Products Archive - Page 7 of 12 - Vintage American Guitar

1956 Martin D-28 Guitar
A chance to own a great sounding, great playing Brazilian Rosewood D-28, at a fraction of the cost of an all-original example. This D-28 has had some work, and a few issues, but it’s all repaired and ready to play. And the tone is incredible– tone you won’t find in any other mid-50’s D-28. This guitar, has just been gone over head to end pin, repaired, restored, and set up, by two of the top luthiers/repairmen in Texas, and it’s good to go for decades. The bridge is perfect. Saddle is perfect height. Action is great– low but no buzzing. It won’t need a thing. Ready to play. The tone: the scalloped braces add roundness and clarity to the basses (A and D string in particular) and a bit more “ring” to the trebles. Don’t try this at home– a scalloped braced mid 50’s D-28, but the result, set up by two of this country’s top luthiers, is a great sounding brazilian Martin dread, whose tone you won’t find in any Martin north of 1944– certainly not at this price. Here’s the report:
- sometime decades ago, the top braces were scalloped
- probably as a result of a minor impact at the end pin (guitar dropped), there were cracks in the sides, and a slight crack to the neck block. So a previous luthier, long before we acquired the guitar, put in 4 small wood dowels, through the sides–near the heel, into the block (see photos). All is stable. Not the prettiest solution, but it works well.
- Small crack in heel, repaired and stable
- Original finish, on Sitka Spruce top; Oversprayed back, sides, and neck (but back of neck finish has worn, giving a natural, comfortable feel)
- A bit of damage to one corner of the headstock. But there are no cracks in headstock.
- Pickup jack installed years ago at end pin; no pickup inside; Also, an old pickup jack on bass side of guitar, filled.
- Some pickwear loss, bottom edge of soundhole
- Top of guitar has no serious cracks. No "B string" pickguard crack. Tiny crack along the treble edge of the pick guard. A couple more finish type of cracks that do not go through the wood to inside.
- Several side cracks, all addressed.
- Back of guitar has no cracks through the wood. A couple of finish cracks.
The good news: recently, the following work was done on the guitar, making it 100% stable, and ready to play:
- neck set, by John Allison
- Refret, by John Allison
- New, 100% period correct, ebony bridge, made and installed by John Allison. Bridge is made to the exact specs, footprint, etc, of an original 1956 Martin bridge. A small area of finish around an older oversized bridge was addressed by John (you can see this in the photos).
- New, period correct Maple bridge plate, installed by Tony Nobles
- Old pickup jack on bass side of guitar, filled by Tony Nobles.
- The wonderful, original gold-plated Kluson waffle-back tuners, are original, and work perfectly.
- Original pickguard
- Original Martin logo on headstock
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1956 Gibson LG-2

A wonderful, completely crack-free LG-2. The neck was recently set by Mark Erlewine, the frets dressed, and a new saddle installed ... beautifully set up by ME. 1-11/16 inch nut. Mahogany back and sides. Spruce top. Low action, with no buzzing. Nice sustain, and volume.

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1954 Martin D-18 Guitar

This is another great mid-fifties dread in unbelievable condition. It’s totally crack-free (also, not even a “pick guard” crack). Was acquired in 100% original condition: bridge, saddle, bridge pins, tuners, everything. Just had a neck set– resulting in great action, and tone/projection. With new condition Martin hard shell case.

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1954 Gibson Southern Jumbo

Crack-free, and superb tone. One of the finest sounding large bodied Gibsons we’ve ever heard.

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1951 Fender Deluxe Amp

1951 Fender Deluxe Amplifier ... all it should be, and more... coming soon... . .

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1946 or 1947 Gibson LG-2

(No serial number or FON, these years often do not have one.) This completely crack-free, Script logo LG-2 is a jewel. A lot of players say the script logo Gibsons from right after the war are better sounding and better-built guitars than the Banner Gibsons. All of the good things about Banners, but with better craftsmanship. All original finish, everywhere. Mahogany back and sides. Spruce top. Not a crack anywhere. 1-3/4" nut. The bridge is an excellent quality rosewood replacement. Original maple plate. Original tuners. Replaced nut and saddle. Rosewood fingerboard shows moderate wear on first couple of frets. Some of that wonderful Gibson 40’s crazing to the finish, but not at all out of hand. Various pick marks, and dings. Original tuners, bridge, plate. Piezo pickup was skillfully de-installed, and endpin jack removed and plugged. One of the finest Script logo LG-2s you’ll find.

