Best years for vintage Martins?

Are there certain years of range of years that are more desirable for vintage Martin sopranos?

Desirable in terms of sound not just collectible value.

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.

I agree with CJ. And the 20s and 30s are hard to beat for sound and retained value (pre-20s, wooden peg tuners, not my favorite).

This book mandatory reading if you plan to buy more than one.
http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Ukulel...qid=1416968351&sr=8-4&keywords=martin+ukulele

During WWII most Martins were built with carved pegs due to metal shortages.

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.

Oh, 30's vintages are the best by far! Of course I may be biased...:shaka:

coolkayaker1 said:

I agree with CJ. And the 20s and 30s are hard to beat for sound and retained value (pre-20s, wooden peg tuners, not my favorite).

This book mandatory reading if you plan to buy more than one.
http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Ukulel...qid=1416968351&sr=8-4&keywords=martin+ukulele

Click to expand...

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.

I dunno, but I just had to turn down a 30's tenor in excellent condtion due to lack of funds....but i paid off my Visa card today!!!!! woo hoo!

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.