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ACOUSTIC: ARCHTOP C, F, & R SERIES

Martin was one of the first guitar companies to start producing acoustic archtop guitars in the early 1930s. Other large manufacturers including Gibson and Epiphone were also experimenting with these violin-inspired designs and Martin saw archtops as an opportunity. Instead of developing an entirely new line of guitars, they simply modified their existing models with arched tops and backs. The first archtops were based on Martin's new OM-style body and were labeled "C" models. The entry level "R" Series of archtops was introduced in 1932 and were based on Martin's Grand Concert 00-style body. In 1935, Martin introduced a third variation with their top-of-the-line F Series that were based on an enlarged Grand Auditorium 000-style body (the F model was actually closer in size to Martin's 0000-size body; however, that variation wasn't introduced until several years later). Unfortunately, Martin's archtops encountered several problems that doomed their success. The guitars were too small in comparison to other archtops and they did not produced enough sound. The sound of Martin's archtops is also very unique as they used predominately rosewood and mahogany back and sides as opposed to the more popular maple. The guitars themselves were actually hard to play - instead of designing a new guitar for archtops, Martin simply added an arched top. The problem was that the neck was tilted back at an extreme angle to clear to the higher top and that made the guitar difficult to play.
Tailpiece variations were common on all of Martin's archtop guitars.
Size C dimensions: 15 in. lower bout width, 4 3/16 in. body depth, 19.375 in. body length, and 24.9 in. scale.
Size F dimensions: 16 in. lower bout width, 4.125 in. body depth, 20.125 in. body length, and 24.9 in. scale.
Size R dimensions: 14.625 in. lower bout width, 4.25 in. body depth, 18.875 in. body length, and 24.9 in. scale.
Martin also produced two F-5 guitars that featured a maple body (1940 only), two R-15 prototypes that featured maple or birch back and sides (1934), and one R-21 with rosewood back and sides (1938).

Models (13)

C-1

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- Grand Auditorium 000-style body, carved spruce top, arched mahogany back, mahogany sides, round soundhole (1931-34) or two f-holes (1932-1942), black outer layer body binding (1931-35) or three-ply binding with outer ivoroid layer (1935-1942), mahogany neck, 14/20-fret unbound rosewood (1931-34) or ebony (1934-1942) fingerboard with white dot inlays, vertical pearl Martin (1931-32) or CF Martin (1932-34) logo inlay or decal (1934-1942) on headstock, three-per-side nickel tuners, rosewood bridge, trapeze tailpiece, raised black pickguard, available in Sunburst finish, total production of 1,235 instruments (449 with round soundhole, 786 with f-holes), mfg. 1931-1942.
Martin also produced one C-1 12-string with a round soundhole (1932). The C-1 has features that are similar to Martin's Style 18 appointments.
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C-1P Plectrum

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- similar to the C-1, except in four-string plectrum configuration with two-per-side tuners and a 27 in. scale, total production of 10 instruments (nine with a round soundhole and one with f-holes), mfg. 1931-33, 1939.
Extreme rarity precludes accurate pricing.
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C-1T Tenor

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- similar to the C-1, except in four-string tenor configuration with two-per-side tuners, total production of 154 instruments (71 with a round soundhole and 83 with f-holes), mfg. 1931-38.
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C-2

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- Grand Auditorium 000-style body, carved spruce top, arched Brazilian rosewood back, Brazilian rosewood sides, round soundhole (1931-33) or two f-holes (1932-1942), three-ply body binding with outer ivoroid layer, 14/20-fret unbound (1931-35) or ivoroid-bound (1935-1942) ebony fingerboard with slotted diamond inlays (1931-35) or hexagaonal inlays starting at the third fret (1939-1942), unbound headstock overlay with vertical CF Martin logo, three-per-side nickel tuners, rosewood bridge, trapeze tailpiece, raised unbound (1931-35) or ivoroid-bound (1935-1942) plastic black pickguard, available in Darkened top (1931-34) or shaded (1934-1942) finish, total production of 709 instruments (269 with round soundhole, 440 with f-holes), mfg. 1931-1942.
Martin also produced one C-2 12-String (1932, f-hole configuration), and two C-2P plectrum models (1931). The C-2 has features that are similar to Martin's Style 28 appointments.
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C-2T Tenor

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- similar to the C-2, except in four-string tenor configuration with two-per-side tuners, total production of 17 instruments (15 with a round soundhole and 2 with f-holes), mfg. 1931-34, 1936.
Extreme rarity precludes accurate pricing.
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C-3

