The coolest D18

Guildedagain

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This is my neighbors guitar. He's a luthier. The guitar has a really long history of being owned by some of the finest players around here, all of them luthiers.

It's a 1954.

It's got so much bass, it's like playing a bass, I mean this baby really rumbles.

It looks like hell but it's real easy to play.

The luthier before him did a neck reset and bridge, 20 plus years ago. it's got patched holes in the lower bout and his kid caved it in the same spot when he was 6, 7 years ago, still not fixed but held together by the earlier repairs. PG looks like it's been off for a while... The top is really worn down on each side of the fingerboard, down into the grain with amazing patina. It's really cool no one's tried to doll it up and make it look better. I'm not sure I could have done that.

Neighbor says he's "never done anything to it" but play it.

Strings are pretty dead, and it's still sounds 99.9% percent better than 99.9% of the guitars out there.

Oh, and it weighs almost nothing...

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A lot character...

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The feel of that top, the grain, nothing like it.
 
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dbirchett

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Cool guitar. Looks like its been rode hard and put away wet. I miss my D18.
 

Westerly Wood

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i think this is my goal with my NOS D35. to let the pick guard eventually fall off (it is pretty locked in however, that could take years), and let the soundhole rim just deteriorate so i can enlarge the hole. this D18 is just so freakin cool looking.
 

twocorgis

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Very big fan of Martin D18s myself, and the ones from the '50s are terrific. Super light and resonant.
 

dapmdave

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Awesome!

I had friend (passed a month or so ago) who owned a couple of old Martin 000-21s. These were a plain dread with spruce over braz. One was from the 50s and the other from the 40s. They felt like your favorite old pair of shoes or your best old pair of levis. Played and sounded like heaven.
 

shihan

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I’m not an acoustic guitar guy, but that’s my kind of guitar! Love it. Bet it sounds like heaven.
 

davismanLV

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This is one of those amazing guitars that I'd like to hold and play for a few minutes. Not that I could do it justice, but it would make a difference to me....... yeah. :encouragement:
 

SFIV1967

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Joe Bonamassa just wrote yesterday on Instagram something that would fit to that amazing guitar: "As a collector and player one of the best lessons I have ever learned is that some of the best guitars in the world are the ones that the market pays little mind because of condition and/or originality."

Ralf
 

mike1100

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It's really cool no one's tried to doll it up. - - Agreed! It's better to not have lipstick on this pig, er hog.

This guitar seems to have made a few friends on its journey. Is there any chance you can upload a sound clip? Maybe even treat it to a new set of strings?
 
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