The 17 series was a mid-20th century move by Martin guitars to create affordable, playable, professional guitars. This early 1950's Martin 00-17 guitar features well-aged dry mahogany, resulting in a vibrant, richly developed instrument. As one of Martin's mid size all-mahogany guitars from the 1950s, the 00-17 possesses a larger, louder, and warmer sound compared to its smaller counterpart, the 0-15, made popular recently by Milk Carton Kids guitarist Kenneth Pattengale. Highly favored by fingerstyle players, the 00-17 offers excellent control and a strong fundamental tone with a hint of that vintage Martin dryness. Playing this guitar is a truly enjoyable experience.
The 00-17 features a mahogany top, back, and sides, (with the period gloss nitro finish) with X bracing and a rosewood bridge. Its neck features a shorter 000 style scale length, a rosewood fingerboard with ivoroid dot inlays, and the original bone nut. The nut width measures 1-11/16", and the neck shape is comfortably V-shaped, not quite to 30's Martin standards, but larger nonetheless.
There have been a couple cracks re-glued - notably the back had separated previously. There has been a previous unknown repair on the treble side of the guitar's upper bout, with the area being refinished some time ago. The playability is flawless, with an easy action measuring 5-6/64ths and a perfectly straight neck. The original Kluson tuners operate smoothly, while the original nut, pickguard, and bridge remain intact. Serial #114481 comes w/ a non-original hard shell case.
