C. F. Martin 00-21 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1930)
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Item #10445
C. F. Martin 00-21 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1930), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 42429, natural lacquer finish, spruce top, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This guitar is a somewhat played in but lovely 00-sized Brazilian rosewood Martin with more sound than a room full of jumbos! The 12-fret, steel string Martins of the late 1920s and very early 1930s are some of our very favorite guitars, period. For only a few years right at this time -- just before Martin altered nearly all their designs to the 14-fret neck "Orchestra Model" pattern -- the company crafted a relatively small number of these traditional long-body scallop-braced flat-tops braced for steel strings instead of the gut used previously. The scalloped bracing is a wee bit beefed up but still extremely graceful and delicate compared to what was to come.
This Model 00-21 dates to early/mid 1930. Style 21 -- the lowest price rosewood model -- was cataloged as a gut strung guitar until 1927, when most of the line finally bowed to the reality that the steel-string flat top was the new normal. The other features remained pretty much as they had since the 19th century, with a slotted headstock over the wide ebony fingerboard on the neck which joins the body at the 12th fret. These guitars were the final evolution of the original 1800s Martin patterns before the "modern" 14-fret design became the standard just a few years later. This 1930 guitar has the new-style larger ebony belly bridge, a feature just added allowing a more gluing area to help resist the increased tension. This guitar is still too early to have been factory-equipped with a pickguard.
The 0-21 is a relatively rare model with just over 100 shipped in 1930, after which this "old fashioned" style quickly dropped out of favor. The traditional 12-fret body was supplanted within a few years on nearly all Martins by the new 14-fret Orchestra Model design, leaving only a few models to carry it on. The 0-21 was only sparingly made after 1931 making it a relatively rare model despite its midline status; not many have survived without major repairs.
Martin's preference for straight-grained rosewood also results in Style 21 instruments often carrying more colorfully figured Brazilian back and sides than their higher-end siblings. The bookmatched back on this one has some interesting figure and plainly visible cross grain saw marks giving it an almost quilted look, especially below the herringbone back strip. The sides are relatively tame. The spruce top features a herringbone soundhole inlay and rosewood binding while the ebony fingerboard has small notched diamond pearl inlay. The original nickel Waverly strip tuners have grained ivoroid buttons.
Overall, this is a truly superb steel-string 12 fret Martin, a real treat to play either fingerstyle or "plectrum" as it would have been termed back when this was a new guitar. In any application it is a featherweight tone machine, a delightful instrument with a voice belying its (by modern standards) small size.
Overall length is 38 1/4 in. (97.2 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 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 7/8 in. (48 mm.).
This 90+ year old Martin remains in excellent playing condition overall, showing some general wear and repair but fewer alterations than many similar guitars of this vintage. Overall the original finish shows checking, particularly on the top, with small dings, dents and scrapes but no large areas of concentrated wear. The lacquer on the top is deeply ambered, with a very lovely aged patina and some long checking lines. There is some typical playwear into the wood of the top, mostly centered in the usual area below the strings off the soundhole rim. There are a few additional spots of wear through the finish in other spots, particularly a couple of spots and a deeper case bite on the lower bout of the top. The back finish appears to have been buffed somewhat long ago. The lacquer is worn through to the wood in the lower positions on the back of the neck.
There is one small area of visible finish fill-in to the top around the bridge, most notable in front of the bridge, presumably to touch up the scar of a previous replacement bridge. The current bridge is a carefully made ebony replacement; the original tiny maple bridgeplate is original but shows some scarring from where a small cap over the pin holes was removed. There is a tightly sealed grain crack in the bass side rim lower bout. The finish has been rubbed through to the clear coat in a couple of small spots around this. There is one small but noticeably deep ding into the curve of the side on the upper bass bout.
The neck has been neatly reset and playability is excellent. The bridge, as mentioned above, is a correct replacement made to the same contours and footprint as the original with a new bone saddle. The guitar has been refretted with authentic Martin bar frets, they are in excellent shape showing virtually no wear. The fingerboard has some light divoting in the first position. This is simply a delightful instrument to play or to hear, with a rich and powerful sound. It resides in an original period hard shell case, a splendid survivor of what many consider Martin's best period. Very Good + Condition.
