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06 Jan 07 - 07:51 PM (#1928735) Subject: BS: Help Identify From: Louie Roy I bought a martin guitar at a yard sale the other day and these numbers were in the insides."O"-75 48378 and I believe they mean that this is a 0 martin guitar that was made in 1975 and it was the 48378th one made.Is this correct?I have a list of numbers for martin guitars but none of them match this number.All help appreciated.Louie Roy |
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06 Jan 07 - 08:33 PM (#1928767) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: Bee-dubya-ell Are you sure that's a "7" after the "O" and not possibly a "1"? If that'were the case it would be a 0-15, serial #48378, from 1931. If it's all mahogany construction, including the top, it's definitely an 0-15. |
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06 Jan 07 - 09:00 PM (#1928786) Subject: RE: BS: Help Identify martin guitar From: Robin June Not quite right. The "O"-75 part is on another line than the 48378, right? If so, then it's the standard two-part model number, where the front part is the body size and the back part is the style. Now the "O", pronounced "aught," (as in "naught") is a valid body size, small by today's standards, and noticeably smaller than a standard dreadnaught. The 75 body style, however, is a problem. It doesn't match up with the "0" size. (My reference source right now is "The Martin Book: A complete history of Martin Guitars" by Walter Carter. My edition goes through 1994, and a new updated one was recently released.) If your serial number is 5 digits long beginning with 48, then your Martin was made in 1931. There weren't any 75 styles made with "O" -sized bodies, let alone in 1931. There was a GT-75, but it was an electric archtop double-cutaway made from 1965 to 1967. There was a D-76, but that was ony made for 1976, to honor the US Bicentennial. Can you describe your guitar and maybe measure it? One dimension that I could work with would be across the width of the lower bout. (If you've never heard of that before, that's the wide part of the guitar opposite the soundhole from the neck and fretboard.) Also, if your guitar really is 3/4's of a century old, it can be extremely to read those hammered-in digits the right way. I bought a 1928 model 2-17 this summer, and it took me at least 3 tries and one of those flashlights that send light around a bend in order to be sure I was reading it correctly. |
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06 Jan 07 - 10:29 PM (#1928841) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: catspaw49 Hi Louie! Whatever it is, congrats on the acquisition. As both Robin and BWL have noted, there are some issues here that don't add up. I liked all of Robin June's questions and there are a few more that might help too. Matter of fact, ANYTHING more would be helpful. Do you have a feel for it's age? What wood is the body? The top? Can you describe the peghead? What fret is it where the neck joins the body? Now don't take offense here ***GRIN*** and you know you're my hero (and katlaughing's as well) but I'm about 60 and you got a few years on me.........and I have a damned hard time reading some of those numbers without a billion candlepower and a magnifier!!! Be absolutely sure of the numbers if you can. I know you are but do us a triple check huh? I'm looking forward to figuring out what you have and maybe hearing it sometime soon too. Spaw |
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07 Jan 07 - 01:46 AM (#1928910) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: Louie Roy With the replies i got you now have my attention.Tomorrow I will do a little more looking and making sure the numbers I post are correctI will also take a jpge pcture and mail it to anyone who wants it.I'd like to have Joe post it on the mudcat but I know that is impossible.catspaw 49 I really enjoy your humor but y eye sight is still 20 20 with my specs,oh hell I'm still a young man I'm only 82 next thursday.Louie |
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07 Jan 07 - 02:08 AM (#1928917) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: open mike it is not impossible to post pix on here.. Jeff can put it in the member photo and info section. but any way congrats on the new baby and I hope we find out the identity. how many frets does the neck have? what type of tuning pegs does she have? as is true of most everything.. they don't make 'em like they used to! |
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07 Jan 07 - 07:06 AM (#1929010) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: Mooh Louie...Not being sure if it's good form to post the email address, I sent you the email via PM for the gentleman who has helped me with a Martin enquiry. He's supposed to be a senior authority on such matters. Good luck. Peace, Mooh. |
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07 Jan 07 - 12:47 PM (#1929268) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: open mike of course the official source of all info martin is http://www.martinguitar.com/index/ |
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07 Jan 07 - 12:56 PM (#1929281) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: katlaughing Louiedarlin'...if you want to email it to me I can put up it on my Picasa site and put a link to it. Either way, it sounds as if you found a treasure! |
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07 Jan 07 - 08:41 PM (#1929785) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: Louie Roy After dong another check on the number I found that the 7 is a roman numeral number 1 so it is an "O" 15 48378 and I am sending Kat some pictures so all of you can see the beautiful Mahogeny wood.I didn't think i could go wrong buying it without strings and dirty for $250.00 |
