Ok, here are some pics of my Martin & Co. 000-18. My grand-father gave it to me last week. The bridge is broken and there's a lot of dings in the finish. The action is great and the fretboard is awesome (ebony). Grover tuners work great and seem original. The guitar plays very well. I want to restore it (finish and bridge repair)

So here are my questions: what is the year of this guitar and what is the value?

Serial: 70599

According to the web site http://www.herringbone.nl/ my guitar was built in 1938...

Have you tried looking at the Martin website? They have a section for dating your Martin.

_________________
Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
Authorized WD Music Products Dealer
F/A Official Southpaw Compliance Certification Tester http://faamps.com/

http://www.facebook.com/cafeathers


I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

According to Martin's site, and based on the serial number, that guitar was built between 1937 and 1938. As far as value goes, I can't help you there. Do some searches for 1938 Martins and you should be able to at least get an idea of what they are worth.

_________________
Check out my new FB music page!

https://www.facebook.com/TheDevilandMe.Music

I'm not sure about the credibility of the site, but when I saw the value... WOw!

If I change the bridge and repair the finish will it loose a lot of its value?

http://www.may-studio-music-lessons.com ... 00018.html

Sorry, I forgot to paste the site...

Not if Martin does it. Then you'll get a proper repair. Martin guitars had a lifetime warranty to the original owner. We have a Martin 3/4 student model guitar that was my mother-in-laws and it needed some work. We too it to the Martin guitar factory in Nazareth Pa and they repaired it for free. An unplayable instrument really has no value to most players. See if you can keep the original bridge in a baggie. I'd leave the original finish alone.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Not if Martin does it. Then you'll get a proper repair. Martin guitars had a lifetime warranty to the original owner. We have a Martin 3/4 student model guitar that was my mother-in-laws and it needed some work. We too it to the Martin guitar factory in Nazareth Pa and they repaired it for free. An unplayable instrument really has no value to most players. See if you can keep the original bridge in a baggie. I'd leave the original finish alone. Vintage Martin guitars are way up there in price. Funny thing is there are lots of new Martin's, Taylor's and many other guitars made from solid tone woods that sound just as good or even better IMO. Still a nice guitar.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Not if Martin does it. Then you'll get a proper repair. Martin guitars had a lifetime warranty to the original owner. We have a Martin 3/4 student model guitar that was my mother-in-laws and it needed some work. We too it to the Martin guitar factory in Nazareth Pa and they repaired it for free. An unplayable instrument really has no value to most players. See if you can keep the original bridge in a baggie. I'd leave the original finish alone. Vintage Martin guitars are way up there in price. Funny thing is there are lots of new Martin's, Taylor's and many other guitars made from solid tone woods that sound just as good or even better IMO. Still a nice guitar.[/quote]

Agreed, leave the finish alone. A bridge repair/replacement by Martin won't hurt the value much but a refinish will drastically. Spring for the few extra bucks and get a fossilized Ivory saddle. If/when you send it they'll give it a thorough going over looking for loose bracing etc... Can't honestly say they won't charge you, not sure if/when the consider a warranty no longer valid. Start with an email or phone call http://www.martinguitar.com/contact/

_________________

Now on Facebook Too

Do not do anything to it, don't remove the bridge, don't touch the finish.
You must take it to a qualified luthier who specialize's in prewar Martin's or vintage acoustics.
My friend Matt ( Otto ) D'Ambrosio should be one person to contact
< http://www.dambrosioguitars.com > he recently repaired Stephen Stills, 1956 D'Angelico New Yorker. It's on his website, the guitar was literally in pieces. Matt is one of the few that can restore a valuable instrument back to life. Without losing it's value.
I Cannot stress this point enough, that Martin is quite valuable, there are not that many around and it has to be repaired by a master crafstman.
That being said it will take quite a bit of time, so don't expect to have the guitar returned in a matter of days, it will probably take weeks if not 2 to 6 months. Qualified vintage repair takes time and the persons doing that work are quite busy.
It will also not be inexpensive BUT anyone else than someone who is qualified or approved by Martin ( Matt Is ) to repair Vintage Martin's will destroy not only the value of the guitar but possibly the instrument.
That is the down side of owning a truly vintage prewar instrument.
Take your time in choosing the person to repair this guitar

_________________
"C'est parti mon Kiki "

I would think Martin Guitar would know what there doing.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

looking at the photo's, I see that there has been an extensive repair done to the tail block button section, it was never matched or refinished...

Depending on when it was done, difficult to tell how long ago from the photo's.
Is this guitar stored in a hardshell case..? If not it should be and you will have to purchase a bombproof hardshell case to store and ship the guitar to its repair destination.

