NUD: 1940s? Vintage Martin Concert Ukulele

CPG

Well-known member
Joined
May 3, 2018
Messages
933
Reaction score
714
Location
Somewhere just outside of Philly
So last Friday I saw this concert ukulele on Ebay that no one had bid on that was about to expire. The starting bid was lower than you usually see these things ($595) likely because between a good bit of crazing and some repaired cracks it's not as nice an example as some people would want. That said the ad said the cracks in the back had been professionally repaired by Portland Fretworks which appears to be a very reputable luthier, the seller had sold similar items before with good feedback, and while the crazing seems to be in a lot of areas the finish appeared to be staying intact. So anyway, I put in a couple bids and ended up getting it for $550 ($583 with tax).

And here it is.


It just got delivered to my office. All in all I think I did alright? My god is it light. Maybe even lighter than my Takumi concert. In normal lighting the crazing is barely visible. It really lights up if you take a picture with a flash or in raking light, but just looking at it you can't even tell its there. It really looks very nice; much much nicer than I expected. I looked inside and the repairs look well done; all the cracks appear to be cleated. The fretboard, frets, nut, and saddle all appear to be in good shape as well, and the neck seems nice and straight. I haven't played it yet, but its 3mm at the 12th. That's a half mil higher than my ideal but but totally acceptable to me. It looks well setup, and my hope was that since they bothered to get it repaired by a luthier that it would have gotten a setup too. Of course, I'll have to play it to know for sure. Oh yeah, they also replaced the tuners with Gotoh UPTs. I'm not sure whether that increases or decreases the value for most people, and its not something I personally would have bothered to do, but since this is a player not a collector uke they'll be nice to have on there. Came with a hard case too. Nothing fancy, just one of the generic tweedy no-name amazon/ebay cases but it seems totally decent.

The only concern I have is that there is one check in the finish on the front, below the bridge that looks like it might be more than that (see 2nd photo). I noticed it in the photos on Ebay and think it just in the finish and since they repaired the other cracks I would hope they would have checked it, but who knows. Anyway, I think its just in the finish and that the fact that runs down a grain line just makes it look like it might be more. Hope I'm right.

This was listed as 1940s. Curious what you all think? Do concerts generally follow the same dating guidelines as sopranos? It came with the friction tuners that had been on it. They were listed as the "orignials" but I have no way of knowing if that is the case (see photos). It has the logo on the front of the headstock, no stamp on the back of headstock, a stamp on the inside, and t-frets. I know that puts it as post WWII, but I don't know how to tell if it's actually from the 40s. Thoughts?
 
That was a good catch at a reasonable price. The Gotoh tuners have a thicker shaft, so putting the original tuners back in would require - something.

Thanks Jerry! That what I was hoping. I did a search of sold listings on both Ebay and Reverb to try to get an idea if this was a good value before buy, but there are so few and the conditions vary so widely that it was really hard to tell. I only found a record of one that was sold for less than this, and it was in similar condition so I figured I was paying a fair price. Not a steal but a totally fair price given the condition that I would hopefully be able to recoup someday if I decide to sell.

Yeah, I'm sure you are correct about the tuners. They would have had to ream the holes out, so they would likely need to be plugged and redrilled or have some kind of bushing made to put the originals back in . I'll keep the UPTs in. Even though its not something I would have personally done, I do like UPTs and I'm sure they'll be nice to have on there.
 
Last edited:
It's in better shape than mine which appears to be from the same time period. Mine ran $500 - and I consider that to have been a decent price. How does it sound and play? I know mine plays like a dream and sounds like a choir of angels after they've been doing bourbon shots.
 
It's in better shape than mine which appears to be from the same time period. Mine ran $500 - and I consider that to have been a decent price. How does it sound and play? I know mine plays like a dream and sounds like a choir of angels after they've been doing bourbon shots.

Well so far I only had a few minutes to step outside and play it on my lunch.

Heres a quick and dirty clip:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EXzdifUK3PCHmt3o7

It's got that real warm, thumpy, chunky sound that a lot of Martin's have. It plays really nice and has a nice tone. But being played outside in the open like that and only for a few minutes, its hard for me to gauge the overall sound. I also think it has a new set of Martin 600 on it and in general I find that those need to be played in a little and fully stretched to get the full tone out of them.

Seems well setup too but again having only played it a few minutes and not yet being used to it as a new to me uke its possible I missed something. So far it seems comfortable to play, action is nice and there are no obvious buzzes (beyond my lousy playing).

I'll need to play it some more to give a better verdict. So far so good though. Given that it's a Martin in good playing condition I suspect I will grow to love it.
 
Wow, it sounds great, even on my tiny speakers. I like that it came in a vintage looking case.
Good find!
 
It does indeed sound very good. Well done.
 
Sounds like you got a keeper to me.

