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Stuart Mossman was one the country’s top luthiers in the 1970s and 80s– working in the tradition of the great American Dreadnought. According to an article in Vintage Guitar magazine: Stuart Mossman “…. began making guitars in 1965 and through his early efforts concentrated on experimenting with bracing of the tops. He spent four years building 40 or 50 prototypes in his garage at home. By the end of the decade, sensing a niche in the market for high quality handmade acoustics, he had incorporated S. L. Mossman Guitars in Winfield, Kansas and moved into facilities at Strother's Field outside of town. Mossman had noticed what was happening with major acoustic guitar manufacturers at the time. The folk music boom had pushed demand for acoustic instruments to an all-time high and while Gibson, Martin and Guild were increasing production, imports from the Pacific rim countries were beginning to exploit the lower end of the market. Mossman was concerned with what he saw as an erosion in materials, design, and craftsmanship in the construction of the traditional flattop acoustic guitar, particularly among the larger manufacturers as they rushed to meet the strong demand. Using only top-quality woods, a proprietary bracing structure, and old-world building techniques, Mossman guitars entered series production in 1970. ‘We were the first of the small manufacturers to make it as a larger company', Stuart Mossman recalls…” The original 70’s Mossman dreadnoughts are very well built, with attention to detail, and craftsmanship unsurpassed in this period. One of the hallmarks of the Mossman guitar is that each instruments has a paper label inside, with the serial number (that included the year date) and model. And the label was always signed or initialed by the craftsmen building that guitar (this one includes Stu Mossman’s initials: SLM). The Flint Hills model featured East Indian Rosewood back and sides, spruce top, ebony fretboard and bridge, and a unique inlay around the soundhole. This example is all original, and is in fine condition, with no cracks. Original West German Schaler tuners. It has an under-saddle pickup installed, and an input jack in the end pin. Tone is fine, and loud, reminiscent of a 60’s Martin– but with a little more punch in the mids and trebles– a perfect bluegrass instrument. -
Out of stock
1855-1860 Martin “transitional”1-21. A very rare and exquisite large size Martin from the pre-1867 era. “Large size” Martin from the 1850’s, because the Size 1, and 0, were the only “large” size Martins in those years. And there is currently not a single other size 1 or 0 size pre-1867 Martin guitar on the market. This is considered by the top U.S. experts who vetted this instrument as an early, rare "transitional" 1-21, based on the fact that it does not have all the later, standardized, 1860’s and on “21” attributes– specifically, backstrip and endwedge on this instrument are not typical of “price-list” era 21’s (after the publishing of the first Martin price lists, establishing features of the different models, in the 1860’s) This 1-21 has:- Diamond marquetry backstrip (not found on later, 1860’s 1-21s)
- Marquetry endwedge (not found on later, 1860’s 1-21s) (Wood end wedge and herringbone backstrip were the standard features of the 1860’s and after 1-21’s)
- X-braced. All braces are 100% original. No internal repairs to braces.
- Slot head
- Ebonized neck (maple neck, ebonized, i.e. painted black). This is another transitional feature: black neck was replaced by cedar on Style 21 by the time the Martin price list was first printed.
- Single "tone bar" brace behind the bridge plate
- Ice cream cone-shaped heel (1860’s 1-21’s had cedar neck, with Spanish style heel not ice cream cone heel)
- Three "CF Martin New-York" stamps: one inside center strip; the second on neck block (this stamp is upside down, as it should be); the third on back of guitar (near heel), the third stamp transversing the backstrip on the back of the guitar near the heel.
