1932 Martin 0-18 Shade top

This Great Depression era Martin represents the state of the art for flattop manufacture in 1932. New for 1932 are the neck join at the 14th fret, a paddle headstock with a gold stencil ‘type one’ “C.F Martin & Co. EST 1833” logo on the Brazilian rosewood headplate, individual nickel plated Grover open back tuners with oval metal buttons, an ebony belly bridge and a large celluloid pickguard. If that weren’t enough, 1932 also introduced a sunburst top, a dark brown fading to a light brown at the center.  

The through saddle, ebony bar-fretted fingerboard and simple graduated dots from the fifth to the fifteenth frets were retained from earlier models. Being a transitional model, the back of the headstock is still stamped “C.F. Martin & Co. Nazareth PA,” along with a Made in USA stamp, indicating a guitar manufactured for export. The top is made from Adirondack spruce, the back and sides are mahogany. The black celluloid binding and alternating white-black-white purfling and soundhole rosette are also transitional, replacing rosewood, ebony and boxwood for guitars made previously. The bracing is still delicately carved and scalloped in the early 1930’s style. 

The finish remains completely intact with no overspray. It is heavily checked everywhere and small areas have flaked away, particularly on the rims. This is an indication of exposure to temperature variations and exposure to moisture. The finish on the top shows pickwear on the upper bout of the top with some light rub through at the treble edge of the soundhole. There are visible tightly sealed cracks, two on the back and three on the top. The neck, a slightly chunky ‘C’ shape, features an intact finish with only a few capo marks, the most noticeable at the 11th fret.

Inside the guitar, there is evidence of careful repair, most notably the bridge plate has been replaced with a new small maple plate in the correct dimensions for an early Martin of this type, with the ends carefully tucked in under the legs of the X-brace, as they should be. There are two tightly sealed back cracks, one running along the grain from the rim adjacent to the neck block and another running similarly from the rim next to the tail block. Several top cracks have been glued and cleated; a center seam crack from the bridge to the tailblock, another extending about two inches from the low ‘E’ string towards, but not to, the edge of the lower bout and finally another crack, cleated running along the grain from the bass side upper bout to the area between the soundhole and the rim. There is slight evidence, seen only from the inside, that the back has been carefully removed and replaced to accomplish the high level of repair work on this guitar. 

The finish around the original ebony bridge shows the slightest signs of the bridge having been reglued. The neck has been perfectly reset. The heel has a carefully repaired crack on the treble side only, below the area of the dovetail, so it presents no structural issues of any kind. The fingerboard has been leveled and the first five frets were replaced with original Martin bar fret stock. 

The original bridge has a newly made saddle, the original bridge pins have a spacing of 2 ⅜.” The 1 ¾” ebony nut is original. Overall, only the bridge plate is replaced. Even by the standards of an early 1930’s Martin, this is an unusually great looking and sounding instrument. Just as this guitar represents the state of the art for flattops in the 1930’s, the repair work also represents the art of the possible. The thoughtful and careful work on this 0-18 deserves special mention. Everything has settled in for enough years to ensure that not only is everything stable, but the guitar continues to open up, revealing a big tone with a surprising amount of bass, projection and overtones to spare.

Includes new Calton flight case.