Vintage Brazilian 1950 Martin D-28 Guitar Project

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This auction is for USA bidders only. / A Buy-It-Now Price is not available. / You must have at least 5 Positive Feedbacks to bid. / I will not end this auction early. / No trades accepted. / In fairness to all there can be no exceptions. / This is a NO RESERVE auction. OVERVIEW: Here is a 1950 Martin D-28 guitar. It is as-found and still exactly as I got it. It will need some work before it will be a banjo slayer again, so please check all the details and photos. mojo VINTAGE 1950 MARTIN D-28 GUITAR DETAILS : Age: The serial number on the neck block is clearly stamped 114004 which puts this guitar as having been built in March of 1950. But there is a hand written pencil inscription of “6-7-61 L.J.K” underneath the top which “possibly” means that is when the guitar was repaired, but “probably” means that is when this guitar was re-topped. Even with the closest scrutiny there is no sign of a re-top and everything appears exactly as it should, especially after 50 years of playing and aging. Materials: As expected the back and sides are Brazilian Rosewood. The top is spruce, most likely Sitka, but I must admit that the top color is less brown than other Martins from this era and it leans slightly to the yellow side. Nut Width: The original amber colored ivory nut measures 1-11/16” and is in very good condition. Neck Size: The neck has the typical late ‘40’s/early ‘50’s rounded profile, and is a slightly meaty medium size. It is not chunky like a 1946 and is not slender like a late 1950’s soft V. The Tuners: The tuners are the standard Kluson “ridge backs” and are in fine working condition. The shafts are not bent, all screws & bushings are original, and they turn very smoothly, but the shiny metal finish is now dull from age. The Bridge & Bridge Plate: The ebony bridge is original to the top and I see no signs of a re-glue. It does have two later bolts hidden under two pearl dots. Even though the bridge still has very good height, it does appear that it was slightly lowered at one time. The bridge measures about 9/32” at the center in height, exactly 1” on the wings, and exactly 6” in length. Thankfully the original maple bridge plate survived with only two drill holes for damage and did not suffer any “blow out”. (Please note: the bridge plate photo was taken with a mirror.) The Bridge Pins: There is a mixed and matched set of old red-eye plastic pins. The Frets & Fingerboard: This guitar was re-fretted in its past and in my opinion the current frets are not worth saving. They were dressed low and flat where the extension goes over the body. There is some “tear-out” of the ebony fingerboard when the originals were pulled out which will need to be patched when re-fretted. The fingerboard has a crack from fret 13 to the end. The fingerboard was cut through at fret 14 to facilitate steaming during the neck re-set. Old Neck Re-Set: As mentioned above, the fingerboard was cut through at fret 14 to facilitate steaming during a previous neck re-set. The heel is not cracked and the heel edges look good. In other words, the heel and finish in that area still look good and there is no evidence of a hack job neck re-set. The action is high and it needs another neck re-set. The neck is very straight with no twists. The Finish: The lacquer finish black lights perfectly and there are no signs of overspray or touch-up. The top has much crazing/checking. There is some white colored smutz in the wear underneath the strings. The Binding: The ivoroid binding is very amber color from age with no signs of cracking or shrinkage. Even though the photos might not look that way, all binding is exactly the same in color, a deep amber color. The Pickguard: The pickguard is original and is “fairly” flat, but not perfectly flat. It has started to shrink causing a sizeable “outside” pickguard crack. The guard should be lifted and then put back down to relieve the tension. Top Cracks: There is an unrepaired outside pickguard cr... read more

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