50's D-18 questions

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flatpickin	50's D-18 questions	Lead	[-]
(11/08/09 8:49 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None I am starting to look at 50's D-18's, with a purchase date of around the first week or two of January, 2010 and thought I had better get with the program regarding my research. All I know about are newer guitars like Collings, and newer high end Martins (GE, Marquis, etc.). It has always been a dream of mine to own an old Martin, and reality being what it is, my budget will probably never go past 5-6K. That being said, I have some questions that I was hoping some of you would be kind enough to answer for me: I love bigger neck profiles (D-18A, GE, etc.). Is there any year or group of years during the 50's that had a bigger neck, even a mod v type neck, or are they all the slim, faster neck? Were certain tops used in certain years? (adi, englemann, sitka) or were they all sitka? Is the nut width always 1 11/16, or were different widths available in different years? Any other pros or cons for specific years that I should know about? I am completely new to anything relating to vintage, outside of the fact that I love the tone, and any serious flatpicker always gravitates to the old sound. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
jbbancroft		#1	[-]
(11/08/09 8:58 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	What I know. All 50's D-18's have a slim neck, with a nut width of 1 11/16". Most tops are Sitka spruce. All guitars are different concerning sound, you just need to play the instrument and see if the sound and playability suit's you. Jim
flatpickin		#2	[-]
(11/08/09 9:08 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Shoot. I love the old tone..that nut width/neck combination wouldnt work for me for two seconds though. Guess I'd better drive down to Gruhn's and play a few (thats probably the closest place to me that would have a couple). Thanks for your insight Jim.
TOR54		#3	[-]
(11/09/09 1:11 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A bit of a Generic Term, "Slim Neck"...I have a few D18's, a '55 a '56 and a '61 all are different, the '55 has a slight or soft V, the '56 slightly more rounded, but similar mass and the'61 has probably the biggest in the hand feel, with a slightly more pronounced V than the '55...All of course have the 1 11/16" Nut...But NONE of these would be called a "slim" Neck, they just aren't as big as the D18A Necks, which remind me of the Nocaster necks compared to my 1954 Tele, which I don't believe to be actually representative...I also have a '51 and '64 D28, bothe have just got real friendly in the hand neck shapes, neither Big nor Small...I have played on only a few Herringbone era Martins (unfortunately) but have always thought that the necks were just very appealing to play, which I would have thought a forte of any great guitar maker...After all who is going to buy a guitar that has an unfriendly neck? (Don't want to raise any hackles here, but personally I find the D18A necks to be unfriendly) Generally speaking, if you compared the 50's necks with the current Standard Series, I think you would prefer the 50's neck almost every time...For me I would always prefer a Prewar D18 or 28, no matter what neck, based on the Red Spruce, the Bracing and whole package, but I feel that the 50's necks are as good as any in the hand...Not Slim...Just Nice honest great necks...
kydave		#4	[-]
(11/09/09 1:12 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Jim, You know that Martin started using the 1 11/16" neck back in 1939, right? There are a lot of necks that have more meat than the low profile or mod v, but you aren't going to find the width of a GE or Marquis without getting into serious vintage. Keep in mind, though, that those meatier necks worked fine for decades of great guitar players throughout the '40s well into the '90s and that this thing with 1 3/4" width is relatively new (until you go way old). So don't write off '50s or '60s necks until you try a bunch. Good luck, Dave
pauljcat		#5	[-]
(11/09/09 1:47 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I just played a handful of vintage Martins from the golden era. I didn't find any of the postwar necks that I didn't like. They were all different but much, much better than newer 1 11/16 necks to me. They all have this rounded thing going on, and all have a nice full feel to them. My 71 D-28 has this feel as well. That might be a good thing for you to get, a 70's. Just to try out the neck feel. They can be had cheaper than most, but prices have been rising lately. Anyway, the older ones I played still had the best feel. My favorite was a 47 D-28. Also I know you are looking for a vintage D-18, Dreamguitars has a 63 or 64 D-18 for like $3200.00 or something. From the sound clip it sounds like a nice one.
MPkrNth		#6	[-]
