Martin D-18 1942, Sunburst

One of the rarest and most sought after acoustic guitars made, this Martin D-18 from 1942 is finished in the sparsely seen Shade Top, used on only a handful of instruments in this era. The beautiful Adirondack is proudly pronounced underneath the finish and the mahogany sides are rich in their color, not to mention their power as a tone wood. This guitar can shine being strummed loud and untethered, or reeled in with sweet, subtle fingerpicking. It has undergone a few repairs in its time, most notably a neck reset, refret and a replacement ebony bridge (reslotted with a drop-in to correct intonation). A slight outline of the original through saddle slot can be seen underneath the current saddle. The bridge plate is original to the guitar, but there is evidence of where there were bolts; they were plugged. These repairs have resulted in incredible playability. Cosmetically, it's very clean for its age, with small finish blemishes throughout, but has remarkably remained crack-free. Note: Martin made only eight D-18 shade tops in 1942; seven with Ebony rods and one with a steel rod. This guitar has the steel rod. Includes Accord snake skin pattern hard shell case.