1961 Martin 0-18T Flattop Tenor Guitar




I know, right? Yesterday I posted about a '57 and here's a '61 right on its heels! This one, however, is up for grabs on consignment and it's a honey. It's crack-free and in good overall shape save for one (repaired) hairline crack next to the pickguard. It's also all-original save a set of new ebony bridge pins and endpin.

My work on this one included a fret level/dress, saddle adjustment/light shave, pin-hole fill/redrill, that hairline crack repair, light cleaning, and general setup. It's strung for CGDA tuning and has 1/16" action at the 12th fret (spot-on) and plays beautifully. The tone on this one is chimey, full, and almost "mandolin-ish" in terms of overtones. It has plenty of volume and would be a good choice for group work as its sparkly and punchy high-end really stands-out nicely and sets it off from "regular" guitars.


Per standard 18-series specs for the time, this has solid-mahogany back/sides, a solid spruce (x-braced) top, mahogany neck, and Brazilian rosewood fretboard and bridge. The scale length is 23" and drives the 0-sized body well.


Nice rosewood veneer, huh?



There's a bit of light pickwear to the side of the fretboard extension up here.


The pickguard is that classic old tortoise look and the top's finish has UV-darkened to that lovely "buttery" look.


I freshly filled/redrilled the pinholes to keep the ball-ends and pins nice and snug. I also lightly string-ramped behind the saddle for improved back-angle.


The binding is tortoise plastic.



There's light scratching here and there on the back but, mostly, the guitar is fairly clean.







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