Music

C. F. Martin 00-17 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1937), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 67507, natural mahogany finish, mahogany body and neck with rosewood fingerboard, period hard shell case. This well-loved nearly 90-year-old 00-17 shows decades of wear but is a truly fantastic sounding example, structurally in very nice condition for its age. It dates to mid-late 1937 and while showing some heavier wear is still a fine player. The 1930s 00-17s with thin, scalloped braced tops are super responsive guitars, usually manifesting an extra richness and sweetness less evident in postwar models. Although they were designed as budget models the crisply defined yet warm sound these all-mahogany Martins are well-known for is excellent for recording and gigging, especially adaptable to a modern amplified context. The 00-17 was the largest style guitar Martin offered in the all-mahogany format. Even though the overriding concern was economy (this was still the depression) they were built to the same extremely high standard as all Martin instruments. The top, back, sides and neck are mahogany, there is no decoration and no frills -- just a plain and simple tone machine. Exactly 300 of these were shipped in 1937, when the list price was all of $35 without case. Typical features for this pre-war period include original individual Grover openback tuners (3 of which remain) a small straight rosewood bridge and a tortoise celluloid pickguard. The neck has a surprisingly deep round profile that increasingly shades into a subtle "V" as it approaches the body. These mahogany-top guitars have a distinctive ringing tone and are excellent fingerpickers as well as a great all-around choice in a pre-war Martin. Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). The original finish on this 00-17 shows considerable wear overall especially to the top on either side of the fingerboard extension. There is less pick wear over the rest of the top; obviously a previous owner did most of their strumming down by the fingerboard! The sides and back show a decent amount of wear, showing scratches, dings and dents and a number deeper dents and scrapes to the unbound body edges. The back of the neck is oddly enough cleaner with some smooth wear through the lacquer but only very minor dings and dents. Considering the amount of cosmetic wear this guitar appears surprisingly free of major cracks. There are no repairs to the top or back, just some small sealed grain splits to the sides that look ancient. The treble side appears to have been re-sprayed decades ago; there is a copy of a letter in the case from Martin dated 1969 concerning an old crack in the guitar, but no follow up as to whether the company did any work to it. In any event whatever crack was being addressed was pretty minor. The guitar has had a well done neck reset and the rosewood bridge is a well done repro in the original pattern. The original small maple bridgeplate and delicate scalloped bracing are nicely intact. The frets appear replaced but with old near-exact matching wire to the 1930s original tang frets, suggesting this was done long ago. The nut is an older piece of bone, but this guitar would have originally been equipped with a ebony piece. The fingerboard shows some strum wear over the body, and minor divoting in the lower positions. Three of the tuners are the original Grovers, the other three are Waverly pegs from the 1950s. This veteran 00 must have served one or more owners well; it has quite a powerful sound for its size with great projection, and is very sweet sounding for a mid-sized all-mahogany model. This veteran Martin is a fine instrument for delicate finger picking styles, heavy rhythm strumming, and pretty much anything in between. It is housed in a nice 1940s hardshell case more sized to a 000 but a functional fit. Very Good + Condition.

The Martin 00-17 is a classic acoustic guitar, known for its rich tone and vintage design. Initially introduced in 1930, it features all-mahogany construction and has become a favorite among fingerstyle guitarists.