Description
Here we have an all-original Martin Style 1K Koa Body Soprano Ukulele built between 1927 and 1932 at the Martin plant in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
Very similar to the Style 1, the Martin Style 1K ukulele substitutes Koa for the spruce-braced top, back sides and bridge while the body blocks and neck are Mahogany. The fingerboard is Brazilian Rosewood, as is the body binding. The nut and saddle are Ebony.
Overall, this instrument is in good shape and good working order, plays cleanly with a warm, full sound. Wear is light to both the finish and the fret wire.
It has a warm, rich sound and comes with its original trap-door case. The trap-door is damaged and could be replaced, but a modern hard shell case would be a good choice for future use. We have a good quality case available in the $70 range.
Many of these early Martin Ukuleles do not have serial numbers, so it can be difficult to date them accurately.
Instrument Dating
As Martin did not apply serial numbers to Ukuleles in this era, other clues must be used to establish a manufacture date.
In this case there are two elements that place construction between 1927 and 1932. First, the use of Patent tuning pegs. These replaced the original wooden friction pegs in 1927, establishing a lower limit. The second is the headstock identification - the back of the head is stamped 'C.F. Martin & Co Nazareth PA'. However, there is no Decal logo on the front and that started appearing in 1930 but was not fully implemented until 1932.
Two more elements, the use of 'bar' frets instead of modern 'T' style (bead and tang) frets and the Brazilian Rosewood body binding places a date before 1934.
Construction and Materials
The Martin Style 1K Ukulele was built with solid Koa (Acacia Koa) for the spruce-braced top, back sides and bridge, distinct from the Style 1's use of solid Mahogany. The body blocks and necks on both versions were Mahogany. Brazilian rosewood was used for the fingerboard. The body binding at this point is Brazilian Rosewood with a white/black purfling layer. The rosette is two rings of purfling, and the back has another 'C.F. Martin & Co Nazareth PA' stamp visible through the soundhole. The nut and saddle are Ebony.
On 1934 models, the top and back are bound with a single layer of faux-tortoise plastic, and the top gets a layer of black/white/black purfling inside this. In that year there is also a shift to modern T-style frets.
The Martin Style 1 Soprano ukulele first appeared in 1918 and was built until 1965. It has since been replaced by the Martin S1 ukulele.
In the later part of the 1900’s and into the 1920’s and 1930’s, the ukulele and Hawaiian music (including steel guitar) were very popular, and Martin wanted part of the market. Though there were some prototypes built before WW1, Martin’s designs were not finalized until 1918 with the introduction of the Style 1 and Style 2. the Style 3 appeared in 1924.
Martin produced a standardized ukulele built with either figured Hawaiian Koa or more traditional and readily available Mahogany. The Martin models dominated the Ukulele market and have been very influential.
The finish is a clear gloss nitrocellulose lacquer and is in good condition, with some wear as expected on an instrument close to a century old!
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: Style 1K Koa Soprano Ukulele
- Instrument Manufacturer: Martin
- Instrument year: 1927 - 1932
- Instrument Finish: Natural Gloss
- Instrument Class: Soprano Ukulele
- Instrument serial number: N/A, built between 1927 and 1930 at Nazareth PA
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Good
- Playing Condition: Good
- Right-handed
- CITIES Documentation Required: Yes
- Instrument Weight Imperial: .66 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: .30 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 13.622 in
- Scale Length Metric: 346 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.421 in
- Nut Width Metric: 36.09 mm
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: Yes
- Case Type: Original Fabric Trap Door, damaged. Modern Case available
- Items in Case: N/A
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 190660
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |