Pre-war Martin instruments are often considered the pinnacle of craftsmanship for acoustic guitars, with a tone, feel and level of detail and quality that has arguably been unmatched since. This 1919 Martin 00-45 is among a small number of true 'holy grail' acoustic guitars, and comes to us from the instruments second owner in its 105 year life span. Style 45 guitars have traditionally been as ornate as it gets when it comes to Martin guitars, making this 00-45 the top of the line 00 body sized guitar available at the time, with a total of only 157 00-45 guitars manufactured by the company between 1904 and 1939.
This 1919 Martin 00-45 is truly a work of art in guitar making terms, and a genuine antique. The 00-45 models were the most resplendent available at the time, with this guitar featuring an Adirondack Spruce top and Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, with the mid sized '00' body shape making these a comfortable guitar to play without compromising too much on resonance and presence. The 00-45 features abalone & ivoroid binding around the top, rosette, bottom of the fingerboard, back and sides, along with inlaid abalone torch headstock decoration and the C F Martin & Co logo on the back of the headstock, as was standard at the time. The neck is also beautifully inlaid with snowflake and diamond abalone inlay.
The neck features a shallow 'V' shaped profile which is very comfortable to play, along with the wider pre-war nut width and slot headstock design. Although most Martin guitars manufactured pre-1922 were not designed to be used with steel strings, there was the option
This guitar also includes the Certificate of Authenticity and insurance document provided by Mandolin Bros Ltd to the previous owner when the instrument was purchased, along with correspondence between the previous owner and Mike Longworth at Martin in the early 1990s.
This guitar is in good condition for an instrument that is over 100 years old, and sports the kind of wear and battle scars you would expect from such an antique guitar. The neck has been previously reset by Dave King ensuring it will continue to play as it should for years to come. The pyramid style bridge also appears to be non original, but is similar to those being used by Martin at the time. The bridge plate has also been replaced, presumably at the same time as the bridge. There have been two cleated crack repairs to the back of the body, and a crack repair to the top with a thin piece of newer spruce filleted in. Unusually, there also are four small holes with have been dowelled on the lower edge of the body, as if a trapeze tailpiece had been fitted for some reason, although this was prior to the previous owners acquisition of the instrument.
Our residents luthiers at the Vintage Instrument Workshop have given this guitar a thorough service, and as with all other instruments, this guitar includes a 3 year warranty with the Vintage Instrument Workshop.
