Few phrases in the world of guitar carry as much gravitas as the phrase “pre war Martin”. Regarded by many as the best acoustic guitars ever built, these came from an era where Martin’s annual production numbers were in the low thousands at very best, hundreds at worst.

In 1939, Martin’s production numbers were just as low as usual, and this particular 000-18, with its wide 1 ¾ nut, makes it especially rare, as 1939 was Martin’s well noted transition year from the fairly short lived 1 ¾ to 1 11/16, which would stick around until well into the 2000’s as their standard from then on.

This one has, for all intents and purposes, been to hell and back. A headstock break, major top break, bridge replacement, neck reset, new frets, etc. There is a large spruce plate on the underside of the top, surrounding the bridge plate, that have stabilized where the bridge caved in forward, as well as a larger “popsicle stick” that stabilizes where the neck has separated previously, taking the top underneath the extension with it. These are both strong repairs, however, and show no sign of movement.

As stated, the bridge is a newer replacement with a drop in saddle.

There is a fairly obvious, but strong headstock repair, as well as a fair amount of wear on the whole guitar. The tuners are new reliced Waverlies, presumably from the “authentic” series from Martin that have been put on to replace what used to be, most likely, a replacement set of Grover Rotomatics.

This might be your last chance to get a player-grade, pre war, wide nut Martin for less than $10,000!

Comes with a non-original hard case.