1964 Martin D-18 — Zac Brown / Southern Ground Studio

This D-18 spent years as a house instrument at Southern Ground Studio in Nashville, where it got played on session after session — by Zac Brown and by plenty of other artists who came through those doors. Directly from Chicago Music Exchange this past April as part of the Zac Brown collection they put out. Since then it's been the centerpiece of my own recording rig — I've been tracking a new record with it, and now that the record's done, it's time to pass it along. A signed certificate of authenticity is included.

Specs:

• Serial Number: 196607 (1964)
• Top: Solid Spruce
• Body: Solid Mahogany
• Neck: Mahogany, C-profile
• Fingerboard: Brazilian Rosewood, 14" radius
• Nut width: 1-5/8"
• Scale length: 25 2/5"
• Neck thickness: .82" at 1st fret, .96" at 10th
• Weight: 4 lbs 4 oz
• Finish: All original
• Comes with a hardshell case

Condition & history: This guitar has lived a real life and I'm not going to pretend otherwise-that's part of what makes it special. The finish shows checking throughout, some shallow dings, and light play wear, with a larger area of finish loss on the top near the pickguard and bridge from decades of strumming. There's an old crack running from the sound hole down to the bridge that's been properly reattached to the brace and is fully stable — doesn't affect playability or tone one bit. The back has some buckle rash and a few small repaired cracks near the center seam, also stable. At some point a pickup was installed and later pulled; that hole's been filled and the endpin's back in place, and there's a strap button on the heel from the same era. All the rest of the hardware is original to the guitar.

Everything above came straight from CME's own condition report when we bought it, and I'm passing it along exactly as they gave it to us. The frets show moderate wear but it plays beautifully with medium action — the tone is everything you want out of a mahogany dread that's had 60 years to open up. Woody, dry, articulate mids that just sit perfectly in a mix, which is exactly why it ended up on almost every track of my new record. This guitar earned its keep in my studio, and it deserves to keep earning its keep in someone else's.

I'm in Memphis, TN. That said, if you're serious and you're far away, I'm willing to drive this guitar to you pretty much anywhere in the continental US, as long as you cover gas and lodging for the trip. If that's of interest, just message me and we'll figure out the details.

Happy to answer any questions, send extra photos or video, or do a video call so you can see and hear it before committing. This one's hard to let go of, but it deserves to be in the hands of someone who's going to actually play it.