Martin 000-28 1935, Shade Top

A pre-war 000-28 Martin is already an incredibly rare piece, but one with a factory shade top finish is incomparable. This example has lived a well-played life with significant wear and repair to present in stable condition. This guitar has been refretted and received a neck reset. The tuners, bridge, bridge pins, and end pin have been replaced, with the current bridge crafted by T.J. Thompson and accompanied by spruce top patches and localized finish touch-up. The nut has been shimmed, and there is evidence of a previously installed oversized bridge that was later corrected with spruce inlays by Joe Konkly. A replacement maple bridge plate has also been installed, with evidence of an earlier oversized bridge plate visible internally. Additional work includes reglued X-braces, extra scalloping to the braces, and a spruce splice beneath the fingerboard extension. The guitar shows significant wear to the top from decades of use, along with several small punctures consistent with "case bite" damage. A handful of superficial finish cracks are present on the lower sides. Overall, it exhibits the cosmetic signs of a well-played vintage instrument while benefiting from substantial restoration and maintenance work.