1967 Martin D-18 Dreadnought Guitar

A customer of mine bought this elsewhere recently only to realize it doesn't fit his body. Oof! I get it. That happens to me, too. I can't tell you how many guitars I've had romances with only to find they don't quite work-out for me ergonomically. Variety is the spice of strife and all that...

That said, what a guitar! This has all you could want from an old D-18 -- it's loud, it's full, it's punchy, and it plays fast. I think my lengthy (tiring for you, possibly?) noodling on single-note runs in the video probably says all you need to know about that. It's nice to play a "grasser" guitar that's actually a "grasser" guitar.

This received a neck reset, new saddle, replacement nut, repro pickguard, and refret before I ever saw it here. My work was only light but it did dial it in perfectly. It's now playing spot-on and even throughout. Some or all of the tuners are replacements, too, but look right-ish with the guitar.

It has some nice bearclaw figure to the top on the lower and upper bouts and is very clean for its age. I'm use to '60s-era Martin Ds being a bit beat-on and bumped-around but the wear and tear on this guy is mostly focused on the back of the neck -- it was clearly well-loved and played a bunch judging just from that.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress and setup. In recent memory a skilled repairman did a neck reset, new nut and saddle, and refret.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: x

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 54w-12 lights

Neck shape: medium C/soft V

Board radius: ~14-16"

Truss rod: non-adjustable

Neck relief: hair of relief tuned to pitch (~1/64") -- effectively straight

Fret style: medium

Scale length: 25 3/8"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Body width: 15 5/8"

Body depth: 4 7/8"

Condition notes: I found no cracks. The finish has weather-check throughout but looks good! There's a mild amount of buckle-rash on the back (pictured). There are also some soft dings in the top (also pictured) and a mild amount of general light scratching and usewear throughout. The back of the neck's finish is worn, too. Overall, though, it looks really clean for its age. The pickguard, saddle, nut, and at least some of the tuners are replacements. The saddle has good height and plenty of adjustment room. There's one area at the back waist where the binding was reglued and there's a small split in the binding near it.

It comes with: an old hard case with a bunch of stickers on it.