I got this guitar from a good friend, Tommy Powell, in a trade for my Martin D-35. He was playing a lot of bluegrass at the time and wanted a "bigger" sound. I was still playing fingerstyle so it seemed like a good arrangement. Though the action is higher than I like, it makes this a good choice for open tunings and slide work.
I believe the back and sides are mahogany, the top is Sitka Spruce, the fretboard is rosewood and the fret markers are simple dots. The headstock is plain with only the Martin name decal for decoration. The neck and headstock are unbound but the body is bound in faux tortoise-shell plastic. The tuners are non-original, chrome Schaller tuners, probably of 1980s vintage, and the rear headstock still shows the original holes used by the Grovers. I believe Tommy had the neck reset by Ross Teigan in Naples, Florida at one point.
The tone and playability of this instrument are very good after all these years of being played. The action is higher than most of my guitars and the tone is pure vintage Martin. This is a guitar that should get more use than it does but, being only one of many, rarely sees the outside of the vault.
The case is the original Martin hardshell case as far as I can tell.
And now for the pictures (click to enlarge):
So concludes the presentation of my 1964 Martin 000-18 guitar. Feel free to contact me with any questions and/or comments.
*8o)
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Changes last made on: Tuesday, April 11, 2009 at 2:28pm