(11/09/09 3:47 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have been a bit of a fanatic for D-18's in the past 3-4 years after many years of playing rosewoods only. Played a lot of D-18's and own a '45, '52, '66 (recently sold) and an Authentic. Neck shapes vary with the '45 being the beefiest next to the Authentic. The '52 and the '66 were very similar sized, what I'd call a full C shape. I like anything but the newer slim necks on Martins but find the C shape necks to be plenty big enough and very comfortable. I personally think the early '50's D-18's are a significant step up in general from the ones built in the '60's. Good examples are very powerful, clear tone with excellent note separation and balance across the strings. As a vintage Martin mahogany dread they are hard to beat for under $8K. It would be an excellent target for your price range. I've also noticed that some may not sound all that good if they've been neglected and are not set up well. Try to find one that has been through a good shop recently with all the little things done or find one that has not but is selling at a discount as a result. I wouldn't get too hung up about the spruce type on the top. My '52 happens to be sitka, the others are red spruce but that sitka topped D-18 has an amazing sound. To suggest the sound is superior coming from Engleman or Red Spruce tops of the same year as sitka is not entirely consistent with what I've found. There are wonderful examples of both so play lots of them until one hits home.
jbbancroft		#7	[-]
(11/09/09 7:21 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	When I said slim, I guess that's just my thought's about them, but certainly not as slim as a modern standard D-18. Necks vary some and you just have to play them to see if it's for you. Personally I don't have a problem with any style neck, guess I'm lucky. The only necks that bother me are the really slim 60's Gibson necks with less than 1 11/16" nut width. Jim
TOR54	Now I get it Jim...	#8	[-]
(11/09/09 7:59 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Jim, Thanks for clearing that up..Those post '64 ish Gibson 1 9/16" Necks are way too thin and I must say shouldn't even be mentioned in this thread as Martin 50's Necks are huge by comparison...I don't know what Gibson were thinking at the time personally....
flatfot		#9	[-]
(11/09/09 10:03 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Flatpickin I have a 54' D-18. The neck is hands down the most comfortable and largest neck profiles I've played on a Martin. ( I haven't played a D 18A). In my opinion it's the perfect neck. Tone wise, it is incredible. Airy and wide open with tons of volume. It has a sitka top. There are some killer 50's D-18's out there. Good luck with your search. Tom
Rank Stranger		#10	[-]
(11/09/09 10:30 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	As has been pointed out, the necks vary greatly even within years, as they were hand-carved. However, the years with the biggest necks (generally speaking) seem to be the mid to late 30s and ca. 1945-48. But I played a '35 D-28 once that had a pretty darn slim neck, so they really do differ from guitar to guitar. And as others have also said, there are some great D-18s from this period. My '60 is without a doubt the best value purchase I've ever made: more guitar for the money. It has amazing clarity and "zing" in the mids and trebles and very good bass. And I like the shape of its (substantial) neck as well as any guitar I've ever played. RS 1936 D-18 1946 D-18 1957 D-28 1960 D-18 www.thebourbonboys.com
yiannis71		#11	[-]
(11/09/09 10:37 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Jim, Non scalloped Martins sound different as you may already now.Perhaps you won't get that "Woa" factor when you play your first chord,like you get when you play your wonderful scalloped Merrill C-18(and that's due to the tighter unscalloped bass sound),but once you get used to that sound,you'll get in love with it,especially when you find the "right" '50s D-18.Knowing the fact that you are a huge David Grier fan like i am,imagine that a good '50s D-18(with Sitka top),will sound like David's guitar on his first album :Freewheeling": http://www.amazon.com/Freewheeling-CD-Demand-David-Grier/dp/B0000002IL Now,regarding the neck dimensions,the standard is the 1 11/16 with a pronounced V,but some are 1 23/32.I used to have an original,very clean 1951 D-18 that had a deep V neck that was quite difficult for me to play it.I've also played a '52 D-18 that had a softer V profile.Also my ex '63 D-18 had an excellent neck,it measured 1 23/32 with a softer V.Currently now,i have an Engelmann topped '53 D-28 with a fuller,rounder profile(very easy to play),and a Sitka topped '51 D-28 that has the 1 23/32 nut width with a rounder profile also.This is the best and most comfortable neck i've ever tried. Those were handmade guitars made by different craftsmen each time,so none of them was the same with each other i believe. Here's a brief recording with my '51 D-18,a big sounding guitar with great mids and sparkling hights: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zmzmzznvvmn Good luck with your search! Best, Yiannis
htnj	Flatpickin	#12	[-]
(11/09/09 4:26 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have a 1950 D-18 in the Buy and Sell. It's probably several pages back, but I'm sure a search using 1950 D-18 would bring it up. There are several pictures. Tommy www.myspace.com/narrowroadbluegrass http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Chsj7rzrZA 1943 Martin D-18 1950 Martin D-18 - ( For Sale ) 1955 Martin 0-18 2006 Henderson D-21 Sunburst Brazilian 2008 Henderson D-18
flatpickin		#13	[-]
(11/09/09 9:55 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	HTNJ...link?
htnj	Link	#14	[-]
(11/09/09 11:04 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Here it is. http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.yuku.com/topic/90417 Tommy www.myspace.com/narrowroadbluegrass http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Chsj7rzrZA 1943 Martin D-18 1950 Martin D-18 - ( For Sale ) 1955 Martin 0-18 2006 Henderson D-21 Sunburst Brazilian 2008 Henderson D-18

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50's D-18 questions

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