1975 Martin 0-16NY

I’m not 100% sure, but I think Martin’s 0-16NY was the first ever vintage reissue by an American guitar company. The model was introduced in 1961 during the peak of the Folk Revival. Back then, aspiring folk singers sought out antique guitars to accompany their antique songs but they soon discovered that old guitars were hard to come by. Among the most sought after old guitars were those made by Martin that had a stamp on the back brace that read “C.F. Martin and Co. New York.” Martins with this stamp were actually made in Nazareth, PA, but they were made before 1898 making then sufficiently old, and before too long musicians began referring to them as New Yorker models. When Martin saw the demand for their old instruments increase they decided to make a guitar that had many of the features that folkies seemed to want.

Martin opted to use the 12-fret Concert body size, which was actually bigger than many pre-1898 guitars, but it was smaller than contemporary guitars like dreadnoughts and jumbos. Martin also used a 12-fret neck and a slotted headstock, features they had phased out on most of their models years before. They also used a slightly wider neck, which made finger picking a bit easier, and a semi-gloss finish, so the guitar didn’t look too shiny and new. Rather than use a modern, larger belly bridge, they revived the simple straight bridge. And to make it explicit that this was based on an old style, they appended NY, for New York, to the model designation. The 0-16NY was a fairly popular throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, a little over 6000 were made during those years, but sales dropped to double digits in the 1980s and the model was dropped from the catalog in 1995. The 0-16NY wasn’t an exact replica of any guitar that Martin made, but it is a good sounding instrument nonetheless, and this one looks to be in fine condition. They are not really rare but they are getting harder to find. I wonder if they get any scarcer if Martin will make a vintage reissue of a vintage reissue? If you’d like to make this guitar your own, just send $2000 to Intermountain Guitar and Banjo and they will rush it to your door.