In 1941, Martin made just 575 D-18 guitars. Most of the surviving D-18s from this era have served as music workhorses for 75-plus years, appearing in countless bluegrass and country jams and showing some battle scars along the way. When we got wind that Seattle’s Jet City Guitars had this ultra-clean ’41 D-18 guitar in its possession, we wanted to see it up close. We then let local music legend Orville Johnson put it through its paces. Orville, as always, sounds fantastic and the guitar’s Adirondack spruce top seemingly glows… (No, that’s not a refin… it’s just how this instrument left the old North Street factory in Nazareth.)

Special thanks to Jet City Guitars for letting us try this instrument out.