1963 Martin 00-21NY Acoustic Guitar- Used

Fresh from a neck reset and refret in Gryphon’s Repair Dept, this 1963 12-fret 00 plays like a new Martin but has the vintage vibe and tone only 6+ decades can deliver. It’s a great sounding, and playing, example of a timeless model that dates back in the pre-Civil War era. Finish, tuners, and bridge are original, with no sign of changes to bracing or bridge plate. Two tiny hairlines to the back have been repaired.

Many years before Martin offered the first reissues of guitars from their past, such as Vintage Series and Golden Era models, they offered “NY” models like this one. The “NY” stood for “New York” and was an effort to capture the subtle appearance of 19th century models commonly called “New York Martins” (because they were still stamped as from New York despite being made in Nazareth PA.) Part of the look was a blank fingerboard, no pickguard, and a small rectangular bridge. Today these features don’t seem all that unusual but in the early ’60s they stood out as Martin’s efforts to satisfy folk revival players who had an eye on the company’s earlier aesthetic. And speaking of history, this example was crafted in the North Street factory where those 1850s models originated.