WTB: Martin 0xk Soprano (HPL "Koa")

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experimentjon

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Recently, I have been itching for a Martin Soprano to hang on the wall and play and thought about the uniqueness of a vintage model, but those are hard to buy over the internet without handling. Then I thought about the winter in NYC and how I rarely run the room humidifier...which would probably lead to a premature demise for the instrument.

And I found Martin's HPL 0xk model which sounds pretty darn good to my ear, and is near weatherproof. It is out of production, but available on some sites online. But before I do that, I thought I'd ask around here--if anyone has one lying around not seeing much love, I'd be interested in bringing it to a good home!

And of course, I'm open to other ideas for weather-resistant sopranos as well.

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This seems like a great idea for your intended purpose, although I would caution that it is not 100% humidity proof. It does have wood bracing, a solid neck, and perhaps most sensitive, a wood fingerboard. Excessive dryness may lead to some fret issues. As long as things don't get too dry, you may be ok, and it certainly should hold up a lot better than a fully solid body instrument.

With all that said, the OXK is a great instrument. Hope you find what you are looking for, but sorry, mines not for sale. :)
 
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I have to say that UU is amazing.

Thank you, Cluze for pointing out the residual risk. Thankfully, my apartment isn't quite that dry. It sits at around 35% to 40% usually and thankfully because the windows here are great (and my cell is small), I only run the heat a few nights a year. It's too dry to keep my more prized-instruments hanging out on display, but hopefully this Soprano will be fine for that.

I can't believe I didn't see that Elderly listing when I was looking last night. It was indeed a great deal. Thank you, CPG for pointing that out!

That said, thank you to Gary, who had a spare that he was willing to sell. Less than a day to track down an awesome instrument and I look forward to having another little piece of Hawaiiana in my apartment. (Well I guess this one is more like Americana...or perhaps...Mexicana...but either way, I'm looking forward to it.)

Glad I asked here first!
 
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