Martin Guitars

About Vintage Martin Acoustic Guitars

When Levon Helm of The Band sang "I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' about half past dead" in "The Weight," he wasn’t alluding to a weary pilgrim’s desire for salvation. Rather, he was singing about a mythological trip to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, home of C. F. Martin & Co., makers of Martin flat top acoustic guitars.

Founded in 1833 by a German immigrant named Christian Friedrich Martin, whose father was also an instrument maker, Martin was originally based in New York City before moving in 1839 to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley...

Guitars from these earliest years had hourglass-shaped bodies, suggesting Martin’s German roots. By the 1840s, though, Martin was producing distinctly American-looking instruments, with smooth, flat tops and a big, bright sound. Shortly thereafter, in 1852, the company’s long-standing convention of naming its guitars after their size and style designations was established.

Martin’s 19th century guitars were smaller than they are today and were made for gut strings — guitars strong enough to handle steel strings would not appear until 1928. The original sizes (biggest to smallest) were 1, 2, 2 1/2, and 3. Sizes 000, 00, 0, 4, and 5 were added between 1854 and 1902, and in 1929 this numbering system was scrapped for the one we know today.

The OM, or Orchestra Model, was introduced that year; it is the same size as a 000. The D or Dreadnought (named for the large battleships of the day) appeared in 1916. It was bigger than a 000 and was originally produced exclusively for the Ditson company. But by 1931, Martin was selling its own D-size guitars. It became one of the company’s most popular guitars.

Other sizes in the line include the M (an 0000), the 7 (approximately 7/8ths of the size of a D), and the J (for Jumbo; it’s the same size as a M but as deep as a D), but all of these guitars were introduced on or after 1977, which makes them of little interest to serious collectors.

Style designations have remained consistent since the 1850s, although new designations added in the mid-1980s have made the designation system more arbitrary than it used to be. A 15 is considered a basic model, a 16 a bit less so, with increasing levels of detailing and finishing in models numbered 17, 18, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 45. Thus a Martin D-18, considered a workhorse by many players, is a big, boomy Dreadnought with enough features to make it feel a little bit special, but not so many that you’d be reluctant to pull it out for a couple of songs with friends around a campfire.

Some of the most collectible Martin flat tops include the pre-war Dreadnoughts from the 1930s, which many of the world’s best musicians consider the Stradivariuses of guitars. That said, just about any of the 12- or 14-fret steel-string models from the mid-1920s until the mid-1940s will bring a good price.

Also worth keeping an eye out for are guitars made from the post-war years through the end of the 1960s, when Brazilian rosewood was replaced by Indian rosewood. Indian rosewood is handsome enough, but it lacks the visual richness of Brazilian. More importantly to musicians, guitars made from Indian rosewood don’t seem to sound as good as those crafted from Brazilian stock.

If your ear or eye is not as discerning as a professional musician’s, Martin has made it simple for you to tell which is which: Vintage Martin guitars from 1898 on are easy to date because each instrument is stamped with an individual serial number.

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview With Vintage Guitar Collector Clay Harrell

I grew up in upstate New York in Rochester, and started playing guitar when I was about 10 years old. We had… [more]

