C. F. Martin 0-18 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1923), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 19190, natural finish, Adirondack spruce top, mahogany sides and neck, ebony fingerboard and bridge, black hard shell case.

This is a well-played but nice sounding 0-18 from mid/late 1923, when the original 12-fret "old style" standard Martins were the only game in town for the Nazareth company. The 0-18 had not yet settled into its specifications as a steel-string guitar which was then a fairly new idea at Martin, and was largely still intended for gut strings. This 1923 model has slightly beefed-up construction compared to its 19th century ancestors, but by modern standards the scalloped X pattern remains extremely light and delicate.

The Style 18 began to be offered with steel strings in 1923, Martin's first spruce top guitar so equipped from the factory. This example has had a fairly sharp-angled neck reset so as a precaution we have strung it with Nylon to prevent over-torquing the top. It could handle silk and steel but we would advise against heavier steel stinging in this case.

The 0-18 is a 13 1/2" wide mahogany-bodied guitar with relatively plain trim. It would continue to be built in this 12-fret form up through the end of this decade before the advent of pickguards and 14-fret neck joints changed its character in the early 1930s. This 1923 guitar has its boldly-grained Adirondack spruce top; it and the back are bound with rosewood, the narrow flat-ended bridge and 1 13/16" wide fingerboard made of very high-grade dark ebony. The position marks are three simple descending-sized pearl dots, the nut is ebony, and the tuners on the slotted headstock are unplated strips with grained ivoroid buttons.

This small-bodied mahogany guitar may have been near the bottom of the Martin line, but this was still a more expensive instrument than many competing 1920s flat-tops. 1923 saw 342 0-18's shipped, second only to the budget all-mahogany 2-17 in sales volume. The price was raised from $30 to $33 in the middle of the year, possibly indicating the factory was having trouble keeping up with demand! It is built throughout to the lofty standards that only C.F. Martin & Co. ever sustained.

This is a well-used but fine playing instrument; the sound is more powerful than one might expect from an instrument this size, strung with nylon, full-bodied with surprising depth. It makes a lovely fingerstyle guitar but if strung with silk-and-steel would work with a flatpick as well.

Overall length is 38 in. (96.5 cm.), 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).

This is a played-in but still largely original 103 year old Martin, showing a lot of general wear overall but still playing fine. The very thin finish remains original but well-worn, with noticeable pickwear into the wood especially in the area below the soundhole running forward almost to the front edge. There are dings, dents and scrapes over most surfaces and some deeper belt buckle wear to the back. The back of the neck is lightly worn down with some shallow but feelable dings and dents.

The underside of the spruce top has ancient black spotting scattered around, mostly forward of the bridge. We can't say for sure what this resulted from but it appears perhaps to have been some sort of insect activity many decades ago. It does not appear to have been caused by mold and there is no residual odor. None of this is visible externally as it does not extend to the mahogany back or sides.

There is a sizable impact crack area on the lower side at the back just below the endpin; this is solidly but visibly repaired without much touchup applied. It looks like the side took a hit there decades ago. Amazingly this is the only crack repair to this well traveled guitar; the top is free of cracks, even in the crucial area below the bridge. There is a patched screw hole in side just above the heel from an old strap button visibly plugged.

The neck has been reset. What appear to be the original bar frets are still intact and very playable; these were likely reworked and crowned down a bit as the ebony fingerboard appears to have been trued. The original small pyramid bridge is still intact, reglued and lowered a bit with a new bone saddle. The small maple bridgeplate is a correct pattern reproduction, not wildly oversized as many of these earlier guitars have been fitted with. The interior beautifully scalloped braces remain original; the X-brace leg along the treble side of the bridgeplate was split and recently glued up. The top has a slight belly typical of these very lightly built early guitars but is completely solid. The original tuners and ebony nut remain intact.

While fairly well worn, this guitar is a solid survivor for a super lightly braced early 1920s Martin. The great majority of these scallop braced 12-fret Martins show more repair --often poorly done -- usually due to decades of heavy steel stringing through the 1930s, '40s and '50s. This one has survived those times worn but intact and remains simply a superb playing and sounding instrument with lower tension strings as intended, living in a later larger hard shell case. Overall Very Good Condition.