Martin 00-18G 1958 | $1950 | (v2508) The 00-18G was in production from 1936 to 1962. Martin essentially married a classical style neck and bridge to a 00-18 body, and used fan braces instead of the usual Martin X-bracing. Although the 00-18G was not a hit with the classical guitarists, it was surely popular among the college and folkie crowd for its pure sound and playability.
The top is spruce trimmed in the standard '18' prufling and binding, and fan-braced. The back and sides are mahogany. The neck is mahogany, carved in a classical guitar shape and features a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and head stock overlay. The fingerboard has no position markers, but markers appear on the side at various frets. The bridge is rosewood and designed like a typical classical bridge set up for 'tied' strings. The back of the head stock sports the gold C.F. Martin decal, and "MADE FOR GUT OR NYLON STRINGS" heat stamped on the inside center seam brace.
The body measures 14 3/8" across at the lower bout; scale length is 25 7/16". The neck is 2" across at the nut, and string spacing is 2 5/16" across at the saddle.
The guitar appears to be all original with no cracks or evidence of any repairs, only some residue from buffing the finish at some point in time. We recently removed the lifting bridge and reglued it with hot hide glue. The guitar appears to have been played a lot since there is some wear to the frets, and some play wear on the top. There are considerable nicks and dings from age and use, and some finish crazing on the back of the head stock. The 'D' tuning peg is slightly bent.
The 00-18G is a pleasant surprise to play .. lots of bass, and the mids and trebles project well. A great guitar for fingerstyle, or campfire strumming!
The top is spruce trimmed in the standard '18' prufling and binding, and fan-braced. The back and sides are mahogany. The neck is mahogany, carved in a classical guitar shape and features a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and head stock overlay. The fingerboard has no position markers, but markers appear on the side at various frets. The bridge is rosewood and designed like a typical classical bridge set up for 'tied' strings. The back of the head stock sports the gold C.F. Martin decal, and "MADE FOR GUT OR NYLON STRINGS" heat stamped on the inside center seam brace.
The body measures 14 3/8" across at the lower bout; scale length is 25 7/16". The neck is 2" across at the nut, and string spacing is 2 5/16" across at the saddle.
The guitar appears to be all original with no cracks or evidence of any repairs, only some residue from buffing the finish at some point in time. We recently removed the lifting bridge and reglued it with hot hide glue. The guitar appears to have been played a lot since there is some wear to the frets, and some play wear on the top. There are considerable nicks and dings from age and use, and some finish crazing on the back of the head stock. The 'D' tuning peg is slightly bent.
The 00-18G is a pleasant surprise to play .. lots of bass, and the mids and trebles project well. A great guitar for fingerstyle, or campfire strumming!