USED Vintage Martin Style 51 1960's Solid Mahogany Baritone Ukulele

Please note that this Used Martin Baritone ukulele is availablefor purchase by UK customers only.

The baritone ukulele has such a complicated and rich history that has its origins in the mainland US rather than on the tropical islands of Hawaii. The earliest baritone ukuleles were mahogany and in many people's eyes; the instrument truly became iconic and a permanent fixture in the ukulele family when Martin introduced the style 51 in the early 1960s.

This vintage modeal has a conventional sized body with beautifully aged mahogany bound with tortoiseshell on the front and back with a simple rosette. The design was originally influenced in part by the tenor guitar with which Martin had extensive experience building by the time the first baritones rolled out of the Nazareth, PA factory.

The scale length (nut to saddle measurement) is just over 20 inches which makes for a slightly lighter string tension and a slinkier, slightly spongey sound when you strum the ukulele. The neck is slimline and thins to a beautifully comfortable and slender 33mm at the nut which might scare some modern players who are used to the chunkier Hawaiian style 38mm nut widths but trust me when I say that this uke remains comfortable in the first position and quite frankly effortless to play for a ukulele that is nearly 60 years old.

Condition wise it is in very nice shape considering its age, as you can see from the photos it has some crackling in the gloss finish and some smakk knocks and dings here and there, but in my humble opinion this just adds to the appeal of such an iconic ukulele sillouette. Unfortunately/fortunately we have switched out the original friction tuners for a set of Grover Planetary's to keep it tuneable and playable. The original tuners will be shipped with the uke but we just weren't confident turning them in thier fragile condition. The uke will be shipped in the modern woodshell case pictured.