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I have written an article which details sources for determining instrument's value here. Martin Shenandoah's are subject to the same warranty guidelines as other Martin guitars.
MARTIN GUITAR SERIAL NUMBERS LIST SERIAL NUMBER
These numbers correspond with Martin's standard serial number listing which applies to Martin guitars as well. Shenandoah guitars can be dated by the 6 digit serial number stamped on the neck block inside of the instrument. :-) The low production number last year was entirely due to the COVID shutdown. Similar to their Martin counterparts, style numbers often denote materials or the "ornate-ness" of an instrument.the higher the number the more jewelry the girls got on. link We often have that updated before Martin does on their site. Prefixes commonly used to denote a style or option: Steel string, classical nylon string and 12 string Shenandoah's were available. The D-6032 which was made using Birdseye maple, the D-6732 which was Quilted Ash. There were other lesser known models as well. For instance, the Shenandoah D-1832, is a D-18 copy, the D-2832, a D-28 copy and so on. Shenandoah guitars were usually given the model number of the Martin guitar they resembled, superseded by the number 32. The practice of bi-continental production eventually met it's demise and Shenandoah's were produced entirely in Japan their final 3 years from 1994-1996. In an attempt to offer lower priced instruments, Martin's line of Shenandoah guitars were built in Japan and then shipped back to the Martin factory in Nazareth PA for painting and final assembly.
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Nato wood necks were common, as well as rosewood fingerboards and bridges which were stained black to look like ebony.Īgain, these are generalities and may not apply to every single one produced. To my knowledge those assembled in the US (1993 and earlier) had solid spruce tops, laminated back/sides and finished with lacquer. The orange labels inside hollow bodied instruments were discontinued in 1970 and replaced by white and orange rectangle labels on the acoustics and small black, purple and white rectangle labels were used on electric models.Shenandoah guitars were produced from 1983 to 1996. There are many exceptions and sometimes letter prefixes were used. This would also explain why the occasional pre-1932 Martin guitar appears with a decal.įrom 1970-1975 all numbers were stamped into wood and assigned a six digit number. This implies that a number of ukuleles built in 1930 remained in the factory until being sold in 1932. Interestingly, the original order for Martin decals was placed in June of 1932. The Martin logo decal on the front of the headstock. The Martin brand stamped on the back of the headstock. Three guitars stolen from my house while I was in the hospital. Ukuleles did not carry serial numbers but can be roughly identified and dated by the headstock: 1895 to 1932 Fortunately, they are often signed by the builder. Many of these unique instruments pop-up today and don’t fit any clear category. Ukuleles, taropatches, tiples and Hawaiian guitars were introducedĪfter workers at the Nazareth factory had been employed for a period of years they were permitted to fashion an instrument for themselves at the plant.
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Some pre-1898 guitars have the date penciled on the top just inside the sound hole.īefore 1929, the model size and style designation was generally written on a paper label and glued inside the top of the instrument case. Model numbers were marked on the neck block, inside the body. Zoebisch & Sons” (Zoebisch was the sole distributor of Martin at the time). The original instruments had a paper label that read: “Martin and Coupa” 1833 to 1867 These are similar to the standard Martin models, but have simple soundhole rings and a 20 fret fingerboard (instead of 19). Foden: In 1912 to 1917, Martin made guitars for concert guitarist William Foden.
MARTIN GUITAR SERIAL NUMBERS LIST SERIES
Prior to this, 483 guitars of the original 1917 to 1919 series have been documented. Prior to serial numbers, the different instruments were identified by the Martin brand which was stamped into the back of the headstock, the upper portion of the back or on the back binding strut visible through the soundhole (the eased blocking reinforcing the center joint between the 2 back pieces). The 1923 to 1930 models have Martin serial numbers. Martin began producing instruments in 1833.
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