I don't know if this is the place for it, but my friend has an old Martin that we have been trying to discover the date on. His claim is he bought it in 1936. According to all date codes I find and the Martin website, the guitar wasn't made until 1948. Is it possible to have an inaccurate serial number on these? It has these numbers on the neckblock
0-18 or could be 0-78 or D-18 or D-78
serial is 111199.
I believe my friend which makes me question the date.
It is a parlor size guitar.
You can ride a Yamaha, or play a Yamaha, it is up to you.
Martin sequentially numbers their instruments. I can't say it's totally impossible that a serial number could be off a year or so... but by 1936 they'd only made a little over 65,000 instruments - it's more than improbable that they'd be off by 40,000 in the number. That serial number is a 1949 manufacture, not '48.
The number is 18 - they haven't made a'78' style. The letter could be O or D, but O is the parlor size. All O models are 13-1/2" wide... the other dimensions vary a bit, depending on whether the neck joins the body at fret 12 or 14. The 'D' is for dreadnaught - they're bigger, with a 15-5/8" width.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Okay, Noteboat, thanks for the quick reply. I may just have to let my friend believe what he wants. He'll never sell anyway. I mentioned that it might be from 1948 and he said it was impossible. He remembered buying it in 1936. I didn't want to cause any arguments and suggested maybe somebody switched on him at some time. But as I figured, the serial #'s tell the truth. It is still a nice old instrument. Neck is still staight and a real joy to play. I keep hoping he will keep me in is will (LOL).
You can ride a Yamaha, or play a Yamaha, it is up to you.
Hey, I'm new here but I'm wondering about my old Martin that was handed down to me. The markings inside are 0-78 and 180040. It is in good shape, with only 3 small scuffs on the back and one small scuff on the side. The scuffs look like dots because they are so small. The clear coating on the face of the guitar which I think is lacquer is cracked. The cracks in the lacquer are not visible unless the guitar is viewed at an angle while shining light onto it. The tuners say 'Grover' on them and the neck is not warped at all. I am wondering how much is the maximum I can get for this guitar. I really want to sell it because I want to start guitar but with an electric guitar. If pictures will help better estimate the amount that I can sell this guitar for, please say so and I will post pictures.
Thanks,
K
