Antique 1893 19th Century Martin 0028 New York USA Guitar

Antique 1893 19th Century Martin 0028 New York USA Guitar
Antique 1893 19th Century Martin 0028 New York USA Guitar
I am beyond excited to offer this guitar for sale. When an opportunity arises to buy a 19th Century Martin guitar, you’ve just got to take it. And that’s exactly what I did! I found this in an auction taking place in Glasgow, on behalf of Jimmie MacGregor (MBE) who is a famous Scottish folksinger and broadcaster. This was from his long life of collecting and playing incredible guitars. He can be seen on various pieces of footage playing this very guitar. Goodness knows when he got it, but his career has spanned decade after decade.
The Guitar
The guitar itself is a late 19th Century (most likely 1893) Martin 00-28. I took it straight to a leading Martin collector and luthier who gave this a really good go over. He replaced the not-so-nice plastic nut it came to me with with a really nice bone nut, plugged some tiny holes where a tailpiece had previously been fitted, and sorted out the action making it incredibly good to play now with a new set of Aquila strings. The action is on the low side of the average modern classical which is brilliant. The bridge, of course, isn’t original although likely very old, and someone has previously shaved the bracing for tonal reasons which I’ve included a picture of below.
If someone is being a little ‘picky’ you could say that the string spacing is slightly out but honestly it isn’t recognisable when playing. Put it this way – Jimmie knew a good sounding guitar – and everything on this has improved the sound quality over many decades of play!
This has by far the greatest mojo to a players guitar I have ever seen. The sound is truly wonderful. It also comes with a fitted hard case with some of Jimmie’s stickers from years of travelling. It’s a guitar that you will not be disappointed with – one that has lasted 130 years to date and will certainly last that again!