C. F. Martin 0-17 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1938), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 71326, natural lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, black tolex hard shell case.
This is a fine playing and sounding example of a pre-war Martin 0-17 showing some typical wear but structurally in fine condition for its age, with a powerful sound for a small all-mahogany guitar. This 0-17 was built in late 1938; the 0-17 had been changed from a 12-fret neck joint to a 14-fret model for the 1934 catalog. At the time the effects of the Depression were still much in evidence and this small, unassuming but affordable guitar remained one of Martin's best sellers. This one model had a major role in keeping the company in business during that 1930s. `
The 0-17 is a direct descendant of Martin's 12 fret, steel string budget guitars of the 1920's, which were a novel idea for the company at the time. Designed to offer a reliable, great sounding instrument at the lowest price Martin could manage, the Style 17 instruments are a study in elegant minimalism. The body is all mahogany, with no ornament except for the soundhole ring and pickguard. The mahogany neck has an unbound, dot-inlaid rosewood fingerboard, the headstock is fitted with plain individual Grover G98 tuners with metal buttons. By this time the traditional Martin bar frets had been replaced by modern tang fretwire. The style 17 models kept the small rectangular rosewood bridge, not moving to the "bottom belly" design used on higher grade models.
451 of these little mahogany wonders were made in 1938, down quite a bit from a peak of 1100 a couple of years before. Listing for $30.00 that year, this was still a fairly expensive proposition for many Americans at the time. While plain in appearance and at the bottom of the Martin guitar line, The 0-17 is still built of high-grade materials to the highest standards. Guitars could be had much cheaper from the likes of Harmony, Regal and the Sears catalog, but none came close to the sonic value of this instrument. Then as now 0-17 is a fully professional-quality guitar, extremely responsive with a rich, singing tone that belies its humble appearance.
Overall length is 38 1/2 in. (97.8 cm.), 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This pre-war Martin shows some typical signs of long use but is structurally excellent, especially for being nearly 85 years old. The original lacquer finish shows a decent amount of checking with dings, dents and scratches over the body. The top finish in particular has spots along the edges of the fingerboard and above the soundhole that have been worn down to the wood with some old touch up. There is a feelable spot worn through on the back of the neck behind the 2-3rd fret area that has a light touch up, and the body edges have some wear down to the wood as is typical for these unbound guitars.
No cracks are evident, and everything on the guitar remains in excellent working condition. It has been refretted with period correct wire and the neck has been very neatly reset. There is a new bone saddle on the original uncut rosewood bridge. The original small maple bridgeplate is very neat and undisturbed, and the original Grover tuners still shine, and also still work! This is just a lovely find, a nice playing and great sounding example of our of our most popular instruments. It resides in a modern hardshell case. Overall Excellent - Condition.
