Ngd!

[Bluewyatt]

I ran into this battle scarred beauty and went nuts over the tone and feel. It's a 1950 Martin 00-18G. The sound is like liquid gold!

[Dru Edwards]

Fantastic! Is it comfortable to play (i.e. setup)? Does it need any maintenance?

[Bluewyatt]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Fantastic! Is it comfortable to play (i.e. setup)? Does it need any maintenance?

Yes, Dru, it plays beautifully! The action on the bass side is a little under 4mm and treble side a little under 3mm. Joe Glaser had repaired two minor cracks on the top and one on the back and set it up. The nut width is 1 7/8" and a medium C shaped neck. Brazilian fretboard.
Non original tuning pegs (I'll start looking;-) and rode a little hard - but maybe that's why it sounds so good. I'm really quite thrilled with it..thanks!
Bat

[softballbryan]

Don't you wish the guitar could tell you the story of it's life? I bet it would be fascinating to hear where it's been, where it's been played, who's played it, the songs that it's song, et cetera.

[pgilmor]

Nice find, Bat!! Is the fretboard flat or radiused?

[texasdw]

I love the "made for gut or nylon strings" stamp!

[Bluewyatt]

Originally Posted by pgilmor

Nice find, Bat!! Is the fretboard flat or radiused?

It's flat, Phil. My Froggy Bottoms are 20" radius so I prefer a flatter radius and it's not a problem for me.

I definitely wonder where it's been and what it's played (folk or country probably). I'm sure I'll pull some stories out of it.

The G in the model stood for gut strings - later changed to C for classical.

[flagstaffcharli]

Originally Posted by Bluewyatt

It's flat, Phil. My Froggy Bottoms are 20" radius so I prefer a flatter radius and it's not a problem for me.

I definitely wonder where it's been and what it's played (folk or country probably). I'm sure I'll pull some stories out of it.

The G in the model stood for gut strings - later changed to C for classical.

Hey congrats! I have a '59 00-18G that's a lot worse cosmetically — looks like it was repaired after being run over by a truck — but it plays well and sounds great. These are fun guitars, and I'm totally with you in wondering about the past. Guys like us are just later chapters in some cool and mysterious story. Enjoy your new, old guitar!

[CCFingerstyle]

Congratulations on becoming a member of the 00-18G club and coming over to the "dark side" of Martin owners. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine. I am very surprised to hear that it has a 1-7/8" nut. I thought all of those had 2" nuts. Have fun with it! One of only 109 made that year.

Chris

[Kindness]

Way cool! Where in the world did you find it?

[Bluewyatt]

Yup, it's a 1 7/8" nut for sure. Found it at a place called Music City Pickers here in Nashville. They're kind of off the map because I've been here over 25 yrs. and hadn't heard of them....maybe I'm off the map