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07 Jan 07 - 10:53 PM (#1929860) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: GUEST,Reggie Miles Oh baby! You scored! The last one I came close to purchasing was $300.00, but as fate would have it the owner was less than honorable in their promise to hold it for me. She even offered me a discounted price. As if $300 was too high. I was willing to buy it for the $300. I waited to hear from her and never did. When I went looking for it in the retail outlet where she had it for sale the next day it was gone. It was a late 1920s all mahogany bodied model. It wasn't in good condition but it looked functional. The good news is that I did manage to get an even weirder one from her later. It was a made by Martin model that was produced for the Wurlitzer Company. It had the Martin logos stamped in the usual places but it also had the Wurlitzer Sticker inside the sound hole. It doesn't have any of the standard Martin model numbers that describe its size to go along with the serial number. So, I've been trotting it out to everyone I can to see if anyone can give me a clue as to any more of it's background. I've yet to find out much except that it appears to have been made in the mid twenties. It has a spruce top with a mahogany back and sides and neck. It's a parlor sized model but the size doesn't specifically measure like any of the standard Martin models of the day. I guess they could have made these models to different specs depending upon the specific desires of their customers, in this case, Wurlitzer. |
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08 Jan 07 - 05:31 PM (#1930679) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: Louie Roy The rest of the story I didn't mention.It didn't only not have any strings on it it was filthy and the bridge on the guitar body was just hanging by a thread of glue.Well when I walked in the house and proudly told my wife what I had picked up and when she found out that I'd spent $250.00 for it she bkew a fuse and for a couple of days she gave me the cold shoulder.She is starting to realize there is a value in this pile of junk as she chose to call it. |
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08 Jan 07 - 05:43 PM (#1930705) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: Wesley S Good score Louie Roy. Get her fixed up and let us know how she sounds. The guitar I mean..... Not the wife. |
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08 Jan 07 - 06:02 PM (#1930725) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: John Hardly great buy! |
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08 Jan 07 - 06:08 PM (#1930732) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar From: katlaughing Okay, folks. The kid went to sleep, so I was able to get the pix uploaded. I cropped them and the one of the pegs has been lightened up and a little contrast added for clarity. She's a purty one, Louie! Here ya go: Click Here. |
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08 Jan 07 - 06:15 PM (#1930743) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: John MacKenzie Would jealous be a good word to use at this point in time? Well done that man. Enjoy Giok |
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08 Jan 07 - 06:22 PM (#1930749) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: katlaughing Anyone know how to make the pictures on Picasa show up bigger? I psoted them to my Yahoo account, too, but it's all been changed since I was last there and I cannot see anything except the titles of the photos in Louie's album which I made. Humph! Please let me know how any of the pix look to you all? Thanks! |
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08 Jan 07 - 06:33 PM (#1930762) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: Louie Roy Wesley the sound is very mellow and you have to be careful and not strum to hard or the volume this guitar has is amazing and will shake the rafters I believe the mahogany is where it comes from |
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08 Jan 07 - 06:41 PM (#1930777) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: Bob Bolton G'day kat (& Louie Roy), The linked set come up as 4 decent-sized "thumbnails" after clicking the single ('title') image - then another click brings them up to about half screen height on my 1280 x 800 screen. If you have a much higher res screen they will be smaller (but detailed!) and I don't know if you will have any extra 'zoom' facility. In re the actual pix - I know you didn't do them, but the red (towel?) partially behind the guitar was a bit of a mistake! Red is an "advancing colour", so it is disturbing placed behind the centre of interest. The (admittedly clichéd) standard 'sky blue' backdrop that was always the starting point in purely technical photos in my studio and lab days works very well - and unobtrusively. I still keep a roll of blue background paper (as well as a roll of fine, closed-loop "front-runner" carpet that permits temporary Velco® fixings) in the station wagon whenever I might want to photograph instruments and other obsessions! Anything strongly coloured needs to be used with deep caution! Thanks for the link - very interesting musical box! Regards, Bob |
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08 Jan 07 - 07:33 PM (#1930848) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: katlaughing G'day, Bob! Thanks for the info. I don't know what it is about Picasa, but I click on the first thing that comes up when I follow my link, then see all four as smalled almost thumbnails, but when I click on them, even for a "slide show" they are blank. IF I then click on "download" photo, it sends them to my Windows Media thingie and they display fine. I suspect I have something set on Mozilla which doesn't like Picasa and/or Yahoo, though I have them both ticked to allow cookies. As long as you all can see them, I don't care, as I don't use either one that muhc anyway.:-) |
