C. F. Martin 0-18 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1959), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 167314, natural lacquer finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This is an obviously well-loved and heavily played Martin 0-18 from the 1959, the year when the runaway success of the Kingston Trio launched the "Folk era" into the popular imagination and made the Martin guitar the height of fashion. The concert-sized mahogany body carries the traditional Martin features including tortoise celluloid binding on the body edges, tortoise celluloid pickguard, long-saddle Brazilian rosewood bridge and a nicely ambered nitrocellulose lacquer finish. The headstock corners are the rounded style typical of the period, with the peghead face adorned with the "CF Martin" gold decal on the face and individual Grover Sta-Tite G98 openback tuners with hexagonal bushings.
This guitar, like all made prior to 1964, is the product of the old red brick Martin factory made before the move to the modern facility down the road. Martins made after mid-1964 saw many subsequent changes in the way the guitars were built. These older small body 0's are lovely-sounding instruments; this one has plenty of volume (more than many expect in a smaller guitar) and a well-balanced ringing tone with a lot of carrying power. This guitar is just is a bit scruffy looking but nonetheless a superb-playing and sounding guitar, showing the signs of decades of heavy use and still a wonderful player's instrument, the perfect gigging, recording or songwriting small Martin.
Overall length is 38 3/4 in. (98.4 cm.), 13 9/16 in. (34.4 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.).
As noted this is quite a well-worn guitar but a fine sounding one, a touch richer with more punch than many 0-size guitars from this era. The top has heavy pickwear around the soundhole, pickguard and next to the low "E" string, and the finish overall has a large and varied collection of dings, scrapes and dents. The top has only one old spruce grain split off the bass side of the fingerboard extension; the sides have a repaired grain cracks on each lower bout. All are solidly sealed up.
The neck has been nicely reset and playability is excellent. The original rosewood bridge has been shaved down just a bit long ago but still maintains decent height; the bone saddle has been replaced. The interior of the guitar is relatively clean including the original small maple bridge plate; with only the previously noted cracks showing on the inside. The original frets are somewhat surprisingly only lightly worn with plenty of life left. This is a genuine relic of a small-body flattop, already played for 60+ years and well ready for the next century. Overall Very Good + Condition.
