C. F. Martin 00-41 Custom Shop Elderly Instruments Special Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (2016), ser. #1997790, original black tolex hard shell case.

C. F. Martin 00-41 Custom Shop Elderly Instruments Special Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (2016), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 1997790, natural lacquer finish, Guatemala Rosewood back and sides, Italian Alpine spruce top, mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black tolex hard shell case.

This is a lovely and slightly unusual Martin Custom Shop limited edition, originally build for well-known Michigan dealer Elderly Instruments, apparently as specials for the 2016 NAMM show. Supposedly only around five or six of these were made to these specs. And that's it.

Designated a 00-41 this guitar features mostly features prewar style specs. on a 14-fret 00 body. The top is Italian Alpine spruce with nice straight grain, abalone trim, a vintage repro tortoise pattern pickguard and critically pre-war pattern scalloped bracing with a small maple bridge plate. The back and sides are beautiful book-matched Guatemala Rosewood with multi-color center strip, bound with grained ivoried. The neck is mahogany with a soft "modified-V" profile, traditional volute, ivoried heel cap and a bone nut with the earlier 1930s 1-3/4" width. The ebony bridge is a vintage repro with a through bone saddle and 45-style pins; it features the wider 2-3/16" string spacing usually preferred by fingerpickers.

The ebony fretboard is bound in ivoried and inlaid with an unusual variation on 45-style position markers; instead of full pearl pieces they consist of abalone borders only giving a very understated and delicate look. The face plate is rosewood and has a similar treatment to the vertical "CF Martin" logo. The tuners are gold-plated openback Grovers with butterbean buttons. The back of the headstock is stamped with "Elderly Instruments, Est. 1972 Lansing, MI" instead of the Martin logo.

This is a lovely smaller body Martin, vintage styled but the inlay variation gives it a unique look. This 00 feels and plays like one of the company's high end pre-war reproduction models, an excellent fingerpicker with a lot of muscle as a straight strummer as well. It comes with the original Geib-style case with the "Cabernet" interior.

Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).

This guitar appears not much used over the past decade, showing only some light handling marks and very small scuffs. There is a bit of fret wear under the B and high E strings in the first position but the guitar plays extremely well with a very big sound for a modern 00 feeling like it is just starting to age in. The guitar is complete in the original HSC. Excellent + Condition.