Pre-war are considered better than post-war. I owned some from the 40s, 50s, and 60s and I haven't come across a bad one yet, but there are some OUTSTANDING ones. Like most ukes, play before you buy when you can.
Personally I desire a WWII style 0 or 1 because we are both war babies. Some even have steel bar-frets. As far as sound goes I prefer the Honduran Mahogany sound to the Koa. somewhat brighter and punchy. Strings make a difference, but the biggest is what environment they were used in, with emphasis on the used. If never used they would look great and may be of value to a collector with tags bills of sale and all. They probably would sound as dead as their life style, compared to one that has been played regularly. When ever I hand over one of my 70+ year old martins to one who has never played one the first comment o how light it is then after a few strums how much it vibrates. I've had and have very nice modern ukuleles that have better intonation and smooth action. I just haven't bonded with them like I seem to with the old Martins. The market is down for vintage instruments right now and yes I'm selling a few. I'll keep posting some and try to get more and better sound clips.
Agreed. That's such a great book. Been studying it for a few months. I have a chance to actually play 3 that I'm considering this weekend. Two from the 30s and one from the 40s.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. This is what I wound up with. Style 1 circa 1920. It has fret markers at 5, 7, and 9. Maple nut and saddle so it's pretty early. Played it along side a 1930 and 1940 and the tone is just monstrous compared to those. The tuners and a back brace have been replaced sometime in it's history.