Martin 1-T Tenor: When did they start making 14 frets?

mschway

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OK, I'm royally confused, and the more I read about dating 30s to 60s Martins, the more confused I get. :confused:

When did Martin start making 14 fret Tenors, and was there any overlap in production between the 12s and 14s?

There's a vendor somewhere (ain't telling, sorry) who is listing a 14 fret tenor on his website and calls it "circa 1940". I've read somewhere that Martin started making the 14s "sometime in the 40s". Yet, there's a previous post in the marketplace board here where a guy was selling a 12 fret but said it was from the 50s.

Also, I've read that they didn't start using nickel T-frets until after WWII; bar frets until then (according to one source), but there's a tenor on eBay now which is listed as being "40s to 50s" which has a 12 fret neck but clearly has T-frets.

So, my question really boils down to three questions: 1) Were there actually ANY 14 fret tenors made in the 40s, or at least pre-war? 2) Was I given bogus the on T-frets being solely post-war? 3) Did the 12s and 14s overlap?

Mahalo
 
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