Description

The Holy Grail - a pre war Martin beauty.

Stunning and unbelievably all original 1928 Martin 018.

A very rare opportunity to own a beautiful 98 year old Martin pre war 12 fret.

As soon as you pick this you can’t help but wonder what stories it could tell, who was lucky enough to play it and what venues it has graced over the last 100 years or so.

This is one of the last Martins from the older generation based on 19th century models before Martin changed to the more modern 14 fret design around 1934. It also pre dates the Martin logo on the front of the guitar with a simple Martin logo on the rear of the gorgeous Brazilian rosewood slotted headstock. While the 018 size is relatively small by today’s standards this was built before the dreadnought had even been dreamed of and was not considered small in its day. It is also only the second year that Martin made guitars that could sustain steel strings. Prior to that it was gut strings or nothing.

Not a thing on this guitar has been changed which is extraordinary given its age. Even the tuner tips, which I think are ivory, appear to be original. There are no cracks or repairs that I can see. There are tiny pin holes at the bottom bout where it looks like it may have had a trapeze bridge on it at some stage. These are barely noticeable and of course don't affect anything.

As you can imagine this sounds wonderful, especially finger style. It also plays well even though it does not appear to have ever had a neck reset. I’ve had two luthiers look at it, one suggested that it is fine as it is but may need a reset in the future. The other suggested it might need to be done sooner rather than later. I have decided that it’s next owner can make that the decision and choose their own luthier if they feel the work is necessary. I have priced this accordingly and am pricing this at 1000 euros less than what I really need for it, to allow for a reset and any subsequent fret work that may or may not be needed.

The Fellowship of the Acoustics in Holland sold a 1927 0018 which was not in all original condition for 12,000 euros a few weeks ago. It sold within 24 hours so this is very reasonably priced – thousands of euros less - and needs a good home.

This comes with a 2011 receipt for 4,400 Euros from Kilkenny Vintage Guitars. Vintage guitar prices have increased dramatically in the intervening 15 years so again further evidence that this is very reasonably priced.

As well as being a stunning guitar it is of course a serious investment. Pre- war Martins are the Holy Grail of the vintage acoustic world and very seldom come up for sale. This guitar is pretty much guaranteed to make you money in the future.

The guitar itself is as light as a feather. Weighs virtually nothing. The top is spruce and the sides and back are mahogany. It comes with an old hard case.

I may be interested in taking something high end as a part trade with cash as I’m aware this is a lot of money for a guitar.

I'm really in two minds about selling this as I'll never find another one, but it's for sale for now anyway.

Thanks