1937 Martin D-18 Steel String Acoustic Guitar

While not in collector condition, this ’37 D-18 has a lot to offer the player with an ear for the unique tone these mid-to-late 1930s Martin Dreadnoughts deliver. And thanks to a new fingerboard and even newer frets, it’s every bit as playable as a recent reissue of this iconic model. Yes, it’s been refinished, and yes the color of the mahogany back, sides, and neck is now darker than they were originally, but it’s important to remember that this guitar was restored back in the 1960s, when it was just a used D-18 and valued accordingly. Along with the refin, the fingerboard was replaced, and also the dot pattern is more like a D-28, but the neck profile and 1 3/4″ width at the nut was maintained. Similar work was done to the bridge, and while collectors might complain that it has the later blind-end saddle slot, the original bridge plate and string spacing was preserved. A flat brace was added between the first top brace and the neck block, but the portion of the soundboard above the soundhole, and that big #1 brace, doesn’t catch much vibration from the bridge anyway.

The summary of all this what-they-did way-back-when is that the playability and tone, and the pin-your-ears-back volume when you lean into it, is very much that of a 1937 D-18. Thankfully there’s no needed repairs or restoration on the horizon, all you have to do is play it!