SN: 23339. Terrific sounding, player grade 0-18K made in 1925 in Nazareth, PA. With their all Koa body, made with wood imported from Hawaii, many were made with a raised nut and saddle to be played Hawaiian style on the lap with a slide. This one appears to have been originally set up for Spanish...

SN 105. Lovely Santa Cruz 00 built near the end of 1999. She has aged gracefully over twenty-four years of playing and is still in EX+ to near mint condition. Very lightly built, she is a reimaging of a late stage Martin 12-fret 00-28 with some updates for the modern player. Materials include a...

SN 1997790. Martin Custom Shop limited edition build for Elderly Instruments for the 2016 NAMM show. It’s one of only five or six made to these specs. It brings together traditional Martin workmanship, very high quality but readily available tonewoods and some fun design choices. It feels like a...

SN 220862. This one owner 1964 J-50 ADJ might be the cleanest 60-year old instrument I’ve had in the shop. And one of the most surprising. It was purchased new by the present owner and dutifully kept in its original hard case when not being played. It’s surprising because it sounds incredibly good...

Beautiful, crack-free instrument in exquisite condition. It was built just before Martin began using serial numbers. Inside penciled “J.J.K. Aug 31, 1897” marking the day the build started. It’s pressure-stamped “C.F. Martin, New York, New York” on the back of the head-stock and heat stamped on the...

No SN: Early Wm. G. Stahl model built by Larson Bros. of Chicago in excellent condition. There is no serial number but the features, particularly the historic “Z” top bracing, date it to 1910 or so. The trim package indicates a Style 8 model designation. The Martin equivalent would be an 0-40 if...

SN 2109: Bagnasco & Casati (Savona, IT) are small batch craftsmen building prewar and wartime reproductions using period-correct techniques, glues, finishes and tone woods. Every detail is handcrafted and meticulously executed. Their aesthetic sensibility produces gorgeous sunbursts and amber shade...

SN 621. Friends, here is a superpower Advanced Jumbo replica from the workshop of Rudi Blazer and Willi Henkes in Tubingen Germany. These two world renowned master luthiers are well known for their authentic replicas and reinterpretations of golden era acoustics built in small batches, by hand,...

SN: 72406. Prewar, scalloped bracing, Adirondack spruce top, 1-3/4” nut and wide string spacing; this one pushes all the golden era buttons without the big price. While the 00-18 is not one of Martin’s rarest models, the prewar 00-18s are one of the hardest to find – in any condition. This one...

SN: 052. Built by Per Marklund in Stenberg, Sweden. Mr. Marklund may be poised to fill the void created by the retirement of Willi Henkes and Rudi Blazer. I see quite a few similarities – super high quality build materials, impeccable fit and finish and rigorous attention to vintage design and...

SN: 49288. Quality older restoration of a lovely 12-fret 00-28 probably undertaken in the late 1950s or early 1960s. There is some evidence that the refinish, decal and replacement bridge were done by Martin but nothing conclusive. An original pickguard and belly bridge on a 12-fret slotted...

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...

FON: Z1684 27. Here is an outstanding example of a second year Gibson J-185. This fascinating model was made in small numbers in Kalamazoo Michigan between 1951 and 1959. The book “Gibson’s Fabulous Flattop Guitars” notes that “many guitar devotees have fallen in love with this relatively rare...

FON: 3002 G. Here is a super impressive J-55 from 1941 that pushes all the buttons. It’s vintage clean and original as they come. Of the three mahogany slope shouldered dreadnoughts Gibson produced in this era – the J-35, J-45 and J-55 – the J-55 had the most distinctive appointments and possibly...

SN: 95486. Friends, here is a postwar 000-28 I purchased from a rock star luthier who kept it as an example of an original, unmolested Martin gently influenced by the effects of aging. It’s a beautiful instrument. Straight grained Brazilian Rosewood with fine Sitka spruce top. Herringbone trim and...

SN: 84679. FON: 9306 Friends, A Lloyd Loar L-5, like the Martin OM-28 and D-18/28, is one of the defining guitars of our time. It’s the first f-hole archtop guitar. Most all of the great jazz guitarists played one at some point or one of the many f-hole archtop offshoots from Gibson and other...