Above video: current DGBE stringing/tuning with 1-wound, 3-plain.
Above (older) video: low CGCE open tuning, thicker strings.
Update 2023: I fixed this up for its "first" recent owner who used it for a while and then sent it back, sold it, and it was then played for a year and a half or so until that next owner sent it back here for resale as he's moved to tenor instruments. I've since given it a fresh neck reset and new, taller saddle and setup. I've made a new video and taken new photos and updated this blog where necessary.
Plectrum guitars are painfully rare! I have to admit that it was pretty exciting to know that this fellow was in the mail to me for a customer fix-up because I've only sat with a plectrum guitar once or twice in the past and I'd never played a Martin plectrum before (update 2023: now I've worked on five Martin plectrums).
As you might expect, it sounds lush-but-woody in the way '30s mahogany Martins tend to sound. The 26 13/16" scale length gives the instrument a sweet, bouzouki-like sustain and mix of clean overtones that you just don't get out of a shorter scale. We'd originally made use of that long scale to string it a little heavier and tune it lower to an open C tuning where the low note was the same as a mandocello's low C, since then I've restrung adjusted it and restrung it for DGBE ("Chicago" or "baritone uke") tuning instead.
This can easily retune to "standard" plectrum CGBD tuning, a higher open CGCE, 5-string banjo DGBD, Greek bouzouki CFAD, or whatever the heart desires in that range. I do have the saddle compensated for 1 wound, 3-plain stringing, however, but can tweak it or make a new saddle to suit whatever stringing the next owner desires.
While the guitar is only 13" wide on the lower bout, it features a 12-fret-style size 1 body which gives it more airspace than you'd expect for something around "0-size." The long neck joins at the 15th fret so it's really easy to tune to open tunings and capo in different places to get into different keys. The top, back, sides, and neck are all solid mahogany and the fretboard and bridge are rosewood. The instrument's all-original save some slotted ebony bridge pins I added to replace the mix of plastic ones that were on it and a new bone saddle.
Repairs included: a fresh neck reset (2023) and new bone saddle, previous hairline crack repairs to the top-lower-bout (seam and one right next to it), previous fret level/dress, previous saddle-slot adjustment, and setup.
Condition notes: there are two repaired hairline cracks on the top, lower-bout. There's a glared photo to highlight them. They're good to go and cleated. The finish is in overall great shape but does show some scuffing on the back and some "glossing-up" from playwear/handling here and there. The bridge had been shaved-down slightly in the past to allow for a lower saddle and I left it that way rather than making a new one because it's only about 1/32" lower than stock. It also looks good, too. One final note -- these old Martins use bridge pin holes very close to the saddle, so I've "double-balled" the string ends to keep the end-wrap off of the saddle itself. This is pretty-much standard practice for me on '20s and '30s Martins because of the design style. You'd have to add a thicker back to the bridge plate to prevent it from happening. The bridge pins and endpins are replacements and the saddle is, too.
Thanks fellas: it helps that I'm playing in my favorite ground: open tunings and in the style I play for myself at home... :) ...usually I'm just trying to show different styles and sounds.
Hello Jake. Question: why do you think that Eastwood baritone tenor guitar is misnamed? What should it be called? (I had never heard of a baritone tenor guitar so I was wondering.) Thanks!
Greta: It's the same scale length and dimensions as a plectrum guitar -- so it should be called an electric plectrum guitar -- that's my thinking, anyhow... :)
Greg: The scale length of Martin tenors is just under 23" while a plectrum guitar's scale is between 26-28" depending on the maker. It's a very different animal.
So, I picked one up locally. It needs some work. Out of curiosity, can you tell me how tall the stock bridge was? Also, I think I get it, but how do you "double ball" the strings?
Thanks for posting this. Arthritis in my left wrist is making it harder to play stringed instruments, so I made myself a plectrum banjo, which I love. My latest idea was, is to make a plectrum guitar(only learned of their existence a few days ago) and your post gives me a lot of info I was hoping to find. I like the banjo but love the sound of guitar more. Thank you! Michael
Comments
Greg: The scale length of Martin tenors is just under 23" while a plectrum guitar's scale is between 26-28" depending on the maker. It's a very different animal.
So, I picked one up locally. It needs some work. Out of curiosity, can you tell me how tall the stock bridge was?
Also, I think I get it, but how do you "double ball" the strings?
Thank you,
Andy
Thank you!
Michael