2003 Martin D18 Dreadnought Pro Setup Hardshell Case

Today Lawman Guitars is Presenting....

A beautiful Martin D18 Guitar with the original Martin Hardshell Case and case candy to include original owner card… This guitar is in Excellent shape! The frets are hardly touched and check out the bear claw on the Spruce Top. Heavy markings to make this one beautiful guitar. I couldn’t believe it was a 2003. Already 14 years old and looks incredible.

The guitar was Pro setup with new strings and it just sings…Very very loud. I played it for about a half hour and was struck by the clarity of this guitar. I love D18’s but this one is very special. Some lucky buyer is going to be really happy when they get this guitar. Its incredible…

Here is some information on these beautiful guitars I found on the web.

The Martin D-18 is a masterpiece of steel-string acoustic guitar design, a modern classic descended from the earliest dreadnought models which Martin first developed almost a century ago. Martin's guitar-making history dates back even further, to 1833, when young German immigrant C.F. Martin founded the company in New York City. Five years later, he moved operations to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where the family-owned business is still located today, run by the founder's great-great-great-grandson, C.F. Chris Martin IV. The earliest Martin guitars were mostly smaller-bodied, parlor-style gut-string instruments common to the period, intended to be played solo or in small ensembles. By the late 1800s, with the advent of recorded music and the increasing popularity of larger bands, several manufacturers began offering steel-string acoustic guitars, which provided more volume and projection than gut-string instruments, but required more substantial internal bracing. In 1916, the Oliver Ditson music publishing company partnered with Martin to develop a large-bodied steel-string guitar, which, because it was deemed to be as loud as a cannon, they called the Dreadnought, named for the WW-I-era class of battleships, at the time considered to be the most formidable weapons on earth. These early dreadnoughts featured an elongated body with a spruce top and mahogany back and sides that met the neck at the 12th fret, and sported a slotted headstock. The Ditson-branded dreadnoughts were not big sellers, however, and after that company went out of business, Martin began selling their own D-series dreadnoughts. The first few years of production maintained the initial 12-fret-clear-of-the-body design, but by 1934, the familiar 14-fret-clear dreadnought design was released, and it is now the most popular steel-string acoustic guitar design in the world, providing excellent tonal balance, projection and playability.

Today, the Martin D-18 is a mainstay of the company's product line, along with dreadnought siblings like the D-28, D-35 and top-of-the-line D-45. While the D-18 sports less ornamentation than the others, (the higher the model number, the more ornate the inlays, binding and other appointments), it is by no means a lesser guitar. It features a back and sides of mahogany, as opposed to the rosewood found on most versions of the other models, which imparts its own, unique tonal characteristics, resulting in a somewhat brighter sound, well-suited for fingerpicking and playing leads. Martin offers several variations, including the standard D-18 with a solid Sitka spruce top; the Retro D-18, based on the iconic pre-war models and loaded with Fishman electronics for amplified picking; the D-18 1937, which features period-correct materials and construction methods, right down to the hide glue; and the D-18GE Golden Era 1934, based on another pre-war classic and featuring a slightly stiffer Adirondack solid spruce top. Whatever your playing style, it can only be enhanced when you play the best guitars available. Martin originated the dreadnought design and perfected it, and the D-18 is a prime example of their years of fine craftsmanship and commitment to quality.

Model Specifications

Model:

D-18

Construction:

Dovetail Neck Joint

Body Size:

D-14 Fret

Top Material:

Sitka Spruce

Top Detail:

N/A

Rosette:

Old Style 18 Multi-Stripe

Bracing Pattern:

Forward Shifted X Brace

Brace Shape:

Scalloped

Brace Material:

Sitka Spruce

Brace Size:

5/16"

Back Material:

Genuine Mahogany

Back Detail:

N/A

Back Purfling/Strip:

Style 18

Side Material:

Genuine Mahogany

Side Detail:

N/A

Endpiece:

Faux Tortoise

Endpiece Inlay:

N/A

Binding:

Faux Tortoise

Top Inlay Material:

Multi-Stripe

Side Inlay Material:

N/A

Back Inlay Material:

N/A

Neck Material:

Select Hardwood

Neck Shape:

Modified Low Oval

Neck Taper:

High Performance Taper

Plek:

Yes

Nut Material:

Bone

Headstock Shape:

Solid with Square Taper

Headplate Material:

East Indian Rosewood

Headplate Detail:

Headplate Logo Style:

Script Old Style Overlay

Headplate Binding Material:

N/A

Heelcap:

Faux Tortoise

Fingerboard Material:

Ebony

Scale Length:

25.4"

Neck Joins Body At:

14th Fret

Number of Frets Total:

20

Fingerboard Width at Nut:

1 3/4''

Fingerboard Width at 12th Fret:

2 1/8''

Fingerboard Inlay Material:

Abalone

Fingerboard Inlay Style:

Old Style 18

Fingerboard Binding Material:

N/A

Side Dots:

White

Back and Side Finish:

Gloss

Back and Sides Color:

Dark Mahogany

Finish Top:

Gloss

Top Color:

Aging Toner

Finish Neck:

Satin

Neck Color:

Dark Mahogany

Bridge Material:

Ebony

Bridge Style:

1930 Style Belly - Drop in Saddle

Bridge String Spacing:

2 3/16''

Saddle:

Compensated Bone

Saddle Radius:

16"

Tuning Machines:

Nickel Open Gear

Knob:

Butterbean

Bridge Pin Material:

Black Plastic

Bridge Pin Dots:

N/A

Pickguard:

Faux Tortoise

Pickguard Inlay:

N/A

Case:

Hardshell

Be sure to check out the awesome Case Candy the original owner left with this guitar. Even includes the original owner warranty card!

This guitar is beautiful but used so its sold as is no returns..However, I have been hand picking my customers guitars for over 17 years now and they have all loved the instruments I find them.. This gorgeous Marting Guitar will certainly not be an exception.

Thanks for checking out our cool guitars.

Mike at Lawman Guitars