Beauty in Austerity, and a Big Ol' Sound

...some pre-WWII Martin arrivals.

One of the questions we get asked most often is "what pre-war Martins do you have?" The older Martin guitars have proven more than ever to be the savvy players' and collectors' choice among American flat top guitars, but with prices steadily rising and supplies ever more difficult to come by, there seem to be fewer to choose from each year. Recently, a couple of spectacular arrivals here have reminded us why we all love the feel and sound of the Martins from the first half of the last century.

Just in is a truly fantastic sounding 000-18 from 1926 (item_#3920). This is an early steel-string mahogany 000, in the largest body size available at the time. This very well-preserved example is set up to play perfectly, and has a huge voice both fingerpicked and flatpicked. These 12-fret 1920's guitars are often thought of as old-time country instruments, but in truth they sound great for practically any style of playing. We are thrilled to have this guitar in stock, these 12-fret 000's are becoming very hard to find in this kind of condition.

In the category of pre-war pearl Martins we offer a well worn but lovely sounding 1927 00-42 (item_#3498). With a tad less pearl work, these guitars ranked just below the top of the line style 45. The late 1920's was a period of peak production for the 00-42 which sold for $110 just before the crash of the financial markets and the onset of the great depression.

We also have a 1930 0-21 (item_#3059), built just at the end of the 12-fret era. This guitar features a gorgeous grain to the rosewood sides and back, which would now be considered a premium feature. At the time, Martin valued straightness of grain and consistency over swirl, so this dramatic looking wood was used on a Style 21, the lowest of the rosewood models. This guitar has an original first-year belly bridge, and also sounds amazing, a particularly big sound for its size.

Another beautiful 1920's Martin just arrived is an 0-28K from 1928 (item_#3907) in amazingly undisturbed condition. This guitar is still in the original Hawaiian setup, with flush frets and a raised nut. The flamed koa is finished in an incredibly rich dark hue, and with the contrasting ivory celluloid binding and herringbone inlay this is simply one of the most visually appealing Martins we have ever seen. It also sounds spectacular, but of course you have to play Hawaiian style to find that out!

Continued