NGD - 1937 Sunburst Martin Archtop

[Dick Sanders]

Congrats, Danny. You have the coolest guitars. One of these days I hope to visit the Danny Combs Museum of Fine Guitars. Here's a 1938 F-7 for comparison, from Acoustic Guitars, The Illustrated Encyclopedia by Dave Hunter:



Hope to see and hear you playing your new "Old Martin" on YouTube soon! --best, Dick

[drcmusic7]

Thanks, Nort! I appreciate the clarification and history.

Dick, thanks so much for the reference! I'll need to check out that book. Does the book says anything about the headstock of the F-7? If I remember correctly, the famous 40 series type Block logo (the one that's abalone and runs down the center of the headstock) started on the archtops like that one.

Kindly,
Danny

[Nort]

Hi again Danny,

The F-7 had the script decal logo and the F-9 had the pearly block letter
inlay down the headstock.

[Dick Sanders]

Danny and gang: Here's what the Acoustic Guitars, The Illustrated Encyclopedia by Dave Hunter says about Martin archtops:

... But while Martin was developing what is now widely recognized as the quintessential flat-top guitar, it was also spending a lot of energy on another type of guitar that proved to be a costly dead-end. In mid 1931, Martin fielded a line of archtop guitars, all with round soundholes, based on its OM body shape. These were the C-1, a mahogany model appointed like Style 18; the C-2 (like Style 28); and the C-3, a deluxe rosewood model with gold plating and Style 45 neck inlays. By 1933, these were joined by a less expensive version in the OO size, called the R-18, and this would prove to be Martin's best selling archtop. By the end of 1933, all were switched to the more popular f-hole design. In 1935, the company introduced a new larger body shape for its deluxe archtops, called F-7 and F-9, but despite their appearance in the front of the catalog, both new models sold poorly. Martin's archtops failed because the company never embraced the idea of a fully carved archtop guitar. Instead, Martin put a carved top on a flat-top body, pitching the neck back to accomodate a high floating bridge and a tailpiece. The result, though pleasant in tone, lacked the power of a Gibson or Epiphone, both of which offered true archtops with carved tops and backs in the same price range as Martin's models. Although they were discontinued in 1942, Martin's ill-fated archtops left their mark on the more traditional flat-tops. The now familiar vertical headstock letters and hexagonal fretboard inlays were both initially designed for Martin's archtops, and the black and white top bordering that replaced herringbone trim in 1946 first appeared on the C-2 model 15 years later. The body shape of the F series would later become Martin's flat-top M series, which even later became Martin Jumbo. In summary, Martin's archtops may not have made a lasting impression as guitars, but they helped the company evolve to more contemporary designs.

--Note, here's the headstock on the 1938 F-7 (guitar pictured in my previous post):