And here's the guitar that started it all -

Made on contract for the Oliver Ditson Company of New York by C. F. Martin.

This example was made in 1929, before any dreadnoughts appeared under the Martin name.

The earliest Ditson dreadnoughts were made with the "fan bracing" you'd expect in a gut strung guitar. This later Ditson has X-bracing typical of the regular production dreadnoughts which came along in the early 1930s. It pretty much conforms to the specifications of a D-18, with mahogany back and sides.

Back to Index Page