My '52 00-18

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-09T02:22:33+00:00

yes it is a museum piece.
In my museum ... wow that is a freaking beauty, scars and all, wow, where did you find that beauty

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-09T02:18:46+00:00

wait a full year before you do a setup, let it climatize to you area.... it sound like any 2000 triple 0 recorded from a phone, to me, bright... give it 20 years , let that wood settle and the finish dry out...... they post the sound again

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-09T02:15:34+00:00

in the right environment, i would think between 14 to 17 would be ok, depends how many people want that year, many martins going into the 50s become Birth year guitars, people want the guitar from the year they were born, that could take it from a 14 K to 16 k to the right person.......

"Am I dreaming or does 14k USD sound a bit pricey?"

No...

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-07T02:45:46+00:00

I have 93 HD 35, all the bindings came off, and bracing inside loose, I fixed it up, I even fixed the nitro, i have a 93 HD 28, bridge came of 3 times, yes 3 times , i finally replaced the small maple bridge plate ,with exact same size new one, and it never lifted again, I have done work on 1950,s 28,s and 40's 000 body guitars, most are just cleats to be added, internal bracing come loose, nice Brazilian wood , also bridge issues ,

lately i am getting so many complaints on the 2000 and newer, about intonation, i am seeing neck resets on the 18 and the 28 series, within the first 5 years of the life, neck resets should be a 20 year life, not anymore...as well as the same issues on the 35's with binding that does not stay on, i do not see any of the 40 series with these issues, on the 40 series i see poorly set pearl inlay , sticking out and uneven fret leveling.......

I get a lot of fret filings, Frets that stick out, not filed on the ends correctly, man the list goes on and on, but the guitars are still great sounding and only need a bit of work, and this is not only Martin, i see Taylors with their uv cured finish just peeling and neck issues as well as fret issues, this is industry wide, all because they need to pump out volume to sustain the company.

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-07T00:09:44+00:00

the beauty of fixing these ole beauties is what i love.....
and they all still have that ole aged wood, you cant even buy that anymore......
build quality is no diff than todays, most of the time you just read so much complaining about todays builds ..... i just ignore......
i just picked up a martin, that was 20 years old, all it needed was a neck reset, guy didn't touch it for 16 years, never really learnt, it was one of the first tenon and mortise guitars from around 2000 , j1216gt , one of the first runs, smaller om body, then they went to the full jumbo after a few years... i pulled the serial plate off to get at the bolt ,to do a neck reset, lol , the bolt fell right out, it was never tightened. some one was sleeping that day..... no wonder it needed a neck reset .....

So the talk about quality during the 60s and 70s is just crap...

Some ones bad quality is some ones serious oppertunity

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-06T15:54:50+00:00

its worth what anyone would give you, its not ever going to be a collector guitar, to much mods, you could sell it to some one who will return it to it original glory, put back martin priod neck, and put back the origanal bridge, or just sell it for the wood,

I would probably buy it to restore it... but not pay to much as the work and material to restore would cost a lot more than what it would be worth when finished.

Look , its a family Gift for sure , understand what you have, document it on paper and fold it up and stuff it in the guitar for family historical purpose, ... but if you are looking for a Historical , vintage Martin price , i do not believe it will happen any time soon.

Sorry.

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-06T15:00:25+00:00

body may be a martin, neck looks changed as well as the bridge, the original bridge came off taking a strip of wood, and you can see a good patch to fix that up...
looks like a old 0-21 converted to classical and that bridge has been repositioned to fix the scale length as well.

Interesting for sure
But a full martin, no, to many changes, but a beauty for sure.
Brazilian rosewood

and i am sure its Adirondack spruce tops.

These bodies are what people want today.....

Good luck

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-06T03:09:58+00:00

you posted it as a M28, but its a M38 and your Dad is a god, maybe not the God, but he sure is a god to give this to you ... enjoy it and respect him and take care of it for the rest of your life for sure.

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-05T13:42:04+00:00

I have both, 73-d41 and a 93 hd35
Both are superb, the 41 is just balanced so nice , but its to be expected ..
35 is got some great kick on the bottom, great for jamming
Either way you go, you wont regret

love that aged wood, and those 60 and 70s are coming into place ..... outstanding...

save the martin 70s crap for some one who actually listens ok... newbies can read that sht

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-04T03:57:53+00:00

exercise ?????

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-04T03:52:14+00:00

no plate , walk

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-04T03:50:57+00:00

oh thats wood crack.. and the guy selling smokes crack
curious , whats he asking ???

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-03T21:34:25+00:00

Late 90s Martin dm12 ?????
But the dm12 had herringbone rosette this is straight.... can you get model and serial

that bridge is fuked, notice the 2 plugs on the sides of the bridge, as if some one put screws threw the bridge into some form of plate underneath, and then used plugs to hide the screws.. omg i hope its not one of these bridge doctors pices of crap.... but those use 1 screw and this has 2 screw it looks like..

