The guitar featured in this entry is one of the very last 12-fret 0-18 guitars made by Martin. The guitar was stamped on January 4, 1932 and cleared final inspection on September 13 that year. Nine months was a very long time in production for the period. The long delay was the result of Martin […]
Serial number 111404 was stamped on September 7, 1949 and cleared final inspection on October 28 that year. The tuners are Kluson 210 machines with rounded metal buttons. Style 18 features: Back and sides: Mahogany Top: Sitka spruce Purfling: Lines Binding: Black celluloid No backstripe Other period features: Straight X-bracing Rosewood fingerboard Rosewood belly bridge […]
Serial number was stamped around mid-June 1920. One interesting feature of this guitar is the coarse grain structure of the wood used for the neck. This type of wood is Philippine Mahogany (genus Shorea) which is not considered a true mahogany (genus Swietenia). It was used for the necks of Martin guitars circa 1919 to […]
Here is one of the very early 1932 14-fret 0-18 “Model 32” guitars. The “Model 32” guitars received what Martin referred to as a “dark top” finish but is now commonly known as honeyburst, amberburst or shaded top. Serial number 50739 was stamped on April 13, 1932 and cleared final inspection on July 12 that […]