I forgot to add: mine also spent a month or more this winter in a zip lock storage back with a spice bag filled with ground coffee tucked in the soundhole to rid it of the gawdoffal smell of some horrendous air freshener some prior owner sprayed inside of it. ... and I still think it was a good price at $500 :rolleyes:
 
Sounds like you got a keeper to me.

I forgot to add: mine also spent a month or more this winter in a zip lock storage back with a spice bag filled with ground coffee tucked in the soundhole to rid it of the gawdoffal smell of some horrendous air freshener some prior owner sprayed inside of it. ... and I still think it was a good price at $500 :rolleyes:

I actually ran across that thread when I was researching vintage Martin concert ukuleles. Your comments about how much you like yours (despite the smell) were one of the things that made me pull the trigger on this. So thanks!
 
I actually ran across that thread when I was researching vintage Martin concert ukuleles. Your comments about how much you like yours (despite the smell) were one of the things that made me pull the trigger on this. So thanks!

I've read that crumpled newspaper works to absorb odors as well. Though I have not tried it myself.
 
Looks like a keeper!

A couple thoughts: the T-frets were introduced in 1934, so this could be pre-war assuming the original tuners were metal; if the original tuners were wood, it would likely indicate a wartime production since metal would’ve been rationed for the war.

And to confirm, stamp inside does not say “Made in the USA”, correct? Just checking, since I had an experience recently thinking it was older only to find out that stamp included those few words...:rolleyes:
 
Sounds like you got a keeper to me.

I forgot to add: mine also spent a month or more this winter in a zip lock storage back with a spice bag filled with ground coffee tucked in the soundhole to rid it of the gawdoffal smell of some horrendous air freshener some prior owner sprayed inside of it. ... and I still think it was a good price at $500 :rolleyes:

I wondered if you could revive the Martin smell by doing the exact same thing as what you have done but replace the coffee with freshly cut wood shavings.

Edit: typo
 
Last edited:
Looks like a keeper!

A couple thoughts: the T-frets were introduced in 1934, so this could be pre-war assuming the original tuners were metal; if the original tuners were wood, it would likely indicate a wartime production since metal would’ve been rationed for the war.

And to confirm, stamp inside does not say “Made in the USA”, correct? Just checking, since I had an experience recently thinking it was older only to find out that stamp included those few words...:rolleyes:

Thanks. The stamp just says

Martin & Co
Nazareth, PA

Isnt there something about the tuners that is supposed to give an indication of time period?
 
you've got a nice Martin concert. I also have one and it is a sure fire keeper, even with more cracks and a replaced bridge/saddle.
As to the age, the Champion pegs were used from 1944 to 1965. It could very well be from the Forties.
If you really want to go back to the original tuners, Violin repair shops use a tube that I believe is made of high grade paper that is inserted into over bored peg holes, then fitted to the tuner.
 
Last edited:
I wondered if you could revive the Martin smell by doing the exact same thing as what you have done but replace the coffee with freshly cut wood shavings.

Edit: typo

Yeah, I wonder how a nice bag of mahogany wood shavings would work for that?

Real mahogany hasn’t got much of an aroma if any at all.... maybe Spanish cedar would work though. That’s what gives cigar boxes their smell.. and Martin guitars, too, as they use Spanish cedar for kerfed linings.

I tried baking soda and activated charcoal... and plenty of it, with the uke in a zip lock bag. Didn’t do much good at all. The perfumey smell got a little better but....

The coffee not only absorbed much of the perfume, but left a hint of coffee scent behind, which actually smells really nice.
 
you've got a nice Martin concert. I also have one and it is a sure fire keeper, even with more cracks and a replaced bridge/saddle.
As to the age, the Champion pegs were used from 1944 to 1965. It could very well be from the Forties.
If you really want to go back to the original tuners, Violin repair shops use a tube that I believe is made of high grade paper that is inserted into over bored peg holes, then fitted to the tuner.

Thanks. Good to know about the tuners. I will leave the UPTs on but I am glad to know I could put the originals back on if I wanted. I feel like that's one of those things that could be important to know if I ever decide to sell it. Though I doubt I will be selling it anytime soon.

I'm not mean to imply that I don't like UPTs. I do. I just also like a friction tuners. I'm happy that the UPTs are there I just probably personally wouldn't have bothered to do it if it hadnt already be done, especially on a vintage uke. I also really like the particular style of upt the seller selected. The all black looks awesome.
 
I emailed the seller this morning just to find out a little bit more about what Portland Fretworks had done when the cracks got fixed. The seller very graciously responded right away and said the uke had been fully checked over just this past May and that the luthier checked it over completely and fixed any issues it had. This was one of the sellers personal players so it was well cared for.

I had been a little concerned that the one finish check was something more, but knowing that it was just looked at I'm really not concerned at all.

Also, even though they don't look worn it turns out the strings are not new.

I'm going to stick some new strings on it ASAP. I bet it will sound even better.

Feeling pretty darn good about this purchase!
 
Top Bottom