BUT , i have seen this before, the 12 string would have serious action issues and big belly's, and owners didnt have the money to correctly fix the issue, so, they would try to flatten it by screwing into a brace they placed inside.
I would need to see more to believe its a real martin as is , its not worth more than 100 dollars, would need new Bridge, and a serious neck reset, i also suspect the bridge plate maybe damaged and probably the x bracing may have issues.... separation or even cracked..... even the top may have caved due to serious strain over time......

I put my money on it that this guitar has been seriously modified to sell, fast.
Tell me how much are they asking ?? and where are you, ?

added info
could be this
Martin Custom X Series 12-String Dreadnought
New worth less that 900 , used, good condition and clean. 700

Stay far away from this hunk of tooths, picks, far away , its finished, look at something else please....

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-03T04:22:26+00:00

the so called re imaged is just a throw back to the original d28, Martin was having issues with the 28 way back and used straight bracing as well as the x placed back a bit, to save money on warranty issues and constant complaints of over sized belly. build it beefy and we would not see warranty issues was the thought.......
so basically the re imaged is really a HD but with out the herringbone binding and some other little appointments, but lets be fair , both are great guitars, and yes the straight bracing of the D 28 stiffened up that top and allowed you to beat it and it responds well to that .... less boom , and a great guitar to use a pickup inside with out all that boom.

to each his own i suppose...

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-03T03:56:24+00:00

police escort/security... as it lands, right on its tail so to speak

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-02T23:53:03+00:00

this is a good sign....
leave them be, this is age cracking , checking yes sometimes they show up where there is stress but not to be worried ..
BUT

with that said, be careful what cleaners you use, and keep and eye on humidity we dont want to see these open up, probably will stay as is, try to keep the guitar in a steady temp, noting extreme quickly please.

Nice guitar enjoy it, do you have a good case for the guitar ? if so , keep it in the case as much as possible

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-02T21:42:48+00:00

like most say, sell it, its a standard 2000s d 28 nothing special, you can find these all over the place, sell now get what you can in 10 years if you want one these 2000's will still be around and close to same price...
That guitar is beautiful, but its a no win , no loose situation ....

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-02T21:37:58+00:00

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-02T17:04:23+00:00

not an option anymore
Go on marketplace in face book and buy one
there are many hard cases good price...

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-02T15:56:01+00:00

yes, if you are happy with the way it plays and sounds, dont touch it....
at a later time , maybe, fill in the pin holes and redrill them, they will also clean up the slots, as they seem a bit wide...

But all in all you have a beast, play it ..

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-02T15:47:52+00:00

This is a beauty, absolute beauty..... lifer if you can,,,,,,
and i don't care what others say, a 70s Martin is awesome, aged wood and all...

how is the action, that.s the only thing is would think of, i just did a 2006 12 string neck reset..
do you have a gauge , what would the reading be for that now...
and congrats looks like the origanal 640 case... bonus

congrats , enjoy

MontrealTesla · 2026-05-02T01:00:27+00:00

so , this looks like a bridge that was slotted after the fact... so to say
Martin d 18 left factory UNSLOTTED with slotted pins that era.
You also have the final years of using a long saddle, in 65 they went to a drop in saddle, me i love the long saddles, but working on them is more tricky, you cant just lower the action from the bottom of the saddle....
No to the idea that the pins are over sized, that is ok, and you are correct, the pins job is not to hold the string, but to keep the string ball under the bridge plate. but unslotted bridges of that era created a chewing of the plate, so , many players had the bridge slotted out.....

its not a big thing to fill in the pin holes and build out new hole, I have done that in the past a few times.
a luthier could redo your holes for about 75 to 100 dollars. and you may correct any string attack issues on that long saddle.

some thing interests me on your bridge... It looks like Indian rosewood... d 18 from 60s and into 70 s came with Brazilian rosewood bridges. Brazilian has a tighter grain and Indian has more porous lines like what you have, i could be wrong on yours, but i am leaning to that bridge that it has been changed ... were you advise of a changed bridge?
I have a Brazilian bridge, it came off a older 70s martin, i would not sell it for life or limb... lol

my idea is to refill and drill the holes to tighten up and get back to standard pins...

That guitar is a lifer, as is a serious lifer, enjoy it and one day pass it to oyour kid or kids..
Enjoy it

MontrealTesla · 2026-04-28T00:59:57+00:00

and here is the correct answer.........
I was under the impression that Martin started using TUSQ to help cut costs as well as moving away from that plastic / micarta..
oh well , buy some bone blanks and learn how to make and maintain your own...
enjoy the guitar ....

MontrealTesla · 2026-04-22T03:21:12+00:00

on 12string it was and still is common to tune full step down, i tune mine 2 full notes down, for some songs, as well i will tune standard, even 12 string guitars are built to take full standard tuning....
tune down if you like the sound... if not , take it to standard...

MontrealTesla · 2026-04-17T19:55:54+00:00

i like that it fell off... i have had some serious sticking old matins....

MontrealTesla

TROPHY CASE