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1943 Martin 000-18

A rare, 100% original pre-war Martin. Not a crack anywhere. And though it of course has the 1-11/16 inch nut, it plays remarkably like the wider nut mid-30's 000-18's due to the generous (original) string spacing at the nut. Original finish. Neck has never been re-set. Original Ebony nut, ivory saddle, full height original bridge. Original tuners. Original plastic tuner buttons in great condition (no shrinkage). Lack of tuner ferrels of course (because of war-time metal shortages). Brazilian rosewood bridge, fingerboard, and peghead veneer. Scalloped braces. Original bridge plate. Frets show minor/normal wear. It shows light/normal pick wear around the soundhole (nothing anywhere near down to bare wood). Other minor superficial scratches on back, and sides. Bass tone and volume is impressive-the characteristic of war-time "pre-war" Martins, that featured more deeply scalloped braces. Many believe these more deeply scalloped braces found only in these years give them better tone than the mid-30s Martins. It does need a standard neck set. It's not egregiously out of set, action is a bit high at 12th fret. But due the originality of the instrument, original ivory saddle still hide glued-in, etc., we believe the buyer would want to set the neck to their liking. (We would be happy to set the neck for the new owner if desired, at no additional charge, after purchase.) The tone: gold standard pre-war 000-18. Loud, dark, crisp, and clear.

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1943 Martin 00-18 Guitar
This is a prime example of why the pre-war, scalloped brace Martins made in 1943 in particular are the best sounding Martins ever: the ebony truss rod in the neck (instead of a metal truss rod– due to wartime metal rationing), the even more finely scalloped tone bars, and lack of metal tuner post bushings, all contribute to the lightness of build, and the robust tone, resonance and sustain you won’t find on any other Martin (not even the mid-30’s Martins). This guitar, seemingly light as a feather, plays like a dream, and is particularly resonant, and wonderful, for fingerpicking. (Martins from this year, often have a thinner finish, as does this one, which also contributes to its almost Shaker-like simplicity and beauty.) All original finish still in great shape. It has just had a new, Brazilian rosewood bridge made (from 100 year old, old-growth Brazilian rosewood, to the exact shape and footprint of the original which had a crack and was better replaced) by Tony Nobles (original bridge will ship, in the case). The bridge is hide-glued on, naturally. Aside from the typical B-string area “pickguard crack”, now well repaired and a non-issue, the top of the guitar is crack free. There is one well-repaired crack on the back. There was an old input jack right below the end pin, now filled expertly by Nobles (but no evidence of any pickups etc inside the guitar).
- Original bridge plate, in fine condition. Original Frets.
- Original tuners (it looks like at one point there were other tuners on the guitar… with a few old screw holes filled.)
- Has never had strap lug attached to heel
- Top shows no “bellying”. Natural shape and slight arch is textbook perfect.
It’s just had a neck set, along with the new bridge, and action is perfect. It’s ready to be enjoyed for decades more.
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1942 Martin 000-18

We called it the “Tony Rice” prewar 000-18. Is it the "tony rice" style slightly enlarged soundhole (done decades ago). All original finish.

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1940 Gibson-made Kalamazoo KG-12 Guitar

Read the full description below. If you're interested in this guitar, please call 512.922.8596 or contact us here.

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1939 Martin 0-18 Guitar

This guitar is probably among the first twenty Martins made in 1939 after the change in nut width on 14-fret models from 1 3/4" to 1 11/16", so yes it is 1 11/16. It has all original finish. Original tuners. Original maple bridge plate. It has multiple repaired cracks on top and sides (no cracks on back). Extensive play wear. New, but perfect, historically correct reproduction Ebony bridge.

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1939 Gibson J55 Guitar – Jumbo 55

This is not your father’s J-55. And it’s not a $20K guitar. It is a wonderful player. This is an original 1939 Gibson Jumbo 55, also called the “J-55”, serial # EA5652. It is the rare, stair step headstock model, only made for a brief window in the late 30’s. It delivers the trademark, large body, prewar, long scale Gibson tone, like no other. It plays beautifully, with original bridge, frets, braces. This guitar has of course the original, Mustache bridge, and more rare– the stair step headstock. Original bridge plate. Original binding including on fretboard. Original pearl logo on the headstock (with original finish). The pickguard is a nitro cellulose reproduction meticulously crafted in our shop. It has the long scale, 25 ½ inches, that makes this model so great. And a little-known original feature of this rare model is that it has a 1 11/16 nut width, that combined with the low action makes it effortless to play, and with tone that cannot be equaled in any postwar Gibson. The intonation is spot-on, and the intonation and fretting/action are great even at the high fret positions. It was refinished in a deep Gibsonesque red, decades ago– and that makes this guitar the most affordable true 1939, stairstep headstock J-55 you will ever find. (Top thickness is fine, there was no thinning in the past). The tone is superb. And the action is superb– low and fast without sacrificing tone or volume at all.

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