Martin 1951 Soprano Style 1 Ukelele – Mahogany Body & Brazilian Rosewood Fretboard

Here is a 1951 Martin Style 1 Soprano Ukelele with a Natural Mahogany Body and Brazillian Rosewood Fretboard. All original, and very warm sounding;  in Good shape for a 70 year old instrument! Vintage case included!

The Martin Style 1 Soprano ukulele first appeared in 1917 and was built into the 1960’s, and has now been replaced by the Martin S1 ukulele.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 1917 and 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 rather dominated the Ukulele market and have been very influential. The bodies – top, back and sides – and necks were Koa or Mahogany, with Rosewood for the fingerboard, meaning Brazilian Rosewood for many of the examples. Martin officially stopped using Brazilian around 1967, though some appeared in various places (such as the center section of the D-35’s 3 piece back) as late as 1972.

For International Shipping Please Contact Us!