- Solid Brazilian Rosewood back and sides
- All original finish, everywhere; no touch-ups, overspray, etc, of any kind ever done
- Brazilian rosewood back shows beautiful sawmarks
- Bridge, more than a century old, is probably a replacement bridge… but on the original bridge footprint
- Original ivory nut
- Original bridge plate (mahogany)
- No back cracks, or side cracks; one top crack, repaired
- Tuners are modern replacements, vintage style, in original slot holes
- Original frets
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The 5-21 Martins, with their Brazilian Rosewood back and sides and Adirondack spruce tops, are known for putting out an astounding amount of sound. This tenor guitar, style 5-21T, does that in spades. Measuring 11-3/8" across, with its X braced top and light build, the instrument has an amazing amount of tone. Though Martin offered size 5 models ranging from style 15 through the elaborately ornamented style 45, the only ones made in any significant quantity prior to World War II were the style 17, 18, and 21 in six-string guitars and styles 17, 18, and 21 tenors, as well as some style 15 post-war size 5 tenors. Features of this instrument:- Recent neck set, and leveling of original bar frets, action is very good
- Original Grover tuning machines, working well
- Nut width of 1 1/4"
- Scale length: 22.5"
- 1 3/8" string spacing at the saddle
- Had an added tailpiece at once point (3 tiny screw holes near end pin
- No top cracks
- One repaired 11" crack on the bottom lower bout side
- One 6" repaired crack on the upper bout back under the herring bone center inlay,
- One 4” repaired crack on the lower bout back towards the bottom
- A small hole at the center of the rear headstock– probably at some point for a nail to hang the instrument on a wall
- Neck has a comfortable V shape, leaning toward a U profile
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Very few modern luthiers have captured that Larson Brothers sustain and what I call “shimmer” with a new build. This guitar, built by the master luthier Hans Brentrup in late 2009, has it in spades. We’ve never played anything but a 30’s Larson Bros’ that has the sustain this guitar has. Hans’ unique tone bars do what only the Larson tone bar system did– get the body of the guitar to sustain and impart that wonderful shimmer to the trebles especially.- Brazilian Rosewood back and sides
- Engelmann spruce top
- 000 size
- 25.34 scale length
- Easily accommodates Medium or Heavy strings
- Hybrid ladder laminated bracing with Carbon fiber “Tone tubes”
- Mahogany neck
- Slotted headstock
- Golden Age tuners
- Ebony fingerboard with MOP dots
- Pyramid bridge
- Tortoise body binding
- Lacquer finish
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Mint condition. Period. Exceptional Larrivee 12-fret parlor guitar with a straight grained Sitka Spruce top and beautifully figured Brazilian Rosewood back & sides. Part of a very limited run of guitars built of high grade old stock Brazilian rosewood. Abalone rosette and tortoise shell pickguard. Ebony bridge w/ compensated saddle. Mahogany neck w/ microdot inlays, ivoroid bound ebony fingerboard, 1-3/4" nut, 24-1/4" scale, 13-1/4" lower bout, Larrivee logo peghead inlay, chrome tuners w/ebony buttons. -
Kohno Classical Guitar. 1976 This instrument is being sold for a customer in Houston with a large collection of guitars. This guitar was originally purchased from VintageAmericanGuitar some five years ago– and its tone has aged and improved. The original Kohno design was specifically different from the high-end Spanish "concert" guitars of the day which had high action and beefy necks (and often long 664 or longer scale lengths). The Kohno necks were moderately thin in profile and shaped for very fluid playability. They’re a joy to play, physically. The 660 scale length– not overly long to begin with– actually “feels” shorter because of the neck design. (And the string spacing at the 2-inch nut: 1 11/16 inches, is also a great feature that adds to the great left hand feel.) We’ve seen/played many Kohnos– this one is unique in the combination of woods, and tone. Cedar top (not spruce), and Indian Rosewood back and sides. The combination, and this guitar’s age and unique voicing produce a dark, bass-rich tone and super clear and strong mids rarely found in a Kohno. It’s louder, darker and deeper than other Kohnos, yet is has great string separation– and the high E string is bell-like and loud.- Solid Cedar top
- Solid Indian rosewood back and sides.
- Mahogany neck with 2 ebony strips
- Ebony fretboard
- 19 frets
- Rosewood bridge
- Gold engraved Fostero tuners. Fustero tuners are individually made by hand in Spain from the best materials…for decades they have adorned high end instruments built by Fleta, Ramirez, Kohno, Contreras, Bernabe and others.
- 660mm scale length
- 2" nut width
- String spacing at the nut: 1 11/16 inch
- Condition: One, repaired cracks:4 1/2 inches long, about 2 inches to the north (bass side) of the fretboard extension over the body.