An Interview With Vintage Guitar Collector and Author George Gruhn

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Martin Guitars Videos



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Mint - Johnny Cash Signature Limited Edition Martin D35$2,600 Ends in 19 hours 6 bids 45 watchers
Martin 000-28 Norman Blake Acoustic Guitar W/ohsc$2,351 Ends Monday 6 bids 72 watchers
Martin 000 Series D-18vs 12-fret Slotted Custom W/ Case$2,175 Ends in 15 hours 12 bids 79 watchers
Martin 000-28ec Eric Clapton Guitar 6months Old$2,000 Ends in 19 hours 23 bids 97 watchers
2009 Martin 00028ec Eric Clapton Acoustic Guitar$1,824 Ends Monday 13 bids 57 watchers
1978 Martin Guitar D-35 D 35 $1,800 Ends in 14 hours 13 bids 80 watchers
Martin Eric Clapton Acoustic Guitar$1,800 Ends in 22 hours 21 bids 111 watchers
Martin 00-18vs Custom Limited Edition$1,696 Ends in 20 hours 13 bids 85 watchers
Vintage Martin 000-28 Ec$1,575 Ends Monday 23 bids 102 watchers
2008 Martin Custom Shop M21 M 21 Steve Earle Artist Ed!$1,506 Ends Wednesday 10 bids 28 watchers
Martin Dc-28e Acoustic Electric Guitar Aura D-28 D28 E$1,500 Ends Monday 16 bids 36 watchers
Martin D-35 1999 Used Wohsc Acoustic Very Nice!!!$1,499 Ends Monday 1 bid 8 watchers
Martin 1989 Hd-28p Hd-28 Acoustic Guitar Nice$1,475 Ends in 21 hours 4 bids 53 watchers
1975 Martin D35 Accoustic Guitar$1,400 Ends in 15 hours 2 bids 27 watchers
Lefty Martin Hd-28l Left Handed Guitar$1,375 Ends Monday 8 bids 63 watchers
Martin Dc-28 Dreadnought Guitar$1,375 Ends Wednesday 11 bids 31 watchers
1966 Martin Guitar D-18 D 18 $1,325 Ends in 14 hours 23 bids 109 watchers
Martin Hd-28v Guitar, Hd28v, D-28, D28, No Reserve$1,265 Ends Sunday 16 bids 107 watchers
Martin D-40 Acoustic Guitar$1,226 Ends Friday 16 bids 43 watchers
Rare 1953 Martin 00-17$1,225 Ends Tuesday 11 bids 99 watchers
Martin D-18 Clarence White Buy it Now$1,225 Ends Saturday 6 bids 12 watchers
Martin D-35 Guitar Thin-line Pick Up Endpin Jack Case$1,225 Ends Tuesday 11 bids 46 watchers
2009 Martin D-28 Marquis W/madagascar Rosewood, Mint$1,225 Ends Thursday 2 bids 9 watchers
Martin Archtop Cf-1 Guitar In Black Amazing Tone $1,225 Ends Wednesday 6 bids 19 watchers
Nice Exceptionally Good Sounding 2004 Martin D-28$1,225 Ends in 21 hours 9 bids 94 watchers
1950 Martin D-18 No Reserve!!!$1,136 Ends in 18 hours 20 bids 133 watchers
1980 Martin Hd-28 Hd28 **cannon** D-28 D28$1,075 Ends Wednesday 8 bids 38 watchers
Vintage 1969 Martin D-28 Guitar $1,025 Ends Sunday 8 bids 50 watchers
1996 Vintage Series Martin 000-28ec Eric Clapton Guitar$1,025 Ends Sunday 14 bids 112 watchers
Martin Acoustic / Electric Dc-16rgte - Mint $1,000.00 Ends Monday 1 bid 13 watchers
Vintage Martin 1951 00-18 G, Acoustic Guitar Ex Cond.$999.99 Ends in 19 hours 1 bid 52 watchers
1970 Martin D28 Guitar$950.00 Ends in 15 hours 1 bid 46 watchers
Vinatge Martin D-35 1975 Acoustic Guitar Buy it Now$910.00 Ends Monday 7 bids 47 watchers
Martin Guitar 00-18c -1973 With Vintage Martin 00 Case$750.00 Ends Sunday 4 bids 10 watchers
1943 Martin 00-18 Scalloped Braced Nice Original Guitar$739.59 Ends Monday 15 bids 103 watchers
Vintage Martin D12-20, 1970 12 String Acoustic/electric$737.00 Ends in 23 hours 1 bid 46 watchers
Vintage 1976 Martin D-76 Acoustic Guitar D-28 Special $710.00 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 20 watchers
Martin Acoustic Electric Hd28e 2007$635.00 Ends in 17 hours 24 bids 24 watchers
Vintage 1958 Martin Guitar Smallest Size 5-18$620.00 Ends Thursday 7 bids 69 watchers
Sweet Martin D-15 Mahogany Top D15 Acoustic Guitar $615.00 Ends in 18 hours 3 bids 38 watchers
1989 Martin D-18 Special, Rare Model! Only 28 Made! Nr!$611.99 Ends Thursday 9 bids 73 watchers
Martin Acoustic/electric Guitar & Peavy Amp$610.00 Ends in 11 hours 2 bids 37 watchers
Martin D15 Acoustic Electric Guitar Us W/hardshell Case$599.99 Ends in 19 hours 2 bids 11 watchers
Martin Dm Dreadnought Mahogany Guitar$580.00 Ends in 7 hours 12 bids 39 watchers
2002 Martin D-15 Mahogany Acoustic Guitar Ohsc + More!!$570.00 Ends Wednesday 5 bids 28 watchers
1980 Martin Hd-35 Hd35 ***cannon*** D-35 D35$510.00 Ends Thursday 4 bids 47 watchers
Martin D C 16 Gte Premium, Fishman Prefix Blend Pickup!$510.00 Ends Thursday 11 bids 26 watchers
Vintage 1975 Martin D-35 Acoustic Guitar Fancy D-28 $510.00 Ends Tuesday 6 bids 24 watchers
1941 Martin Guitar 0-17 No Reserve!!$510.00 Ends Tuesday 19 bids 78 watchers
1966 Martin Gt-70 **awesome Guitar In Nice Condition!*$483.00 Ends Monday 15 bids 31 watchers
2001 Martin Om-16gt Guitar No Reserve Om-16 Gt$441.00 Ends Tuesday 22 bids 73 watchers
Martin 000-15 Acoustic Guitar$405.00 Ends Wednesday 2 bids 75 watchers
Martin Spd-16tr '96 Special Edition Acoustic Guitar $405.00 Ends Monday 9 bids 46 watchers
Martin Acoustic Guitar D-1 Solid Wood Must Sale Cheap!$395.00 Ends in 21 hours 7 bids 51 watchers
Beautiful Martin Dxme Electric Acoustic Guitar$385.00 Ends in 6 hours 9 bids 27 watchers
Martin Dm Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar$338.00 Ends Saturday 5 bids 29 watchers
Martin Dm Acoustic Guitar W/pick-up & Hardshell Case$330.00 Ends Monday 4 bids 38 watchers
Electric Acustic Guitar- Martin Dcx1e Buy it Now$320.00 Ends Wednesday 5 bids 6 watchers
Martin Guitar 1930 Acoustic With Case Nice!! Buy it Now$316.00 Ends Wednesday 4 bids 38 watchers

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Recent News: Martin Guitars

Source: Google News

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