Description
Martin - 1970 D-12-35 12-String Acoustic Guitar - w/HSC VINTAGE
Serialized 257709
This 1970 Martin D-12-35 stands as a magnificent example of Martin’s golden era of 12-string craftsmanship. Built with the classic dreadnought body shape and a 12-fret neck joint, this instrument offers a deep, orchestral resonance that modern 14-fret models struggle to replicate. The combination of a solid spruce top and beautiful rosewood back and sides provides a rich, complex tonal profile characterized by shimmering highs and a robust, commanding low end. Its slotted headstock and iconic multi-ring rosette offer a timeless aesthetic that speaks to the heritage of the Martin name.
This particular example has quite a story: In 1978 this guitar went through an extensive repair and restoration at the renowned World of Strings shop in Long Beach, California by renowned Luthier Mark Angus! The inside of the top is stamped several times with the World Of String mark, and signed and dated to 1978, just a few years after this guitar was made, indicating that top was replaced. Other repairs we believe happened at the same time was an adjustable truss rod was added, the fingerboard removed to add the truss rod. Having a truss rod on a 12-string is a nice thing to have, and Martin would not include adjustable truss rods on any guitars until 1985! It also appears the fingerboard was re-fretted and re-bound with Gibson-style binding nibs at the edge of the frets. While very close to the original back binding, we also believe the top binding was replaced during the re-top. A Shadow Original piezo pickup was also added to the bridge plate, with an endpin jack added.
There is one cleated and repaired crack on the top between the bridge and the soundhole on the bass side. Our shop, The Music Techs just completed a neck reset and they were impressed with the caliber of Mark's work to the guitar, which would be easy to overlook it appears seamless with the rest of the instrument!
Included in the photos are pictures take during the neck reset which show the new top and the truss rod access cut into it. they're hidden behind a brace, so you wouldn't know it's there without using a mirror to look inside!
The finish appears to be original on all parts of the guitar except for the top, which being such an old repair still does glow under blacklight. Includes non-original hardshell case.
