A Historic Martin
The Martin D-18 Authentic 1937 VTS is a flatpicker's delight, and an instant collectible. Martin left no stone unturned, exhaustively researching original pre-WWII D-18s to nail the specs, materials, and construction methods used in this historic re-creation. This guitar boasts a spot-on Golden-era body profile, an Adirondack spruce top with circa-1937 forward-shifted X bracing, "Old Style 18" fingerboard inlays, an authentic neck barrel and heel, brown tortoise-pattern binding, an ebony fingerboard, a glue-in long-saddle bridge, and a bone nut. To top it off, the D-18 Authentic 1937 VTS is finished using Martin's Vintage Tone System (VTS), a unique tonewood-finishing recipe that allows Martin to age a guitar's top. All that vintage goodness results in a highly playable — and incredible-sounding — acoustic guitar. If you're in the market for a truly special instrument, the Martin D-18 Authentic 1937 VTS is it.
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Authentic Pre-WWII D-18 mojo
Martin pulled out all the stops with the Martin D-18 Authentic 1937 VTS, exhaustively researching the pre-war specifications, materials, and processes that were used in the construction of the original. This luscious handbuilt acoustic guitar is inspired by a classic 1937 D-18 and incorporates the use of hide glue as well as an authentic neck barrel and heel. Other features include an Adirondack spruce top and circa-1937 sculpted bracing, all of which were treated to Martin's Vintage Tone System for an authentically aged look and sound. You also get "Old Style 18" fingerboard inlays, brown tortoise-pattern binding, an ebony fingerboard, a glue-in long-saddle bridge, and a bone nut.
A superb recording instrument
When it comes to recording flatpicked acoustic guitars, most of the engineers here at Sweetwater prefer instruments with a mahogany back and sides, rather than rosewood. If that surprises you, understand that it has to do with the preponderance of low end inherent in rosewood-bodied guitars (that must dealt with), versus the perfection with which a properly recorded mahogany-bodied acoustic sits within a track. The Martin D-18 is the granddaddy of all mahogany dreadnoughts. It plays nice with its mix mates, being the ideal choice for tracking in a thick mix, yet sounding rich and full-bodied on its own. If you're a flatpicker who records, you pretty much have to have a D-18. And if your taste leans toward the vintage, the Martin D-18 Authentic 1937 VTS may well be the ultimate D-18.
Top wood aged to perfection with Martin's VTS
Tone connoisseurs are always in search of the perfect guitar tone, and in the acoustic world, one of the most loved tones is that of a vintage Martin. The company perfected a unique way of torrefying the top woods and braces of their guitars to achieve the sound of an aged and played-in instrument. The Vintage Tone System (VTS) lets Martin age the woods without the typical change in color of the wood from the torrefaction process. Martin VTS guitars not only look and play like lovingly cared-for vintage guitars, they also have that sought-after sound.
Martin D-18 Authentic 1937 VTS Acoustic Guitar Features:
- Historic re-creation of a legendary pre-WWII Martin D-18
- Incorporates the specifications, materials, and processes used in the construction of the original
- Boasts a spot-on Golden-era body profile and circa-1937 bracing pattern
- Adirondack spruce top and genuine mahogany back and sides
- Top and bracing treated with Martin's Vintage Tone System for an authentically aged look and sound
- Ebony fingerboard with "Old Style 18" fingerboard inlays
- Authentic neck barrel and heel, brown tortoise-pattern binding, glue-in long-saddle bridge, and bone nut
