Here’s a tiny but mighty piece of americana : the Martin Style 0 ukulele.
Despite its minimalist size (53 cm) and weight (300g), it delivers that classic soprano ukulele tone we all recognize and love. Its finely designed curves have become a benchmark of elegance just as well.
Talk about understatement! No fancy trim, no binding, no nothing. Just plain mahogany throughout.
The Martin ukes have a yummy ice cream coned shaped heel.
I’m particularly fond of the bridge shape appearance, with its rounded ends and little ebony saddle. What, me bridge fetish?
Where Martin ukuleles hit the bingo IMHO is the fretboard end. Ain’t nothing prettier in the whole world!
Since its introduction in 1922, the Style 0 remained basically unchanged. And since it was never serial numbered, it’s often pretty tricky to date them. But that’s part of the fun. First thing to notice is the presence of a headstock decal, which puts it after the mid 1930′.
It’s also got T frets and not bar frets, putting it after 1947. It’s a common misconception that Martin switched to T frets in 1934 on all instruments. This assertion is true for guitars only, as bar frets were still in use on smaller instruments decades later. I remember having a 1951 Martin A style mandolin that had bar frets. The tuners are often a good way to identify the ukes (as long as they’re original of course). This particular Style 0 sports Kluson 566 Keystone tuners that were in use starting 1946, and were phased out (on Style 0) in 1956 in favor of the hexagonal nuts Waverlies. I love those tuners by the way. Some of them crack and fail (don’t overthighten them), but they’re very light and hold the tuning for ages.
Regarding identification, that’s the best we can do for now. This Style 0 was built between 1947 and 1956. And here’s the stamp proudly showing its Nazareth, PA origin.
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