1950s Martin Style 2 Soprano Ukulele
Here's a '50s Martin uke that looks gorgeous from the front but has some eggshell breaks (repaired) on the back. It sounds the absolute business and, being a Martin, plays the biz, too. It even comes with a nice hard case. That's hard to beat!
I think of the little mahogany Martin sopranos as "the" classic uke tone -- chipper and a little sparkly on the top-end but mostly sweet and mellow and clean-sounding. They're also built to a high spec (as you'd expect) and Style 2s like this guy (with the white binding) are harder to find in the market compared to the always-available Style 0s and the sometimes-seen Style 1s with their tortoise or black binding.
It's original throughout and good to go.
Repairs included: a fret level/dress, setup, and crack repairs to the back. Said repairs are funky but stable -- everything was jagged and punched-in and left that way for decades, it seems, so I let it be at "good enough" as to do it perfectly would have entailed a lot of repair time. It's solid, though, and cleated throughout the inside.
Top wood: solid mahogany
Back & sides wood: solid mahogany
Bracing type: ladder
Bridge: mahogany with rosewood saddle
Fretboard: rosewood
Neck wood: mahogany
Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: D'Addario fluorocarbon
Neck shape: slim-medium C
Board radius: flat
Neck relief: straight
Fret style: small
Scale length: 13 5/8"
Nut width: 1 3/8"
Body width: 6 3/8"
Body depth: 2 1/4"
Weight: 0 lbs 11 oz
Condition notes: there are scads of back cracks which have been repaired and are stable. They're not pretty but they're also not truly obvious until the uke is put in full glare. I've shot it from different angles so you can get a sense of them. Otherwise, the uke is all-original and in really good shape. The finish has dulled a little over time and shows weather-check but it's a looker from the front and sides. The uke has original friction pegs and they work fine but are still friction pegs. I don't mind installing Gotoh UPTs or similar at cost for the part if the next owner desires to have this at peak performance...!
It comes with: a nice hard case.
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