridge. The sound that comes out of these little things always blows people away. The perfect travel guitar! Great for blues. Not at all the compromise that you might expect. Some belly to the top, which seems to be typical of these, and closed center seam crack. 4/32" action at 12th fret. Later soft case.
Martin 1936 0-17
Simply amazing condition, natural finish, all solid mahogany construction, scalloped bracing, 14-fret neck, 20-fret Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, ivoroid dot inlays, 1-3/4" nut width, 24.9" scale, Brazilian rosewood bridge, tortoise plastic pickguard, perfect mid-'30's nickel Grover tuners with oval metal buttons, perfect set-up with recent neck reset and re-fret by Elderly Instruments, sweet sounding little guitar. Original period case.
Serial number 63156
SOLD
Martin 1940 0-18
An extremely nice pre-war Martin with beautiful highs and a clear solid bass. Some pickwear on the upper bout, with crazing, but otherwise very solid. Recent neck set with high bridge and saddle. A mahogany 14 fret prewar with the ebony fingerboard and bridge usually seen only on the high end Martins. Scalloped braces, and red spruce top. Original old style tuners and red tone pickguard seen in late 1929 and 1949.
SOLD
Martin 1942 00-18
The type of guitar lots of us look for, a great player that looks like it's been enjoyed, but never really abused. Fantastic sound, extremely articulate and well balanced. Scalloped braces and red spruce top.
Martin 1943 000-18
1943 is one of my favorite years for Martins. Some years stand out, and as Eric Schoenberg has also pointed out, the top wood used in 1943 seems to be exceptional. Perhaps it was an exceptional log of spruce, perhaps it was the weather in 1945 made for optimal building, or perhaps both. So the 1943 000-18 is one of my favorite guitars, enough so that I bought two of them. I spent a lot of money having noted Martin luthier TJ Thompson bring this one to perfect operating condition, with every intention of keeping it, but I really need to make room for other guitar, and it's hard to justify keeping two! All original, with repairs by TJ.
Martin 1946 000-18
A beautiful rare example of a 100% untouched and original early postwar Martin, with a great big ebony-reinforced neck. Top wood is typical 1946, with terrific bear claw.
Martin 1949 D18
Could be a nice guitar, but will need some work. Appears to have had a slipped block, a common early type of neck set. Braces have been scalloped. Top has a belly which may indicate loose braces. Replacement bridge. Refinished. Neck has had a longitudinal separation which has been glued, and has been entirely stable. Needs work, so it's priced accordingly.
Martin 1952 000-18
All original with the exception of the refinished back. Attractive, and a real boomer. One of my nicest sounding 000's. The guitar speaks for itself. 3/32" action at 12th fret. Repaired top crack and typical pickguard crack. Later hard case. You can wait until I refinish the back, or buy it now as-is for less.
Martin 1953 0-18
A rare fifties Martin with Englemann Spruce, from the small batch that was discovered on a wood buying trip by Mr. Martin at the time. Incredibly focused sound that you'll never hear from Sitka. All original. Very solid, with three tiny holes in the end, apparently from a tailpiece.
Martin 1957 00-18
All original and in very nice shape. 3/32" action at 12th fret. Nice clear sound. With attractive and unusual very light blonde tortoise binding. Distinctive orange-red pickguard that tells you immediately it's from 1957. Some finish checking on the top. A really nice birth year guitar for somebody! Non original hard case.
Martin 1962 000-18
This '62 000-18 is in pretty amazing condition. If you look closely enough, you can see some light crazing from age. From a foot or so away, you'd swear it was a brand new guitar. I don't know of any work that's been done to it. It's extremely articulate and well balanced. Like all Martins from 1964 or earlier, built in the old North Street Factory, so it's assembled with hide glue. The action is as close to perfect as any guitar I've seen: Hi E 2/32, Low E 3/32, saddle 3/32, string height 13/32, bridge 10/32, nut 3/32.
SOLD
Martin 1964 0-18
Fantastic sounding Martin 0-18 in beautiful condition with ringing highs and clear concise bass. All original, with added piezo pickup.
Serial number 196272.
SOLD
Martin 1966 D-35
This guitar is original down to the red dots on the pins, and very nice. Beautiful Brazilian, tortoise pickguard, small maple bridge plate - All the desirable features only seen on the earliest ones. Sounds great. The neck set is perfect, with low action, 2/32" at 12th fret. The frets are on the flat side. No pickwear, some finish checking on the top, and the usual small pickguard crack. An obviously well maintained guitar. The most popular guitar for singer-songwriters in the late 1960's. Has lighter 1/4" braces than a D-28, which gives it a fuller and warmer tone. Newer hard shell case.
Martin 2006 Ditson 111 Dreadnaught
I'm selling this one reluctantly to make room in the house for other guitars. This is the first new Martin I've bought since I purchased my first Martin almost 50 years ago, and is simply the best thing Martin has produced since then. Hand made with red spruce, and a huge but beautiful sounding guitar that holds it's own with the best of my vintage collection. In "as new" condition.
In the Shop and Coming Soon
Martin 1926 0-21
Martin 1928 0-21
Martin 1934 00-40H
Martin 1929 0-17
Martin 1945 00-18
Gibson 1921 L1
Gibson 1934 Carson Robison
Gibson 1937 Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe
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