Product: Martin 00-18CTN
Price Paid: US $3299 list
Submitted
05/14/2003
at
12:05pm
by
Michael Collins
Email: outfidel<at>yahoo dot com
Features
:
10
Martin 00-18CTN Elizabeth Cotten limited edition model made in Nazareth, PA. In 2001, Martin made only 76 of these beauties, based on specs for pre-war 00-18s.
The 00-18CTN's grand concert body measures 18 7/8" in length, 4 1/8" max depth, 10 7/8" wide at the upper bout, and 14 5/16" wide at the lower bout. The guitar has a short 24.9-inch scale, 1 11/16" wide neck that joins at the 14th fret, and hand-scalloped 1/4? top braces.
Woods include mahogany back & sides, bookmatched sitka spruce top, mahogany low profile neck, and an unbound ebony fingerboard.
Traditional Style 18 appointments on the 00-18CTN include tortoise-color top binding surrounding five plies of black and white purfling, a polished and beveled vintage tortoise-color pickguard, a ?through-saddle? ebony belly bridge and ?old style? rosette inlay with thin black inner and outer rings. Vintage toner gives the top a darkish amber hue.
A pearl ?freight train?, in honor of Libba Cotten's fingerpicking classic, is inlaid at the 12th fret. Libba's signature is inlaid between the 19th and 20th frets. The interior label is numbered in sequence and signed by Larry Ellis, Sr., Elizabeth Cotten?s grandson, and Martin Chairman and CEO, C.F. Martin IV.
The guitar came with a plush Geib hardshell case.
Sound
:
10
The 00-18CTN perfectly suits my style. I play almost 100% fingerstyle blues (Mississippi John Hurt and Libba Cotten herself) and the guitar feels and sounds terrific for this. Very mahogany and woody-sounding. Trebles are crystal clear, mids are solid, and the bass is surprisingly supple (but not dread-like booming). It also sounds terrific with a fingerpick when strummed or doing Carter-style picking. I don't play flat-out bluegrass fingerpicking so I don't know whether it has enough volume to keep up with banjos, mandolins, and dreadnoughts.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
The guitar was set up perfectly when I received it from Leo at Intermountain. I believe Leo lowered the action from the factory settings. The craftsmanship -- bookmatched woods, tuners, headstock, soundbox interior -- appear flawless.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
This is a Martin - what do you expect? I plan to own and play this guitar for the rest of my life, so I hope it will last! Like I said, the craftsmanship appears flawless, so there's no reason the guitar shouldn't last a long, long time.
Customer Support
:
10
Sandy at Martin is terrific! She answered all sorts of questions from me before, during, and after the sale. She is a model of what a customer service rep should be.
Overall Rating
:
10
I have known how to play guitar for 20 years, but I've only been playing as a "serious hobby" for the past 4 or 5 years. The 00-18CTN is the third acoustic guitar I've owned, and by far the best. I love the woody mahogany sound, and my young children dig the "freight train" inlay. This guitar is so easy and comfortable to hold and play, that it makes me want to pick it up throughout the day. I wish Martin made more small-body guitars (00 and 0 models in particular).
If it were lost or stolen, I would buy another in a heartbeat -- assuming I could find one for sale! If I couldn't find a 00-18CTN, I would look for a 00-18V, which Martin is releasing in summer/fall 2003. That model should be a winner, too.
