It's no secret that we're big fans of smaller-bodied mahogany guitars here at Folkway, so we're naturally pretty excited about this '47 00-17. We’ve known this guitar for years, as its previous owner is a client of more than 20 years. About a decade back we reset the neck, and replaced the saddle, pins, and tuner buttons. The original frets remain in excellent shape, there is not a crack to be found, and the finish is in beautiful condition. The guitar’s only minor flaw is a bit of flaked-away finish in front of the bridge, which was reglued at one point.

The early post-war guitars have a unique neck carve that's deeper and rounder than those we find from a year or two later. We mostly associate this neck carve with 1946, but this 1947 00-17 features this style of neck, which is quite a lovely plus. The nut width is 1-11/16" and the 1st fret depth is .865”. Folks who prefer 1-3/4" widths will find this one easy to play thanks to its chunkier feel.

A very fine sounding guitar that’s hard to put down. As compared to the more common 0-17 or 0-15 models, this 00 offers bigger lows and mids without compromising any of the roundness and fullness we love so much in these small all-mahogany Martins. The trebles are very sweet and robust, and there is a wonderful linger and decay throughout the frequency range. Its big enough to strum on and it takes a heavy flatpick really well, as it does a heavier right-hand attack. Under a lighter touch the guitar’s tone is pretty, warm, and inviting.

All mahogany construction, tapered X bracing, 24.9" scale, 2-1/8" string spread at the bridge. Set up with 12-54 strings and an action of 5-7 64ths at the 12th fret with perfect frets and a full height saddle.

With non-original hardshell case