Martin D-18 Dreadnought, 1955 [USED]

Dating to May of 1955, a Martin D-18 Dreadnought in largely original condition, Brazilian board and bridge, no body cracks, exceptional rich, sparkling sound.   

This guitar has just a spectacular sound and plays comfortably.  Some time ago it had a neck reset and re-fret; fret wear to the lower positions is moderate to light.  During the neck reset, the neck and heel received some overspray with a transition behind the nut.  The finish is in overall good condition considering that the guitar is 71 years old, but there is a spot on the back where years ago something reacted with the finish.  There appears to be some overspray on the body.  The Kluson no-line tuners with oval metal buttons are original and work smoothly.   

Sold with a modern Gator deluxe molded hard shell case. 

Materials and Construction

The Martin D-18 Dreadnought follows the basic pattern of other Martin D-bodied guitars, sharing basic dimensions.  The body is 15.625 inch wide and up to 4.75 inches deep.   The 'Style 18' designation means that with its Spruce top, it had Mahogany for the sides and back.  The neck is Mahogany with a fixed metal stiffener.  The fingerboard, long-saddle bridge and head plate are Brazilian Rosewood.  The body binding and pickguard are faux tortoise. 

Making its debut in 1932, the Martin D-18 Dreadnought had a 12-fret neck until 1934's shift to the 14-fret neck that is now almost universal. This shift was prompted by the great migration of banjo players to guitar as the 1930's began. 

Until 1945, Martin guitar tops were Adirondack Spruce, shifting to Sitka Spruce for 1946.  Prompted by WW2 materials restrictions, this transition took place earlier for other builders with smaller wood inventories. Adirondack Spruce was regarded as superior for airframe components, which led to over-harvesting.  It's taken many decades for forests to recover, and other species particularly Sitka or Engelmann have become the standard.  

The D-18's fingerboard and bridge were Ebony until 1947 brought a change to Rosewood.  At the time, rosewood was so commonly sourced from Brazil that it was seldom identified as such, but by 1969 Brazil's embargos on exports of raw rosewood logs necessitated Martin's transition to Indian Rosewood.  As with the Spruce change, other builders with smaller wood inventories made the transition several years earlier.  

There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here

DETAILS: 

• Instrument Model:  D-18
• Instrument Manufacturer:  Martin
• Instrument year:  1955
• Instrument Finish:  Gloss
• Instrument Class:  Steel String Acoustic Guitar
• Instrument serial number:  143378, dates to May 1955 at Nazareth PA
• Country of Origin:  USA
• Instrument Condition:  Good
• Right-handed 
• Instrument Weight Imperial:  4.092  lbs
• Instrument Weight Metric:   1.86 kgs
• Scale Length Imperial:    25.4 in
• Scale Length Metric:    644 mm
• Nut Width Imperial:    1.675 in
• Nut Width Metric:  42.08 mm
• CITIES Documentation Required:  Yes
• Case included:  Yes
• Case original:  No
• Items in Case: Keys, Oasis humidifier
• Case Type: Gator Deluxe GC-DREAD
• Consignment: Yes
• Product ID: 190832

There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here