A fantastic 1957 Martin 000-18 in very nice original and preserved condition.
For many Martin players and aficionados, the 000-18 is arguably one of the ultimate combinations of tonewoods and size – less bulky than a Dreadnought with a more even and less bass-heavy tone, while the mahogany back and sides combined with a spruce top make for a warm and responsive guitar. The 14-fret 000-size instrument was introduced as the OM-18 in 1930, whereas prior to that all Martin guitars had featured a 12-fret construction (designated “Standard Model” in the early 1930s catalog). After 1933, with almost all Martin guitars being built to this new “Orchestra Model” format, the OM designation was dropped and the model was simply referred to as the 000-18.
While not a particularly elaborate instrument by 1950s Martin standards, the 000-18 nevertheless represented a substantial investment for many players – $145.00 for the model presented here in its production year, of which 450 left Nazareth in 1957. As such, it was eminently suited for use by country musicians performing in radio broadcasts bands of the time! The guitar is rather sleek, with discreet finishing appointments including tortoise celluloid body binding and a rosette composed of multiple layers of black and white binding. The fingerboard and bridge are in stunning Brazilian rosewood, and the full set of original Grover tuners completes the lot. The guitar remains today very well conserved, free of breakages or defects – we note a beautiful patina from nearly 7 decades of use on the whole instrument. In order to guarantee the perfect playing condition of this 000-18, we applied ourselves to its complete setup – work including a full levelling of the frets and the adjustment of the but and saddle, to recover a low action and accurate intonation.
Sold in a modern hardshell case.
