Up for sale is a rich-sounding 1951 Martin 000-21! Here’s the demo video:
https://youtu.be/iFu2CwGvWew
I love Martin’s “21” series guitars (Brazilian Rosewood back and sides like a “28” but with Brazilian fingerboard and bridge, like an “18”) and this example of an uncommon model demonstrates why they’re so compelling. There’s a rosewood saturation and complexity to the sound that is combined with the dry woody “snap” that characterizes the best old 000-18s. It has excellent projection, great low end for a small-body guitar, and top-notch playability thanks to some recent work (described below). The nut width is typical for this era at 1 11/16”.
I recently had luthier Mike Weems perform a neck reset and fret dress. He also put on an actual set of early ‘50s Kluson tuners (which I acquired separately) to replace the non-original ones that were previously on the guitar. This 000-21 took a bit of a hit in transit and required a couple cracks on the back and one on the end block to be repaired, as well as a couple areas of binding to be fixed. There is a very small repaired hairline crack on the neck near the nut, which is completely stable and does not pose any structural issues. There is some overspray on the back and sides, although I’ve seen this particular coloration on the back of other 000-21s from this era.
Music City Vintage Guitars here in Nashville (started by Beau Hudson, who helped launch Carter Vintage) just appraised this 000-21 for $10,000. I’m asking $9,000 plus shipping. Comes with the original case!
04-22-2024, 08:52 AM
1951 Martin 000-21
