There are many exceptions and sometimes letter prefixes were used.
This would also explain why the occasional pre-1932 Martin guitar appears with a decal.įrom 1970-1975 all numbers were stamped into wood and assigned a six digit number.
This implies that a number of ukuleles built in 1930 remained in the factory until being sold in 1932. Interestingly, the original order for Martin decals was placed in June of 1932. The Martin logo decal on the front of the headstock. The Martin brand stamped on the back of the headstock. Ukuleles did not carry serial numbers but can be roughly identified and dated by the headstock: 1895 to 1932 Fortunately, they are often signed by the builder. Many of these unique instruments pop-up today and don’t fit any clear category.
Ukuleles, taropatches, tiples and Hawaiian guitars were introducedĪfter workers at the Nazareth factory had been employed for a period of years they were permitted to fashion an instrument for themselves at the plant. Some pre-1898 guitars have the date penciled on the top just inside the sound hole.īefore 1929, the model size and style designation was generally written on a paper label and glued inside the top of the instrument case. Model numbers were marked on the neck block, inside the body. Zoebisch & Sons” (Zoebisch was the sole distributor of Martin at the time). The original instruments had a paper label that read: “Martin and Coupa” 1833 to 1867 Prior to serial numbers, the different instruments were identified by the Martin brand which was stamped into the back of the headstock, the upper portion of the back or on the back binding strut visible through the soundhole (the eased blocking reinforcing the center joint between the 2 back pieces). It's original throughout, the only repair appears to be a reglued bridge, and there are no cracks anywhere (original bridge plate with little string ball wear, too) It has that classic tapered-not-scalloped '50s rosewood Martin Dreadnought tone, plenty of bass but with strong trebles and midrange that cuts through any mix.Martin began producing instruments in 1833. This one is possibly the best D-21 Gryphon has had (at least that we can remember) and is in excellent structural and cosmetic condition and sounds like a dream. This example is from early 1957, and the D-21 wasn't introduced until 1956, so it's an early example of a Martin Dreadnought model that only lasted for 13 years (it was dropped from the catalog in 1969). This means the D-21 sounds different than either the D-28 or the D-18, and so delivers a Martin Dreadnought tone all its own. It shares the same Brazilian rosewood back and sides of the D-28, but with the Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and bridge of the D-18. Martin's D-21 is often mistaken for the "little brother" of the iconic D-28, but in truth it's much more than that.
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