Who doesn't love a nice early 50's Martin? This unique shade top had been refinished and oversprayed in its storied past - a well done job, yielding a nice player at a great price point. Structurally this example is in great shape having been well maintained. The top is made of fairly tightly grained Adirondack spruce - not sitka - which shows no cracks or structural issues. The interior with a rear shifted, scalloped X bracing - original bracing is present including the thin maple bridge plate - presumably having been reglued in its past, with a little excess visible. One will note the interior has been signed (twice) in red sharpie by a past owner. It was recently restored by David Eichelbaum in Los Angeles. Refinished, the guitar has a slight sheen from a recent French polish, that is thin and resonant. In its past the guitar had been fitted with a double cowboy pickguard - with two long curved lines present behind the bridge. Replaced Brazilian rosewood bridge with black plastic pins. A past neck reset (more below), the saddle is nice and tall. The top is very flat, with no belly, the sound hole region is not sinking. The back shows only mild cosmetic wear. The neck is made of mahogany with a dark rosewood fingerboard, with the 24.9" scale length and a 1 11/16" nut width. It has a thin C profile, measuring .81" in depth at the first fret tapering to about .95" at the ninth. It has been refretted, with nice clean vintage size frets, the fingerboard very clean. Mild evidence of its past neck reset at the heel of the body - This 000 plays great - the action measuring a standard 6/64" in height at the twelfth fret of the sixth string, and a hair over 4/64" on the first. The tuners have been replaced with modern, light weight Golden Age replicas. New Martin logo present. Weighs 3,6lbs Includes later TKL hardshell case.