1972 Martin D-18 Dreadnought Guitar

This is a nice, played-in D-18. It's in pretty good shape overall and it looks like it had a neck reset done in the past as the neck angle is good and it still has a bit of saddle left. The owner brought it in to see if it could be made to have a bit more of a '50s sound and to get it adjusted properly.

To that effect, I shaved the two tonebars below the bridge to open it up a bit more and now it sounds closer to an early-'60s Martin than the stiffer-sounding '70s model it began as. That's my most conservative approach on these guys because I know that the larger, '70s-style bridgeplate will keep it structurally sound even if you remove a lot of the tonebar bulk. Interestingly, the two main struts of the X-bracing were tapered a bit more than is usual for '70s Martins, so it didn't sound shabby at all right out of the gate. The shaving just gave it "a little more" in the lower-mids rumble and a little more open bass on the low strings.

I found it intriguing that even though the top looks like it got a lot of outdoors light, the rosewood bridge and headstock veneer haven't "yellowed" like I'm used to seeing on this period of Martin.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, saddle adjustments, light brace shaving, cleaning, and setup.

Weight: 4 lbs 5 oz

Scale length: 25 3/8"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Neck shape: medium soft V

Board radius: 16"

Body width: 15 5/8"

Body depth: 4 7/8"

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, 40w, 30w, 22w, 16, 12

Truss rod: non-adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium

Condition notes: it's in good order throughout but does have small nicks, dings, and scratches throughout  the finish and plenty of finish weather-checking. A strap button is added at the heel and I'm guessing that the pickguard is replaced as well. There are a couple of tiny hairline cracks in the sides that are secure. The saddle is on the low side but still has adjustment room left. Considering it's the wettest time of our year right now, I expect it will need to be raised a bunch in a drier climate (ie, wintertime here).

It comes with: its original hard case.