If there is one year of D-18 to get post-war, it's a 1953. Elvis played a 1953 Martin D-18. Kurt Cobain played a 1953 Martin D-18; Cobain nicknamed it Grandpa. They have a mystical nature to them, and for good reason; they have Engelmann Spruce "Mystery Top" soundboards. Martin bought their spruce in batches, and 1953 (and some early parts of 1954) received this legendary red spruce. This red spruce is tighter grained than the Sitka found on the remainder 1954's; so not only is it more focused in sound, but Martin likely knew they had something special when they were going through this batch and switching back to Sitka. This example is in fantastic condition: clean neck reset and bridge reglue, replacement bridge pins, minor finish wear. It is essentially a holy grail guitar that was waiting for a later owner to really put it through the bluegrass circles. The sound is currently fantastic and will likely on get better.
Comes with TKL hardshell case.
