garyg
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- Jan 15, 2011
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Like everyone else here I'm interested in ways to date Martin ukes? I've done a quick search of the archives but can't find answers to these questions so I thought that I'd ask them directly, although feel free to send me a link if they're answered previously and you know where. From a two years of Martin buying and some selling, I've deduced the following. Tuners - pretty damn difficult to date a Martin via tuners - the pre32 ukes seems to have the greatest variation in tuners and I've probably see 3-5 different types of period tuners (barrel, cup, etc.). Some folks say Kluson's were used post WW2 and into the 50's, others say those white butter bean tuners without a barrel base were used only in the 50's, although based on info I've seen I suspect they also were used in the 40's and I've seen a uke dated as late 30's by multiple experts, that had them and not as replacements. Anyone have any firm answers on this? Secondly, is there a definitive answer to the year that Martin went from 5,7,9 fretboard dots on ukes to 5,7,10? Did this vary by uke model? Finally, until I did some searching I didn't realize that you may be able to use the decals to date ukes (maybe because I'm mainly interested in pre32 ukes. Is there a "key" to using decals to date ukes? Thanks, in case you're curious, I'm a player not a collector, and I have a pre 22 1M, a 1K made between 20-22 (both have boxwood nuts and saddles) a mid 20's 1M (dots 5,7,9), and a mid-20's 2M (dots 5,7,9). Thanks for your help, cheers, g2