2003 Martin D-18 Dreadnought Guitar

Well, this one sounds the biz, huh? Its owner bought it from a shop who'd said it was a '70s D-18. It does look like that with its black pickguard and replacement Grover tuners. However, serial numbers  (and truss rod access points) do not lie. This is a modern D-18 that's had enough play put into it to get it opened-up and sounding right and with the crisp edges of a new guitar worn-in enough for the player to feel comfortable picking hard on it.

As usual, with D-18 specs this is spruce over mahogany with rosewood board and bridge. The nut and saddle are synthetic, the tuners are replacements, and the bridge pins and endpin are replacements. It comes with its original Martin hard case in good order, too. Modern advantages for this D-18 include a slim (front-to-back) neck with truss adjustment.

Work included: a fret level/dress, minor string-ramping at the bridge, and a good setup. Action is bang-on at 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE at the 12th fret, the truss rod functions properly, and the neck is straight. String gauges are 54w-12.

Scale length: 25 3/8"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/8"

Body length: 20"

Lower bout width: 15 5/8"

Upper bout width: 11 1/2"

Side depth at endpin: 4 7/8"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back/sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: x-braced

Fretboard: rosewood

Bridge: rosewood

Neck feel: thin C shape, ~14" radius board

Condition notes: there's usewear throughout in minor nicks, scratches, and dings along the binding edge and a little pickwear around the soundhole. It's nothing serious and it looks pretty clean to the average observer. Bridge pins and endpins are swapped and the tuners are replacements, too, with Kluson-style buttons. There's one tiny chip-out at the back of the headstock's top and there's what looks like a 1" hairline crack on the treble-side-waist, but it doesn't flex or move so I'm thinking it's just finish-related.