1940 C. F. Martin 000-18 Natural

SN: 75752. Here is an honest little prewar 000-18 from 1940 that has been a faithful musical companion to just three owners in its lifetime. It’s in wonderful original condition with light checking throughout, only a few errant pick scratches on the top, a few handling dings and a couple of shallow case bites.

The years 1938, 1939 and 1940 were transitional years for most Martin models and the 000-18 was included in the overhaul. By 1940, the nut width measures 1-11/16ths with string spacing at the saddle of 2-1/8”. The neck profile is still the gentile “modified V” with a steel T-bar. The pick guard material in 1940 has a cool figured transparency with a reddish tint that is matched by the top and back binding. Tuners transitioned from Grovers to the Waverly 12/1 machines with the Yoda heads on each end. And the Adirondack is some of the brightest and fine grained of any Martin year. This particular top is gorgeous.

All the maintenance has been taken care of – refreshed repro bridge, new frets, nut, saddle and fresh setup – all done my Mark Tossman the “D-28 whisperer”. There is a very small rise in the top behind the bridge which sometimes indicates a sustained period of inactivity. In some light it looks like there might be a little runout in the top but turn it again and it goes away. There’s a little variation in color in the top which also occurs in certain light. The black light confirms there no funny business.

For case nerds, it comes with its original Bulls Head Protex case in reasonably good shape. Two of the three hinges work and all the latches snap into place. The ribbon is still in place as is the little latch for the string box. The top of the string box needs repair. The felted purple cloth interior is in nice shape. The latches and hinges all have some rust. As cool as this is, we might want to ship in a modern case and have this one trail along behind.

The guitar is currently housed with its owner who resides in the heart of the country and will most likely ship from there unless other arrangements are made.

SPECS

Top: Adirondack Spruce
Band & Sides: Honduran Mahogany
Bridge & Fretboard: Ebony
Appointments: Dot position markers, faux tortoise binding, b/w trim and rosette
Nut width: 1-11/16”
String spacing: 2-1/8”
Body width: 15-1/8”
Depth: 4-1/8”
Scale length: 24.9”
Case: OSSC