❌SOLD❌ Martin D-16A Ash Body Dreadnought Natural, 1988

Built in a run of 818 guitars from 1987 to 1990, the Martin D-16A is a traditional dreadnought built with Ash for the sides and back.

The Dreadnought or D body first appeared in 1917 in guitars built for the Ditson Company of Boston. Martin first listed the D-18 in their catalog in 1931 as a 12-fret model and the 14-fret neck appeared in 1934. It became the single most common guitar size, only in recent years being challenged.

Here we’re looking at a Martin D-16A built during 1988 in Nazareth Pennsylvania. Martin currently uses the ’16’ style series to explore alternative materials and construction techniques. In this case, the ‘A’ indicates that the sides and back are Ash, rather than Martin’s traditional Mahogany or Rosewood. During 1935, the ’15’ style series used Birch and Maple. On some ’16’ models, the fingerboard and bridge are Richlite but on this guitar Indian Rosewood is used for those parts. As a modern Martin guitar, the neck has an adjustable truss rod, accessed through the sound hole. The black teardrop style pickguard is mounted to the finish, not directly to the top, preventing the traditional top crack. Visible through the soundhole, the back center stip is branded with the Martin logo and a note to ‘Use Medium or Lighter Strings Only’.

Otherwise, this Martin D-16A is constructed much like a classic D-18, with Sitka Spruce for the top and braces (both top and back), Mahogany for the body blocks and neck, and Indian Rosewood for the bridge, unbound fingerboard and head plate. The body has faux-tortoise binding, a nicely subtle touch. Ash has a quite visible grain structure, providing a very ‘woody’ appearance. For hardware, Grover Roto-Matic tuners are installed; there are no electronics or pickups installed, this guitar is entirely acoustic.

Currently 36 years old, this Martin D-16A is in overall very good clean original condition with expected and light wear to the pickguard and a few small finish marks around the lower treble bout. It plays well, and has a full rich tone.

The original black Martin molded hard shell case is included and is in very good condition.