C. F. Martin 00-17 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1956), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 148224, natural lacquer finish, Mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This is a very nice playing Martin 00-17 from late 1956, now creeping up on its 70th birthday. The 00-17 was the largest of the all-mahogany Martins of the 1950s, the company's lower budget 6-string offerings. Style 17 guitars were sold at a relatively modest price (list on this 00 was $95 in 1956, without a case) but they were still built to the same exacting quality standards of all Martins.
To achieve this economy, Martin used mahogany instead of spruce for the top and applied only the most minimal decoration: there is no binding anywhere, only small dot fingerboard inlay and the gold Martin decal adorning the peghead. Other typical features include a discreet 5-ply sound hole ring, a small straight rosewood bridge and a tortoise celluloid pickguard. The tuners are post-war Waverly individual openback machines with plastic buttons, also familiar from many Gretsch guitars. Exactly 625 00-17s shipped out in 1956; the model was discontinued a few years later.
Older mahogany-top Martin guitars are known for their distinctive ringing tone, with a somewhat "tighter" and more detailed response on each note than the typical spruce top model. They are generally considered particularly excellent fingerpickers, especially suited to blues and ragtime styles. The larger 00 body size gives the sound more depth than the more common smaller 0 size models and this is also a good general "strummer's" guitar. The 00-17 records and amplifies easily and also makes for an excellent singer-songwriter's instrument as well as a great all-around choice in a vintage Martin.
Overall length is 38 13/16 in. (98.6 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 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 is a nice relatively clean guitar overall, showing some play wear but remaining all original and really looking not too heavily used over the last nearly 70 years. The unaltered original finish shows light play wear overall, with scuffing and small dings and dents but hardly any of the common pick marks to the top. The lower soundhole rim is the most worn spot as usual, with some small pick marks between the pickguard and bridge as well. Some finish is dinged and worn away on the back/side edges, typical of these unbound bodies. The back has some scuffing and scraping but no heavy buckle wear. The back of the neck has some wear along the spine and very small dents and dinks, but nothing too distracting.
There are no visible crack repairs. The original bridge has excellent height, it has been reglued and possibly lowered just a hair in front of the pins mostly on the treble side. The bone saddle is later. Internally the guitar is untouched, with a clean original small maple bridgeplate and the typical super neat Martin brace work. The neck has been reset neatly with a small shim under the fingerboard and nicely refretted with correct style wire. As a result this is a truly excellent playing guitar with a low, comfortable action and a lovely sound, fairly bright but never shrill, with a wide dynamic range. It is housed in a modern HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