Even in it's state it is quite valuable so caution as to who will handle it and do not leave it with anyone without a signed document stating the actual guitar's value and the assurance that the holder is insured to replace either the guitar or actual value.

_________________
"C'est parti mon Kiki "

They do but my point was to get more than one assessment as to the costs and time and labor involved to repair your 000-18.
IMHO I would take that guitar to an expert crafstman, If it was my 1938 my 1st choice would be D'Ambrosio then Martin, but that's me and I frequently visit Matt and see the work that he performs, Iv'e watched him painstakingly shave the inside of an archtop top and work on an inexpensive guitar for a customer of which the guitars value was less than the labor/time cost of the repair. Yet still charge the customer a very low amount for services rendered.
To me that is someone who I want to work on either my 95 Larrivee OM 10 or any valuable instrument i happen to own.
At the very least Matt would be able recommend who to go see about repairs if not him.
He knows the inside of the industry much better than I and does not BS.
I have attended local ( CT Martin days ) played some very nice and very expensive Martin's, spoke to the owners, one in particular who had to send his $15,000 Martin back three times to have neck and top issues addressed . ( these were problems which rendered the instrument to be unplayable.)
Where a vintage instrument is concerned, the instrument does not take well to being taken apart and repaired multiple times. Once should be enough to have everything sorted out.

_________________
"C'est parti mon Kiki "

It would behoove you to send it back to Martin or at least a Martin certified luthier for the repairs,to do otherwise would cause the value to plummet.A '38 000-18 in mint condition would be worth in the vicinity of $12.000 according to the V.G. Price guide and they get their values from worldwide vintage dealers so I imagine the estimate would be fairly accurate.Where yours is in an honestly well reliced state it would about probably be worth $ 9-9,500.I wouldn't advise a refinish as it wouldn't do anything to improve the tone or value at this stage and besides the point there's nothing more classy than a work worn Martin with decades of stories and playing in it.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Anyone can damage an instrument. Your friends with the guy so I can understand that, but to make the craftsmen at Martin sound like buffoons is kind of funny. The 1955 3/4 that I left with them had some serious problems. Lifted bridge, worn frets, warped neck, and they returned it in beautiful condition and it never played better. I've had work done at the Nazareth factory and never had a problem. I look at it this way, who can afford to either replace the instrument of pay damages with the least amount of problems? The Martin factory is full of craftsmen. It's not like the guitar is worth a million dollars. Probably around 30 grand in excellent condition. The one in question is worth considerably less because of it's overall condition. Maybe around $6-8,000 in it's current condition.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

63Supro... I did not call anyone at Martin a Buffoon. There are great crafstmen there, but this is not about a modern day guitar, it's about a 1938 000-18 that has been around the block.
If you actually read what I posted I spoke of One person out of many, I also have no idea how or where he stores his guitar when not being played. I am dubious as to why it took three times but....
It is quite possible he unknowingly stores it innapropriately. The ability to purchase 15 to 30 thousand dollars instrument does not in itself guarantee that the owner knows what not to do with acoustics as far as storage, humidity control and other factors.

So back to the topic, with a vintage guitar in disrepair, you pack it up and you hand carry it to the nearest and best expert you can get to. I would travel two days just to make sure what could be done to repair that guitar. I would want an on-hand, face to face discussion with the repair person. I don't care if it is Martin, Gibson or Fender. That is not too much to ask concerning old instruments. Especially when you consider the value of the guitar brought back to how it should be. It's more than $10,000 and that is certainly not chump change.

I do not like sending guitars, especially one in a critical state. Yes, D'Ambrosio is a friend but his VC speaks for itself. Friendship aside, if he wasn't reputably excellent i would not have mentioned him. ( But as a Custom woodworker myself I can tell hacks from the true artisans. there are not that many of the latter simply because it takes passion, the search for perfection above all else and the sang froid that the competed product is key )
On his web site, that 56 D'angelico took 18 months to repair and bring back. Matt was stressed out from the pressure of maybe not getting it right.
There were blueprints made of the guitar and the whole process was mapped out from start to finish and piece by piece. It's ironic because that ( archtops ) is his specialty. but the fact that the guitar was Stephen Stills, irreplaceable and literally in pieces is amazing.
So for me a guy like that is one I would at the very least contact, there are others in the Northeast but every vintage guitar deserves to be brought back to it's pristine condition, by a specialist who focuses on such challenges. Especially a pre-war Martin.

Ironically we are discussing the repair of a Martin on the Fender Forum....
Judging from the OP's posts, I don't think he really knows where to go and what to do or not to do. Hence the question of what do I do with this Martin.
It is not a solid body electric, thus cannot be taken to your local Fender repair guy or even your local tech.
Bringing that 000-18 back to a pristine condition is going to take footwork and a lot of questions.

_________________
"C'est parti mon Kiki "