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If there is a better-preserved Martin guitar from 1937, we have not seen it. This instrument is as an almost time-capsule condition 0-17H, still in its original case. And of course with its original Hawaiian set up. Many people convert these pre-war Martin Hawaiian set up guitars, to “Spanish” style, i.e. regular steel-string flat top set up. And that is certainly an option for whoever acquires this instrument. But this example, is just too nice, and too original for us to want to convert it. And the tone is exquisite (On request, we’ll send you a link to a video/audio clip of one of this country’s best, most famous dobro/pedal steel players playing slide on this great Martin 0-17H, right here in our shop.) All mahogany of course: mahogany back, sides, and top. Brazilian rosewood bridge, and fretboard. The guitar has no play wear. We won’t call it pristine– even under-the bed-guitars that have not really been played, have a few nicks from just being in the case and moved around a couple of times in 70+ years. But it’s as close to perfect as you’ll find in any 1930’s Martin. The neck is straight as an arrow, showing no bowing at all. No cracks of any kind. All original parts, period– down to the nut, bridge pins, and ivory saddle. The guitar is 12 fret to the body, unlike the regular 0-17’s from this period that were 14-fret. -
Take Martin’s best era for 12-fret guitars, add more scale length, and you get the best of both worlds–that’s what players say about the 000 sized 12-frets, if they can find one, from the mid to late 20’s. This was the biggest, loudest Martin made for steel strings in this era, with a 25.4 inch scale length, the same scale length as a 30’s D-45! (The 14-fret 000’s of the 30s and later have a shorter, 24.5 inch scale). In no other instrument will you get the resonance (from thin tops and back), combined with the long scale length. It’s a big pre-war Martin 12-fret. That’s why this instrument is a highly sought-after prewar Martin. This crack-free 000-18 has great provenance: acquired from and set up by one of the world’s top Martin experts (in Tuebingen, Germany). 1 7/8” nut. Mahogany back and sides. Adirondack spruce top. Ebony fingerboard. It has original tuners (gear wheel below worm gear, ivoroid buttons), parts, and all original finish. Restoration by TJ Thompson and Dana Bourgeois: correct replacement bridge (ebony pyramid) and bridge plate (maple), and frets replaced (bar frets). Center seam repaired and cleated and touched up (shellack). Neck has been reset. Neck is dead straight, bridge saddle is medium height (allows set up for both higher and lower action if needed in future). Low action, and set up for light or medium gauge strings. The tone could not be better: all the clear separation of the mids that is the hallmark of the 20’s style 18 twelve-fret, but with fuller, louder, rounder bass. One of the most sought-after Martin 12-frets, original finish, crack-free. Restored correctly, cared for, and set up by the world’s best luthiers and vintage Martin experts, and ready to enjoy. -
Joseph Redman, based in Abingdon, VA, makes some nice, hand made, yet affordable classical and flamenco guitars. Their low price tags don’t reflect the quality of materials in each instrument. This was a custom order, featuring European Maple back and sides, and all hand French polished by Redman. Nice, rumbling bass response. The Maple tone here, doesn’t show up in the trebles as much as it does in the bass– adding a Maple crispness to the bass strings.- Finish: hand-rubbed French Polish
- 650mm Scale length
- European Maple back and sides
- Canadian Spruce top
- Ebony fretboard
- Neck: Spanish Cedar
- Bindings:
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A wonderfully preserved, crack free 12 fret 000-28 Martin, with gorgeous Brazilian rosewood back and sides. The tone of this instrument is wonderful. It stands up to many high end Spanish made classical guitars of the period for Brazilian rosewood warmth. While intentionally not built for concert hall volume, the bass tone and clarity of the trebles on large-bodied Martin nylon strings guitars with Brazilian back and sides is unsurpassed. This instrument is very well set up to play on stage, plugged in, and to record, if desired. It has great high end Gilbert tuners, with black housing, abalone dot and snakewood buttons. (Original tuners, in perfect condition, are in the case, so you can easily replace the originals if desired.) This instrument has an excellent custom engineered stereo pickup system, installed without altering the guitar: The pickup is the undersaddle type, supplied by EMG. The separate mic element is assembled in a foam mounting block with cable, endpin jack, custom made for this guitar. It is unobtrusive in its mounting. Jack is mounted in the endpin hole, so there are no extra holes in the guitar. The output jack is stereo, TRS (Tip wired to pickup, Ring wired to mic, and Sleeve is ground.) The addition of the internal mic adds a realism and depth that no pickup by itself can capture. The EMG pickup is excellent compared to most others in terms of exhibiting less of that harsh piezo sound. The result is a guitar that plays beautifully amplified, or on its own. The Martin “C” has the old elongated Martin 12 fret body. It was offered in the 00-16C, 00-18C and 000-28C in 1962. 1966 saw the last 000-28C. There were not many nylon string, 000-sized 28 models made, and fewer still with the quality of Brazilian rosewood this one has. And the condition on this instrument is stunning. No cracks anywhere, and very little wear at all. -
