Photographing Your Ukulele for Identification
I get lots of requests from readers that would like me to tell them how old their Martin ukulele is and what style it is. I love getting these requests! Most of the senders think to include a picture or two, but they are often not very helpful in allowing me to answer their questions. So I thought I would provide some examples of what information and what types of photos can help with identification. The first piece of information is going to be the overall length of the ukulele and/or the length between the saddle and the nut. For those unfamiliar with the instruments, the saddle and nut are the two ‘bars’, usually ebony, that the strings go over at each end of their run. For an ukulele you are going to get 13 inches, 15 inches or 17 inches. There are larger ones as well, but these are…
What Year Was My Martin Made?
So, you looked at my article Identify Your Vintage Martin and determined what Style your Martin is. And now, like the dozens of people who send me emails, you want to figure out what year that ukulele was manufactured. While each of the specific styles have their own characteristics that can help identify their age, this article describes some of the common factors across the styles that can narrow down the time frames. And, as always, there are exceptions to the general rules. Specifics by style will be found in future articles. Fret marker location. When they began making ukuleles, Martin marked the frets at 3, 5 and 9. In 1920, they moved the fret marker at 9 to the 10th fret. The inside stamp. The inside stamp ran parallel to the strings until mid-1916, at which point they turned it to run parallel to the interior brace. If the…
Identify Your Vintage Martin – Caveat Emptor
I’ve been learning about vintage ukuleles made by the C.F. Martin Company for years, ever since I heard Brian Hefferan and Dave Passant playing their vintage Martins at various events. The sound of these instruments is distinctively different than any other. So I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a deal, checking out online auctions, For Sale listings and yard sales for several years. And educating myself on identifying the different styles and how to determine the time frame during which it was made. My primary source is the definitive reference, The Martin Ukulele: The Little Instrument That Helped Create a Guitar Giant by John King and Tom Walsh. The archives of the C.F. Martin Company were used by the authors to create this volume. This book has the history of the instrument within the Martin Company as well as pages of information about the differences between the Styles and…