1933 Martin C-3 Archtop w/Hard Case

This 1933 C-3 Archtop is one of 58 made by Martin between 1931-1934.

The C-Series guitars were created as the result of a growing demand for carved top guitars in the early 1930's. The C-3 was mainly owned by professional musicians and used for country, blues and jazz. The C-3 has tremendous power and volume.

It was made of some of the best materials: a carved spruce top with a high gloss lacquer finish, multi-line celluloid bindings and gold plated engraved gears. The guitar was constructed of beautiful Brazilian Rosewood. The bound headstock with the famous CF Martin vertical logo was originally designed for Martin's C-series archtops in 1931. That same vertical logo design is still in production today!

It is mistakenly thought that Gibson created the first x-braced archtop guitar. Actually, Martin produced the first x-braced archtop in 1931 with its C-series, while Gibson developed the x-brace in 1934 with its Advanced L-5 and Super-400. The x-brace is a favored method of bracing an archtop today. The modern x-brace is based on the early Martin design of 1931.

Specs:

• Grand Auditorium 000-Style Body
• Carved Spruce Top
• Arched Brazilian Rosewood Back
• Brazilian Rosewood Sides
• Five-Ply Top Body Binding with Outer Ivoroid Layer
• Zipper Pattern Back Stripe
• 14/20-Fret Ivoroid-Bound Ebony Fingerboard with Snowflake Inlays
• Ivoroid-Bound Headstock Overlay with Vertical CF Martin Logo
• Three-per-side Gold Tuners
• Rosewood Bridge
• Gold Trapeze Tailpiece
• Raised Plastic Pickguard
• Sunburst

Before listing, we had a Martin certified luthier check it over and set it up. At 85 years, this guitar is still playing and sounding fantastic. It's missing 2 fret inlays (3rd fret and 9th fret - check pictures), and has been setup with D-Addario phosphor bronze lights.