Martin Tenor Guitar History And Model Changes

Model Changes By Year

1927: The Size-Five Tenors

The early tenor line used Martin’s small size-5 body with four strings. The 5-17T had mahogany for the top, back and sides, while the 5-21T combined a spruce top with rosewood back and sides.

These models supplied guitar bodies for musicians moving from tenor banjo. The 1927 size-5 instrument shown here belongs to that first period. Scale lengths were not identical across every tenor model and later version, so a single measurement should not be assigned to the entire family.

1928 And 1929: Fourteen-Fret Experiments

The 1928 2-18TL put a 14-fret neck on the earlier body outline. This moved the bridge high on the top. The design provided more frets clear of the body, but the resulting bridge position prompted a different body solution.

The late-1929 Carl Fischer tenor shortened the upper body instead. This preserved access to fourteen frets while allowing a more suitable bridge position. The change anticipated the shortened upper-body approach that became familiar on later Martin 14-fret guitars.

1930 And 1931: The Regular 0-18T

The redesigned tenor entered the regular Martin line as the 0-18T in 1930, following earlier development and examples recorded in 1929. Its upper bout became broader and flatter than the earlier form.

By 1931, a belly bridge had replaced the straight bridge on the 0-18T. The new body and the new bridge were distinct steps in the model’s development. The tenor line’s 14-fret history therefore begins before the general 1934 change often associated with Martin six-string models.

1932: The All-Mahogany 0-17T

The 0-17T added a larger all-mahogany tenor in 1932. It offered a different material and decoration package from the spruce-topped 0-18T while using the size-0 tenor family.

The T suffix identifies the tenor branch. Body size and style still distinguish the models within it; 5-17T and 0-17T are not interchangeable names for the same guitar. The Martin model-number guide explains the size, style and suffix system.

1949 To The 1960s: The Style 15 Models

The 5-15T replaced the 5-17T in 1949. It retained the small mahogany body while adopting the simpler Style 15 finish and appointments.

The larger 0-15T was produced from 1960 to 1963, also using mahogany with plain appointments and a satin finish. These were later model additions and replacements, not evidence that every earlier tenor received a new designation.

Did Martin Tenors Become Fourteen-Fret Guitars In 1934?

The tenor line followed an earlier sequence: the 2-18TL experiment in 1928, the shortened Carl Fischer body in late 1929, and the regular 0-18T in 1930. The general six-string 1934 chronology does not describe that development.

Is A Plectrum Guitar The Same As A Tenor?

Both can have four strings, but the plectrum design uses a longer neck and scale associated with plectrum-banjo playing. Martin’s plectrum models followed a separate, much shorter regular-production history.