Description: This 000-18 has had a lot of love and playing, and it’s still a beautiful instrument. Its notably warm, woody sound is very appealing, and it has a certain softness in tone that is its own. Cosmetically, it's 000 is lovely, with a striking, very wide grain on the Sitka spruce top, and graduated-size dot inlays. 1947, in fact, was the first year of the graduated-size inlays, with all previous ones having been the same size. So, in a minor way, this is a nice little transitional piece.
It’s very playable, with a typical soft V-shaped neck that some wear from capo use. These markers don’t seem to affect playability at all, and they’re not particularly deep compared to some such homemade markers CME has seen. This Martin has had a refret with slightly larger than average frets. The neck appears to have been reset, but the work was clean. One brace and the bridge have been reglued. There’s only one top crack, about ¼” long, below the high-E string. The bone nut and saddle are both replacements. For a 1947 guitar, that’s not bad—but the look and tone of this piece are unique and are the real highlights.
Summary
Body: Sitka spruce top with mahogany back and sides.
Neck: Mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard. Graduated-size dot inlays. Soft-V neck.
Tone: Softness and roundness with plenty of clarity.
Setup/Playability: Smooth player with refret and neck reset. Position markers don't affect playability.
Cosmetic Condition: One small crack on top below high-E string. Bridge may need regluing. There's a few capo clamping marks on the back of the neck.
Modifications: Series of shallow position notches carved in back of neck. Clean neck reset and refret. One brace reglued on bottom. Replaced bone nut and saddles. Typical "pickguard" crack repaired on top as well as a small crack on the back. The bridge has been reglued. The endpin has been replaced with a repro. The bridge pins have been replaced. A strap button has been added.
Weight: 3lbs 10oz