2003 Martin OM-18V 000-Size Flattop Guitar

Martin's vintage-series guitars sure sound good. This one's loud and its tone is definitely retro and full and would fit right-in with a herd of old guitars. Being an OM, it's a long-scale variant of the usual 000-size Martin body. That makes all the difference as the extra scale length gives this a bit more bite, carrying-power, and snap (closer to the way a D-18 plays) compared to a short-scale 000. For me that makes it a lot more fun to play melody and crosspicking on, though as a fan of shorter scales, I find banging chords on a guitar like this all night gets a little more tiring than on a normal 000. If you're a player who's going to mix chords and melody, however -- long-scale is where it's at!

This one arrived via consignment and it's pretty clean, though it does have minor use-wear on the back of the neck, a very tiny amount of pickwear near the soundhole, and only the lightest of scratches here and there on the body. The bridge must've been reglued at some point, however, as there are tiny marks around it suggesting that was done. The frets also might have been replaced, too, as there are tiny little chipouts next to the frets in the board in a few positions. That would make sense because the frets are essentially unplayed and level -- so someone did a good job of it. My usual fret level/dress job before sale was not necessary in this case. The center seam on the lower-bout-top had dried-up and opened at one point, but someone had added a couple cleats before it got here.

Work included: an extra cleat and fill/seal for the center seam on the top, mild cleaning, compensation of the saddle, and a good setup. The neck is straight, the truss rod works, and action is bang-on at 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE at the 12th fret. The strings are Martin Retro ("Monel") right now and they sound great on this. Expect some more ring and sizzle with fresh p-bronze or similar.

Scale length: 25 3/8"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"

String spacing at bridge: 2 3/8"

Body length: 19 3/8"

Lower bout width: 15 1/8"

Upper bout width: 11 3/8"

Side depth at endpin: 4"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back/sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: x-braced

Fretboard: ebony

Bridge: ebony

Neck feel: medium soft-V, ~14-16" radius board

Condition notes: repaired center seam separation, minor marks here and there, some minor scratches and finish wear on the back of the neck, old bridge reglue job, two replacement (very similar) bridge pins.

It comes with: its original hard case in excellent shape.

The mix of gloss finish, small teardrop pickguard, and ebony bridge and board give this thing some serious "pop" in the looks-department.

The bridge features a drop-in bone saddle with a "long" cut for aesthetic reasons. I applaud Martin for modernizing a little and using a drop-in. It's convenient for setup changes and the bridge is a lot more stable/less prone to early death with them. I also applaud Martin for changing the angle of the saddle slot to give it a bit steeper compensation for the bass side... like it's supposed to have for functional reasons. Thank you! I grit my teeth every time I have to widen or modify a saddle slot on a Martin to get the compensation right.

The retro tuners are nice and functional, have an antiqued finish, and look good.

Tortoise binding! Again -- thank you, Martin! -- this is something I love to see on the old guys.