1962 Martin T-18 Tiple – Used

Because they’re strung with steel strings (ten of ’em!), Martin tiples deliver a room-filling ringing tone without being played hard. Although Martin started offering tiples in the early 1920s, when the uke craze was in full swing, those in the know much prefer the later versions like this example over tiples from Martin’s earlier “golden era”. Why? Because the later versions have modern T frets, while earlier Martin tiples have bar stock frets (which are much harder to work on and don’t tend to keep the tiple neck as straight).

This example has some playing wear to the spruce top but we can’t find any cracks or signs of repairs, and it’s original throughout. It also comes with an excellent fitted rectangular hardshell case (because of their unique shape and long headstock, finding a good case for tiples can be difficult, or costly, and often both). Gryphon hasn’t had a Martin tiple this good in ages, our prediction is that it won’t last long.