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This guitar is a somewhat played in but lovely 00-sized Brazilian rosewood Martin with more sound than a room full of jumbos! The 12-fret, steel string Martins of the late 1920s and very early 1930s are some of our very favorite guitars, period. For only a few years right at this time -- just before Martin altered nearly all their designs to the 14-fret neck "Orchestra Model" pattern -- the company crafted a relatively small number of these traditional long-body scallop-braced flat-tops braced for steel strings instead of the gut used previously. The scalloped bracing is a wee bit beefed up but still extremely graceful and delicate compared to what was to come.
This Model 00-21 dates to early/mid 1930. Style 21 -- the lowest price rosewood model -- was cataloged as a gut strung guitar until 1927, when most of the line finally bowed to the reality that the steel-string flat top was the new normal. The other features remained pretty much as they had since the 19th century, with a slotted headstock over the wide ebony fingerboard on the neck which joins the body at the 12th fret. These guitars were the final evolution of the original 1800s Martin patterns before the "modern" 14-fret design became the standard just a few years later. This 1930 guitar has the new-style larger ebony belly bridge, a feature just added allowing a more gluing area to help resist the increased tension. This guitar is still too early to have been factory-equipped with a pickguard.
The 0-21 is a relatively rare model with just over 100 shipped in 1930, after which this "old fashioned" style quickly dropped out of favor. The traditional 12-fret body was supplanted within a few years on nearly all Martins by the new 14-fret Orchestra Model design, leaving only a few models to carry it on. The 0-21 was only sparingly made after 1931 making it a relatively rare model despite its midline status; not many have survived without major repairs.
Martin's preference for straight-grained rosewood also results in Style 21 instruments often carrying more colorfully figured Brazilian back and sides than their higher-end siblings. The bookmatched back on this one has some interesting figure and plainly visible cross grain saw marks giving it an almost quilted look, especially below the herringbone back strip. The sides are relatively tame. The spruce top features a herringbone soundhole inlay and rosewood binding while the ebony fingerboard has small notched diamond pearl inlay. The original nickel Waverly strip tuners have grained ivoroid buttons.
Overall, this is a truly superb steel-string 12 fret Martin, a real treat to play either fingerstyle or "plectrum" as it would have been termed back when this was a new guitar. In any application it is a featherweight tone machine, a delightful instrument with a voice belying its (by modern standards) small size.
Overall length is 38 1/4 in. (97.2 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 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 7/8 in. (48 mm.).
This 90+ year old Martin remains in excellent playing condition overall, showing some general wear and repair but fewer alterations than many similar guitars of this vintage. Overall the original finish shows checking, particularly on the top, with small dings, dents and scrapes but no large areas of concentrated wear. The lacquer on the top is deeply ambered, with a very lovely aged patina and some long checking lines. There is some typical playwear into the wood of the top, mostly centered in the usual area below the strings off the soundhole rim. There are a few additional spots of wear through the finish in other spots, particularly a couple of spots and a deeper case bite on the lower bout of the top. The back finish appears to have been buffed somewhat long ago. The lacquer is worn through to the wood in the lower positions on the back of the neck.
There is one small area of visible finish fill-in to the top around the bridge, most notable in front of the bridge, presumably to touch up the scar of a previous replacement bridge. The current bridge is a carefully made ebony replacement; the original tiny maple bridgeplate is original but shows some scarring from where a small cap over the pin holes was removed. There is a tightly sealed grain crack in the bass side rim lower bout. The finish has been rubbed through to the clear coat in a couple of small spots around this. There is one small but noticeably deep ding into the curve of the side on the upper bass bout.
The neck has been neatly reset and playability is excellent. The bridge, as mentioned above, is a correct replacement made to the same contours and footprint as the original with a new bone saddle. The guitar has been refretted with authentic Martin bar frets, they are in excellent shape showing virtually no wear. The fingerboard has some light divoting in the first position. This is simply a delightful instrument to play or to hear, with a rich and powerful sound. It resides in an original period hard shell case, a splendid survivor of what many consider Martin's best period. Very Good + Condition.