Another original, new, beautiful Custom Tele from master luthier Tony Nobles, based in Wimberly Texas. (Tony has crafted custom guitars for artists ranging in style from Joe Walsh to Alejandro Escovedo.) This guitar was custom made to our specs. And it’s one of one– the only one made with these features. Body: Figured Walnut top over adler Custom high end Musikraft quilted maple neck Width at the Nut: 1-11/16" Width at the Heel: 2-3/16 (55.56mm) Number of Frets: 21 Fret Type: Medium 6105 Finger Board Radius: 10" Body: natural, nitro lacquer finish Back of neck: natural, no finish Front of headstock: natural, nitro lacquer finish Bridge: Hannes by Schaller Non-Tremolo Bridge, #GTH RU-BLACK RUTHENIUM Tuners: Sperzel Trimlok Locking Guitar Tuners 6-in-line Trim-Lok Black Pickups: Harmonic Design "Vintage Plus" bridge and neck pickups -
Considered by many to be most charming, intimate, 19th century Martin parlor guitar, the Martin 3-17 features Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, Adirondack spruce top, and Jerome tuners. This particular instrument, with an unbelievably beautiful, lyrical voice, was made in the early 1850’s, as we can tell by several clues. It’s a lot like Mark Twain’s famous Martin 2 ½-17 (see photo). Of course, it has to have the “CF Martin New York” not “CF Martin & Co” stamps– as this one does, to make it a pre-1867 Martin. Also, according to Martin scholars, Jerome tuners seem to have faded out by the late 1850s, to be replaced with similar tuners with a shorter plate and no name stamp. It is unusual on this guitar that the Jerome tuners are German silver, as most of the style 17 guitars have brass tuners. With the “tulip-shaped” tuner buttons, experts date the guitar to the early 1850s. The top is fan braced. Measurements are: body length 17.25″, lower bout width 11.125″, upper bout width 8.25″, overall length 35.75″, scale length just shy of 24 inches. 12 fret cedar neck with ice cream cone heel. Note that the black paint on the back of the neck and back of headstock was removed in some previous century– that does give a nice look at the cedar that would normally be obscured by the black “ebonized” paint. The body of the guitar had some overspray, but it turned out go be one of those fortunate occasions where it was light and really just sitting on top of the original finish, so we are able to easily remove it and reveal the original finish. A couple of small hairline cracks in back, repaired. Top and sides are crack-free. Reproduction ebony bridge. Original bar frets. Original Jerome Silver tuners, with original buttons. Original bracing and bridge plate. “C.F. MARTIN / NEW YORK” hot stamped on back, inside back brace and heel block (but the back stamp is faded). A previous owner of this guitar had a custom hard shell case made– it’s a professional quality, premium case that protects the guitar quite well– it’s heavy and sturdier than most new expensive hard shell cases. Historical interest aside (pre-civil war Martin guitars are rare), this guitar plays wonderfully. It projects the sweetest, but robust, glassy trebles, and clear mids and bass notes. It’s just a joy to play, and it just floats in your hands. (Note: 19th century Martins can be fitted with: gut strings, classical guitar strings, or extra light steel strings– depending on the guitar. It’s really a case-by-case basis, determining whether a particular 19th century Martin can “hold” or “withstand” very light gauge steel strings for example. One size does not fit all. And different 19th century Martins sound better with different strings. In this case, with this particular guitar, extra light steel strings are perfect. It can hold them fine– due to the structure of the top, the bridge plate, and bridge. And it plays and sounds perfect with those strings. This guitar is real find in that regard– not for the collector’s wall but for the player who wants to experience what the original CF Martin felt when he held this instrument in his hands in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, when Abraham Lincoln had not the slightest inkling he’d be in the White House and was just forging a reputation as an outstanding lawyer and earning the nickname of ‘Honest Abe’, and the New York Times was just commencing operations, and the first oil well had just been drilled in the United States by “Colonel” Edwin Drake in Titusville, Pennsylvania– that despite being in C.F. Martin’s state was darn near the old west at the time. In a custom made, professional quality hard shell case.