NGD - vintage Martin

[OneMansGuitar]

I have found the pre-war koa-topped Martins to be absolutely wonderful, and include them in my all-time favorite guitars. Way to go!

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by EverettWilliams

I've played that one. It's a lovely guitar. Congrats!

Originally Posted by OneMansGuitar

I have found the pre-war koa-topped Martins to be absolutely wonderful, and include them in my all-time favorite guitars. Way to go!

Thanks. I've listened to a few on YouTube, and they sound really good to me. Hopefully the reality lives up to the virtuality.

[marty bradbury]

Sweet guitar! Enjoy!

[dadio917]

I have a '23 0-18k. Amazing sound. the neck is a little wide for me so I don't play it too much, but whenever I do it blows me away.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by SongwriterFan

How do they tell that? Or does Martin have the records to indicate this?

I also wonder why it's called "Spanish style"

If converted, usually either the saddle slot has been filled and recut or the bridge replaced. May have a thicker or replaced neck, due to heavier lap steel strings.

The modern guitar as we know it originated in Spain.

[BrunoBlack]

That's a great guitar. You'll like that one.

[godfreydaniel]

I noticed that one awhile ago, looks like a really nice one. Please give us your thoughts on it once you've had a chance to play it.

[rustystill]

Congrats on the 0-18k. We've a 24 and 27 0-18k and a 23 0-21k, I guess you could say we're big fans of these little koa gems. Awesome guitars for rag time, old timey rhythm and lead, and of course they really like to play slack key. Definitely one of the best bangs for the buck in older guitars.

-Jim

[SongwriterFan]

Update on guitar.

Got it yesterday. Arrived well-packaged and in great shape, and was just as described by the salesman over the phone. So, no surprises there.

It came with D'addario Lights, which I didn't really care for, and the action was a bit high for my tastes, so I took it by GuitarCenter today at lunch to have my tech there lower the saddle to my taste and put Martin Retro Custom-Lights on it.

Plays and sounds SO much better now. Well worth the cost.

Interestingly, based on the serial number, it's actually a 1932 guitar, not 1931 as shown on Gruhn's site . . . seems like they'd be the last place to get that wrong. Oh, well.

It didn't come with an endpin . . didn't find it anywhere in the case. I've sent an email to see if it came with one or not. GC gave me a Martin endpin, but it didn't fit very well . . . . either the holes back then were a bit wider, or this has been worn quite a bit. Nothing a bit of tape won't solve, I suppose.

We put the black light to it at GC, and there are no cracks at all. There are a few spots where the finish has been touched up (one of those was mentioned by the salesman as probably being new finish), and the re-glue job for the bridge was a bit sloppy (just as described by the salesman). Has a slight belly (again, described well by the salesman).

Sounds phenomenal, though I wish the neck didn't have as much of a pronounced V as it does.

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by Todd Yates

This one however was setup for fretted, or Spanish style originally.

Or so says Gruhn's website.

I took it by a local high-end shop today, and the tech there seemed very well-informed (at least to me), and he took a look at the bridge plate and just from that concluded that it had almost certainly been converted from Hawaiian. He then took a look at the neck, and that (to him, at least) substantiated his belief.

So, battle of the two experts, I guess? Well, we know Gruhn's got the YEAR wrong.

Ultimately, I suppose it doesn't really matter . . . . unless I seriously overpaid simply because it was supposedly one that had never been converted.

If you want to PM me the full serial number I can ask a Martin archivist to check the shop records for any details about the construction.

[SongwriterFan]

PM sent . . . thanks!

Looks like Gruhn's listing was correct, on all but the year. This one is easy in the sense that if the bridge is original, then the guitar is not a conversion from Hawaiian. There are more clues when looking at one in person, but this is pretty clear in photos. It appears to be original.

The Martin archives confirm that. This was passed along to me. Hope it helps fill in the question marks.

This guitar was stamped on March 23, 1932 and cleared final inspection on August 5 that year.

Mike Longworth noted this batch as “Spanish”.

Shipping records exist for 12 out of the batch of 25 guitars and they are all identified as “0-18K Spanish”.

This particular sat in stock for some time and was only shipped to Cable Piano Co. in Atlanta GA on January 18 , 1935.

[SongwriterFan]

Thanks for the info, Todd!