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08 Jan 07 - 09:55 PM (#1930962) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: Robin June Yup, that's a beauty! It also looks more like an 0-15 than the "0-15" I paid $1000 for this summer. (It's the first mahogany guitar I ever chose. It knocked for a loop those of my friends who know about my rosewood addiction.) When we got it home and pulled out my copy of Walter Carter's "The Martin Book: a complete history of Martin guitars," it worked out to be a 1928 2-17, the first model that Martin ever made to be capable of wearing steel strings and not folding into a sandwich. The model number's confusion came from the fact that the neckblock only had the serial number, which meant it was from prior to October 1930. And yeah, My husband and I both said, "2-17? That's a mandolin's model!" I don't really have the equipment to take digital photos (the cash & credit get spent on guitars instead!) but mine looks like the 0-15 except it has a slotted headstock, no pickguard, a slightly narrower lower bout and a slightly-more-narrower upper one. And yeah, the tone is LOUD! especially after I put fresh Martin SP extra-lights on it. |
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08 Jan 07 - 11:25 PM (#1931029) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: Louie Roy First I want to thank everyone who helped me out identifing this piece of junk as my wife called it.Next I want to thank Kat for putting on a link so everyone interested could view and appreciate the beauty and third I want to let everyone know that the strings I use whether electric or accoustic are Elixir light.I'm not advertising any product this is my choice and has been for several years and I respect everyone else's choice.There is oly one thing I wish and that is I could share the tone,quality and volume this guitar put out and since this is not possible you'll just have to take my word for itLouie |
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08 Jan 07 - 11:40 PM (#1931034) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: katlaughing Actually, Louie, you could meet us in PalTalk at a specific time and in a specifically set up room and play it for us, if you have a mic on your computer.:-) |
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08 Jan 07 - 11:43 PM (#1931036) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: catspaw49 Sorry I got here late but your questions are handled but even better....... YA' DONE GOOD!!!!I think we're all happy for you Louie! Spaw |
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10 Jan 07 - 11:48 PM (#1932894) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: GUEST,Reggie Miles Check this out! I just found this site: martin info site It had a great deal of info about Martin guitars and was most helpful in providing me with the information I needed to identify my weird Martin/Wurlitzer. According to this site's info: "In 1922 to 1925, Martin made 297 standard Martin models (but with a simplier soundhole rosette) for Wurlitzer. These have the Wurlitzer name and model number on the back of the peghead." My guitar does not have Wurlitzer name and model number on the back of the peghead. Instead it has the Martin logo stamped there and on the spine inside. Along with these marks is an oval shaped black and white Wurlitzer paper label glued inside the sound hole. It reads: Established in America Wurlitzer 1856. The serial number on the neck block indicates this Martin was made in 1926. That's a year after they supposedly made them for Wurlitzer but perhaps why it doesn't include the stamp on the back of the peg head. Could it be that this one was a straggler, perhaps left over from an order already filled? Or maybe the info offered about this is a little uncertain. The only other bit of Wurlitzer info is this reference: "1922-1923: Martin makes guitars for Wurlitzer. Some lack Martin serial numbers or any markings of any kind." I did some checking and according to the measures on this site my little parlor sized Martin is indeed an 0-18. This surprised me as I had already checked with a Martin dealer who told me that it's size did not match any standard body sizes Martin produced. I guess he was wrong. |
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11 Jan 07 - 01:29 PM (#1933472) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: Wesley S Yup - a great deal. Where was that yard sale again? Do they have any mandolins? |
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11 Jan 07 - 04:33 PM (#1933604) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: GUEST I think Louie should make sure he keeps on the right side of his Missus,he'd best send the guitar over to me |
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12 Jan 07 - 01:27 AM (#1934008) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: Robin June Wood shrinks and swells, especially over the years. My little 2-17 is supposed to be exactly 12 inches across the lower bout. Well maybe it was, back in 1928 when my grandmother was a flapper, but it's measurably smaller now. |
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27 Jan 12 - 03:19 AM (#3297038) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity Click here, and get your answer GfS |
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28 Jan 12 - 02:39 AM (#3297672) Subject: RE: Help Identify martin guitar - pix link added From: GUEST,999 Up to the top. This thread gets hit hard and often by spammers. If you want to add some content to it contact a moderator to have it re-opened. ---mudelf |