C. F. Martin 000-28 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1943), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 86425, natural lacquer finish, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, molded fiberglass hard shell case.
This is a superb delight in an original vintage Martin: a well preserved 000-28 from late 1943. While always a well-respected instrument, rosewood 000's from this period are relatively rare guitars. Only 96 000-28s were produced in 1943 (the last full year of scalloped bracing) making the 000-28 a connoisseur's model even then. During the war Martin kept surprisingly busy making guitars unlike Gibson, which was primarily devoted to military contracts. 192 D-28's shipped out in 1943 alone, making that model twice as common as this rosewood 000! At a list price of $110 during the war the 000-28 was a fairly expensive guitar, and so seemed to fall 'between the cracks" between the inexpensive student Martins and the top-end Dreadnoughts that were becoming the norm for the "Hillbilly" radio entertainers of the day.
This wartime 000 maintains most of the classic pre-war appointments; celluloid binding with the herringbone trim on the top, with the back triple bound and a chain pattern backstrip. The nut width is the slimmer 1 11/16 adopted in 1939 and as with all 1943 guitars was reinforced with ebony instead of steel due to wartime restrictions. The top bracing is beautifully scalloped and shifted slightly back to strengthen the top, another design alteration dating to 1939. The ebony fingerboard has delicate slotted diamond pearl inlay, replaced shortly after with simple dots.
The bookmatched Brazilian rosewood on the back and sides has some lovely figuring, with a particularly dramatic grain streak on the back. Even during the war the company's wood supply was largely top-notch, unlike the comparatively desperate situation at Gibson. The top is of a very narrow grained Appalachian spruce, which due to war-related harvesting was a commodity that would shortly disappear from commercial guitar making for half a century. This is topped with a tortoise celluloid pickguard and ebony belly bridge.
While this is lovely guitar to look as with most Martins the real beauty comes in the playing. This guitar responds extremely well to both a light and heavier-handed strumming approach, and is exceptionally responsive compared to many later instruments this size. The 000-28 is one of our favorite Martin models, and this is one of the sweetest examples we have seen in a while.
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 15 1/8 in. (38.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/8 in. (10.5 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 fine example overall showing some general finish wear and typical maintenance repair but still cleaner and more original than many from this period. The finish remains all original on the body, with fine checking and some typical strum wear to the top on both sides of the soundhole edge and to an area behind and below the pickguard. The rest of the top is relatively clean with fine checking and scattered dings and dents, one deeper dent patched in on the back edge. The back and sides also have fine checking and some typical dings and scratches but no heavy buckle wear.
The neck has some light overfinish and polish out to the sides and heel related to repair work; the fingerboard has been removed and re-installed and the neck reset. It is likely a graphite rod was inserted under the fingerboard in place of the original ebony (this is fairly common practice to help keep the neck true) but magnetic inspection indicates no metal was added preserving the specific Wartime balance and feel. The back of the neck has some more prominent checking but only some minor dings and chips mostly up in the 10-12th fret region and light wear in the first position. A strap button has been added on the heel.
The body has only one very small crack repair, a typical pull off the top edge of the pickguard neatly sealed and cleated underneath. The ebony bridge and small maple bridgeplate are reproductions, nicely done if just slightly oversized. The headstock is fitted with later Japanese-made Kluson tuners; there were mini-Schallers there once and the original flat-plate wartime tuners are long gone. All the repairs are well done and this is a lovely and exceptionally fine playing Martin with a superbly detailed but still powerful sound. It lives in a high-grade Calton road case for maximum protection. Overall Excellent - Condition.
