1971 Martin D-41
$7995 CAD
($5996.25 USD)
For more details contact us at info@folkwaymusic.com or 855-772-0424.
Martin’s pearl-bordered guitars were brought back from a 25 year retirement in 1968 when the first handful of post-war D-45s were completed. 1969 saw the release of the new Style 41, which featured a pearl-bordered top and Style 45 pearl in the neck and headstock. Style 41 was not produced prior to WWII and filled the niche for a less ornate and less expensive alternative to the top-of-the-line Style 45. The D-41 quickly became the company’s best-selling pearl-trimmed model. These earliest D-41s and D-45s were built with German spruce tops, which is the topwood used in this particular guitar.
Thanks to Martin historians Mike Longworth and, more recently, Greig Hutton, we can tell you that this D-41’s serial number was stamped on December 2nd, 1970 and the guitar was completed on June 28th of 1971.
It is a remarkably good sounding guitar with a warm, detailed and open low end, strong mids, and well-developed treble response. It has a woody fundamental and incredible focus. The German spruce adds headroom and clarity similarly to red spruce, which was presumably difficult to source in instrument-making grade and dimension during the late 1960s.
This guitar was through our shop two years ago. It received a new accurate reproduction lacquered pickguard, neck reset (it’s second, and there is some very minor finish damage around the fretboard extension from the previous repair), new frets, new bone saddle, and new style 41/45 Martin bridge pins. While on our benches, the bridge saddle slot was filled and recut for better intonation, a number of loose back-brace ends were cleanly glued and worn pin-holes in the bridgeplate were properly rebuilt. We removed an old Barcus Berry bridge plate transducer, installed a new endpin that hides the enlarged endpin hole, and set the guitar up with 13-56 Martin strings with 5-6 action. It’s now good to go, plays perfectly, and intonates well.
The guitar presents beautifully, with clean lacquer finish that’s fairly crazed on the top but remains largely unworn. There is a well-repaired and not obvious partial volute-margin crack that poses no concern to us.
The neck has a comfortable C/V carve, 1-11/16” nut and 25.4 scale. 2-1/8” string spread at the bridge.
With 70’s Blue Martin HSC
Thanks to Martin historians Mike Longworth and, more recently, Greig Hutton, we can tell you that this D-41’s serial number was stamped on December 2nd, 1970 and the guitar was completed on June 28th of 1971.
It is a remarkably good sounding guitar with a warm, detailed and open low end, strong mids, and well-developed treble response. It has a woody fundamental and incredible focus. The German spruce adds headroom and clarity similarly to red spruce, which was presumably difficult to source in instrument-making grade and dimension during the late 1960s.
This guitar was through our shop two years ago. It received a new accurate reproduction lacquered pickguard, neck reset (it’s second, and there is some very minor finish damage around the fretboard extension from the previous repair), new frets, new bone saddle, and new style 41/45 Martin bridge pins. While on our benches, the bridge saddle slot was filled and recut for better intonation, a number of loose back-brace ends were cleanly glued and worn pin-holes in the bridgeplate were properly rebuilt. We removed an old Barcus Berry bridge plate transducer, installed a new endpin that hides the enlarged endpin hole, and set the guitar up with 13-56 Martin strings with 5-6 action. It’s now good to go, plays perfectly, and intonates well.
The guitar presents beautifully, with clean lacquer finish that’s fairly crazed on the top but remains largely unworn. There is a well-repaired and not obvious partial volute-margin crack that poses no concern to us.
The neck has a comfortable C/V carve, 1-11/16” nut and 25.4 scale. 2-1/8” string spread at the bridge.
With 70’s Blue Martin HSC