1998 Martin 000-1R Left Handed

A lovely little 000-1R from 1998, built in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and one of Martin’s short-lived 1 Series models.

The 000 format is one of Martin’s most successful body shapes for good reason. Comfortable, nicely balanced and very responsive, it works equally well for fingerstyle, strumming and songwriting. This particular example has really opened up over the years and sounds superb.

The spruce top has aged nicely and the rosewood back and sides give it plenty of warmth, depth and projection. It has that familiar 000 balance, but there’s considerably more volume and headroom here than you might expect from a guitar of this size. It would make an excellent recording guitar and is particularly well suited to the singer-songwriter.

Cosmetically, this is certainly not a museum piece. It has been played and there are numerous marks, dings and signs of use around the instrument. We rather like that. It has clearly had a life and the finish wear is part of the story.

The most noticeable area is the treble-side lower bout, where there is some wear and delamination to the finish. This is cosmetic and does not affect the structural integrity of the guitar.

The action is very good and it plays nicely. There is some minor fret wear, although the frets have clearly been well looked after, are nicely polished and have plenty of life left in them.

An output jack/endpin has also been fitted, which is a handy addition should you wish to install a pickup at some point.

It comes complete with its original Martin hardshell case.

1998 Martin Factory Specification

Model: 000-1R
Year: 1998
Made in: Nazareth, Pennsylvania, USA
Body: 000, 14-fret
Top: Spruce
Back and sides: Rosewood
Finish: Satin
Scale length: 25.4"
Nut width: 1 11/16"
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Bridge: Rosewood
Bracing: A-Frame X
Tuners: Chrome enclosed gear
Pickguard: Tortoiseshell
Case: Original Martin hardshell

A very good-sounding, nicely played-in Martin with plenty of character. Left-handed examples don't come up all that often, and this one has the sort of mature, open sound that you simply can't get from a new guitar.

It has its scars, but they're honest ones — and most importantly, it sounds bloody good.

Martin 000-1R LH 1998 - Natural