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- Grand Auditorium 000-style body, carved spruce top, arched Brazilian rosewood back, Brazilian rosewood sides, round soundhole (1931-33) or two f-holes (1933-34), five-ply top body binding with outer ivoroid layer, zipper pattern back stripe, 14/20-fret ivoroid-bound ebony fingerboard with snowflake inlays starting at the first fret, ivoroid-bound headstock overlay with vertical CF Martin logo, three-per-side gold tuners, rosewood bridge, gold trapeze tailpiece, raised unbound (1931-33) plastic pickguard with pearl inlays and B/W plastic bordering (1933-34), available in Darkened top finish, total production of 111 instruments (53 with round soundhole, 58 with f-holes), mfg. 1931-34.
Martin also produced one C-3T with a tenor neck (1934). The C-3 has features that are similar to Martin's Style 45 appointments.
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F-1

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- Grand Auditorium-style body, carved spruce top, arched mahogany back, mahogany sides, two f-holes, three-ply top and back body binding with outer ivoroid layer, mahogany neck, 14/20-fret unbound ebony fingerboard with white dot inlays, unbound headstock overlay with standard decal logo, three-per-side nickel tuners, adj. ebony bridge, nickel-plated trapeze tailpiece, raised black pickguard, available in dark back and sides with a Shaded top finish, total production of 91 instruments, mfg. 1940-42.
Martin also produced one F-1S 12-string (1941). The F-1 has features that are similar to Martin's Style 18 appointments.
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F-2

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- Grand Auditorium-style body, carved spruce top, arched Brazilian rosewood back, Brazilian rosewood sides, two f-holes, three-ply top and back body binding with outer ivoroid layer, zigzag back stripe, mahogany neck, 14/20-fret ivoroid-bound ebony fingerboard with pearl hexagonal inlays starting at the third fret, unbound headstock overlay with vertical CF Martin logo, three-per-side nickel tuners, adj. ebony bridge, nickel-plated trapeze tailpiece, raised ivoroid-bound black pickguard, available in dark back and sides with a Shaded top finish, total production of 47 instruments, mfg. 1940-42.
One F-2 was produced with maple back and sides (1941). The F-2 has features that are similar to Martin's Style 28 appointments.
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F-7

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- Grand Auditorium-style body, carved spruce top, arched Brazilian rosewood back, Brazilian rosewood sides, two f-holes, seven-ply top body binding with outer ivoroid layer, multi-ply back binding, zipper back stripe, mahogany neck, 14/20-fret ivoroid-bound ebony fingerboard with pearl (1935-37) or pearloid (1937-1942) hexagonal inlays starting at the third fret, three-ply headstock binding with outer ivoroid layer, vertical CF Martin logo, three-per-side nickel tuners, adj. ebony bridge, nickel-plated trapeze tailpiece, raised ivoroid-bound black pickguard, available in dark back and sides with a Shaded top finish, total production of 187 instruments, mfg. 1935-1942.
One F-7S guitar was produced with a round soundhole (1936).
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F-9

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- Grand Auditorium-style body, carved spruce top, arched Brazilian rosewood back, Brazilian rosewood sides, two f-holes, seven-ply top body binding with outer ivoroid layer, multi-ply back binding, zipper back stripe, mahogany neck, 14/20-fret ivoroid-bound ebony fingerboard with W/BW inlays near the edge and pearl or pearloid hexagonal inlays starting at the first fret, three-ply headstock binding with outer ivoroid layer, vertical CF Martin logo, three-per-side gold tuners, adj. ebony bridge, gold-plated trapeze tailpiece, raised black pickguard with three-ply binding and outer ivoroid layer, available in dark back and sides with a Shaded Golden Brown top finish, total production of 72 instruments, mfg. 1935-1942.
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R-17

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- Grand Concert-style body, arched mahogany top and back, mahogany sides, two three-piece (1934-37) or one-piece (1937-1942) f-holes, 14/20-fret rosewood fingerboard with white dot inlays, unbound headstock with decal logo, three-per-side nickel single unit tuners, rosewood bridge, nickel-plated trapeze tailpiece, raised black pickguard, available in dark back and sides with a Golden Brown Sunburst top finish, total production of 940 instruments, mfg. 1934-1942.
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R-18

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- Grand Concert-style body, arched (1933-37) or carved (1937-1942) spruce top, arched mahogany back, mahogany sides, round soundhole (1933 only) or two three-piece (1933-37) or one-piece (1937-1942) f-holes, four-ply body binding with outer black layer, 14/20-fret rosewood fingerboard with white dot inlays, unbound headstock with decal logo, three-per-side nickel single unit tuners, rosewood bridge, nickel-plated trapeze tailpiece, raised tortoiseshell or black pickguard, available in dark back and sides with a Golden Brown Sunburst top finish, total production of 1,927 instruments (approx. 400 produced with round soundhole), mfg. 1933-1942.
Martin also produced four R-18P guitars in plectrum configuration (1934-36). The first few R-18 archtop guitars were actually stamped 00-18S. In 1933, the R-18 retailed for $55 plus $8 for a hardshell case.
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R-18T Tenor

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- similar to the R-18, except in four-string tenor configuration with two-per-side tuners, total production of 133 instruments, mfg. 1934-1941.
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