C. F. Martin 00-17 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1937), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 66510, natural mahogany finish, mahogany body and neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This beautiful pre-war Martin 00-17 dates to early/mid 1937 and is very well preserved, still a fine player maintaining the crisply defined yet warm sound these all-mahogany Martins are well-known for. The pre-war 00-17s with thin, scalloped braced tops often manifest an extra richness and sweetness in the mids, sometimes less evident in the postwar models.
The 00-17 was the largest style of Martin offered in the all-mahogany format. Even though the overriding idea was economy (this was still the depression) they were built to the same extremely high standard as all Martin instruments. There is no decoration and no frills -- just a plain and simple tone machine.
Typical features for this late pre-war period include original individual Waverly openback tuners, a small straight rosewood bridge and a tortoise celluloid pickguard. The neck has a lovely round backed profile that shades into a subtle "V" as it approaches the body; this slightly chunkier "37 neck" is a favorite of some players. These mahogany-top guitars have a distinctive ringing tone and are excellent fingerpickers as well as a great all-around choice in a pre-war Martin.
Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/16 in. (10.3 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 85-year-old 00-17 has some dings, nicks and scratches as would be expected, but overall is in exceptional condition for its age. The all-original finish has minor wear overall with a deeper spot worn through to the wood on the side of the upper treble bout, from rubbing against the interior of the original chipboard case. A small spot of finish on the top at the lower bout has clouded a bit from previous arm wear, and there are some deeper scratches into the finish behind the bridge and on the lower side.
There is only one tiny crack on the top just off the upper edge of the soundhole, leading up to fingerboard extension along the bass side; this has been neatly sealed and shows no sign of movement. Other than this the guitar is crack-free. It has had a neck reset, which resulted in a small chip on the bass side of the heel being reglued. The Brazilian rosewood bridge has been reglued at some point in its life, with a newer saddle added; the original is in the case. The original small maple bridgeplate is nicely intact. The fingerboard shows virtually no wear, and the frets appear original with some very slight wear in the lower positions.
This 00 has quite a powerful sound for its size with great projection, and is very sweet sounding for a mid-sized all-mahogany model. It is a fine instrument for delicate finger picking styles, heavy rhythm strumming, and pretty much anything in between. It is housed in a well fitted modern hardshell case. Excellent - Condition.
