C. F. Martin 000-28 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1943), made in Nazareth, PA, natural lacquer finish, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black tolex hard shell case.
Here is a superb delight in an original vintage Martin-a very well preserved 000-28 from 1943. While always a popular and well-respected instrument, rosewood 000's from this period are relatively rare guitars. Only 96 examples of the 000-28 were produced in 1943-the last full year of the scalloped bracing under the top- making the 000-28 very much a connoisseur's model even then. During the war Martin was kept surprisingly busy making guitars-unlike Gibson, which was primarily devoted to military contracts at the time. A total of 192 D-28's shipped out in 1943 alone, making that model more than 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 in this period 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 still 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. Other features include the 1930's style long-saddle ebony bridge and delicate slotted diamond inlay in the ebony fingerboard, with a tortoise celluloid pickguard. The individual Kluson tuners are a typical wartime style with a plain flat-plate base, narrow riveted gear and plastic buttons-all designed to minimize metal consumption. The bookmatched Brazilian rosewood on the back and sides has some lovely figuring, quite straight and even as Martin preferred-even during the war the company's wood supply seemed top-notch, unlike the 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. All this makes for a fabulous guitar to look at but 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 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 very long time.
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 lovely example overall; it shows some general finish wear and repair but the only notable major finish loss is to the top to a couple of small spots around the pickguard and to the sides and back of the neck. There have been some typical repairs; there is paperwork included detailing work done in 2013 at Gruhn guitars including a neck set and refret and some crack touchup, all to the expected high standard. There is a repaired crack behind the bridge just above the top center seam that is solid but visible, with a small splice as is often seen with older work. There is also a cleanly sealed up pickguard crack just off the top edge of the guard, in the typical spot under the E and B strings. Apart from one tiny (less than 1") grain split to the upper bass bout on the top there are no other cracks-the rosewood back and sides appear exceptionally well preserved. There is some pickwear through the finish around the pickguard just at the front and more deeply on the lower soundhole edge, which is worn into the wood on the treble side. The bridge and bridgeplate are original, the bridge has been cleanly re-glued some time back but not lowered. The original frets, bridgepins and endpin are all neatly bagged up and included in the case pocket. The case itself is the original 1940's hardshell, completely solid but with some external wear and repair to the handle. Full paperwork is included detailing the recent repair work and some material indicating the guitar belonged at one point to a Franciscan nun! This is a lovely period package, an exceptionally fine playing Martin with a superbly detailed but still powerful sound. Excellent - Condition.
