What Guitar Did Dolly Parton Play? The Martin 5-18 "Baby Martin"
I’m Joe Dampt. I buy vintage Martins nationwide from Mesa, Arizona, and I have a 1950 Martin 5-18 Terz on the bench. The neck block is stamped 5-18 over serial 115817. Martin’s year-end chart, the same one on my Martin serial and model number guide, puts 112962 through 117961 in 1950. Size 5 is the smallest guitar Martin put in the catalog, the one people mean when they say baby Martin.
Dolly Parton died August 25, 2026. This post is for the guitar people are searching, the little Martin she started on, and the 1950 5-18 on my bench.
The Short Answer
This 5-18 is the guitar in the photos: Size 5 terz, Style 18 spruce and mahogany, solid peghead, serial 115817.
Uncle Lewis gave Dolly Parton a small Martin when he saw she was serious. “It was my treasure,” she told Reverb in 2017. That interview never names a catalog number.
Guitar World and Guitar Player both say she performed with a Martin 5-18 Terz. In July 2026, Martin listed Dolly Parton among the players who have used Size 5 Martins, the same family as this 5-18.
On later stages she often used a small, heavily decorated Taylor GS Mini.
Little Martin LX guitars are modern Mexico-made travel instruments with their own serial sequence. LX dating lives on the Martin serial number guide.
Dolly's First Guitar
Dolly told Reverb in 2017 that all of mama’s people were musical. They played some sort of instrument, and she plucked whatever they left lying around because she loved the guitar.
She had two uncles who played. Uncle Bill Owens helped her get on the Cas Walker Show in Knoxville and walked Nashville doors with her. Uncle Lewis was a guitar player with a little Martin she loved, and when he saw how serious she was about her music he gave it to her.
“It was my treasure.”
Some write-ups give that Martin to Bill. Reverb names Lewis as the gift and Bill as the uncle who helped her get into the business.
In Songteller she wrote, “I remember loving that thing like it was a piece of my body, a piece of my soul. I just made friends with it.” She got deep blisters and calluses learning to play.
What Happened To It
When she left home at 18, she put that little Martin in the loft because it was beat up. She planned to have it fixed when she got money, when she got rich and famous. The loft burned out of the house.
“I only have the neck of that one,” she told Reverb.
She collected baby Martins for years after that. The 1950 on my bench, serial 115817, is that same Size 5 family. It is a shop guitar, not the instrument from the loft.
What A Martin 5-18 Actually Is
Martin’s Size 5 is a terz guitar: 11.25 inches across the lower bout, about 16 inches of body length, and a scale around 21.4 inches. Those measurements are from Vintage Guitar magazine (June 2014), and they match the 1950 on my bench.
Terz means it was designed to be tuned a minor third higher than standard, three frets up. This one still plays in standard E. The short scale is the terz spec.
Style 18 is a spruce top, mahogany back and sides, simple dot inlays, and a tortoise-style pickguard. This 1950 has a solid peghead with the C.F. Martin decal. Slotted 5-18s are earlier; the slotted headstock left the line in the late 1940s.
How To Tell A 5-18 From A 0-18
A 0-18 is concert size. It looks small next to a dreadnought, and next to a 5-18 it looks huge. If it looks like a toy until you pick it up, you might have a 5. If you inherited a small Martin, the Martin buying page is where I take 0-18s and 5-18s alike.
Don’t guess from a photo of the front alone. Look through the soundhole. Martin stamps the model and serial number on the neck block. You should see 5-18 over the serial, or the serial under the model, depending on the year. That stamp is the ID. Use the Martin serial number lookup to date it.
What A Vintage 5-18 Is Worth
Vintage 5-18s trade in a thinner market than 0-18s and 00-18s. Originality, cracks, a neck reset, and a proper small case move the number more than the year does. A player-grade 5-18 with typical cracks, a later case, or a neck reset still to do usually sits around $2,800 to $4,000 in public asking and sold-out dealer pages. A clean original that is playing, with original finish and preferably an original case, is more like $4,000 to $5,800.
A worn original finish usually beats a pretty refinish. Cracks and old repairs don’t make it unsellable. Don’t clean it, don’t polish it, and don’t have anyone touch it up before you send photos. I wrote the same thing on the Martin buying page because I mean it.
If you want a number on your guitar, send me photos. The appraisal is free and there is no obligation to sell.
If You Inherited One
You might have the same Size 5 model Dolly Parton spent years collecting, and I buy vintage 5-18s. The loft fire took her first little Martin; she kept the neck. I buy vintage Martins in all 50 states from Mesa, including 5-18s, 0-18s, and 00-18s. Text or email a few photos plus the neck-block stamp if you can get it. I’ll date the stamp, say whether it is a 5-18, a 0-18, a 00-18, or a Little Martin LX, and give you a market read. I handle packing and insured shipping if we can’t meet in Mesa.
Call or text (602) 900-6635 or email joesvintageguitars94@gmail.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Guitar Did Dolly Parton Play?
Small acoustics, almost always. Her first was a little Martin her uncle Lewis gave her. Later she collected baby Martins and performed with a Martin 5-18 Terz and a custom Taylor GS Mini.
Who Gave Dolly Parton Her First Guitar?
Uncle Lewis. He gave her his little Martin when he saw she was serious. Uncle Bill Owens helped her get into the business. He didn’t give her that Martin.
What Happened To Dolly Parton's First Guitar?
She left it in the loft at 18 because it was beat up. The loft burned. She kept the neck.
Was Dolly Parton's First Guitar A Martin 5-18?
She called it a little Martin. She didn’t publish a serial number. Guitar World, Guitar Player, and Martin all connect her to Size 5 / 5-18 guitars as a player. Treat the loft guitar as a likely 5-18 match, not a factory letter on that specific instrument.
What Is A Baby Martin?
In this context it means Martin’s smallest regular guitar, the Size 5, usually a 5-18. It is not a Little Martin LX from Mexico.
Is A 5-18 The Same As A Parlor Guitar?
People call it a parlor. Martin called Size 5 a terz. A 0-18 is the small guitar most sellers actually have. Measure the lower bout or read the neck-block stamp.
How Do I Date A Martin 5-18?
Read the serial on the neck block and look it up on the Martin serial number guide. Serial 115817 on this guitar falls in 1950, 112962 through 117961.
Will You Buy My 5-18?
Yes, if the neck-block stamp is a 5-18. Send photos of the guitar and the stamp for a free appraisal.
Send Me Photos
If you want the short version on your guitar, send photos. Front, back, headstock, and the neck-block stamp through the soundhole. I’ll date it, say whether it’s a 5-18, and give you a current market read. Use the free appraisal form, or text me at (602) 900-6635.
I’m Joe Dampt. I buy, sell, and appraise vintage instruments in Mesa, Arizona. I’ve been doing this full-time for more than twelve years. If you want me to look at the guitar in the case, that’s the appraisal form.
Who I am and how I work is on the about page.
Disclaimer
Value estimate. This is an estimate of market value, not an offer to buy and not a guarantee. Market values fluctuate. Have your specific item appraised. The $2,800 to $5,800 figures above are public-market asking and sold ranges on vintage 5-18s, not a bid on your guitar.
Originality judgment. Originality is assessed from the information provided. A hands-on inspection can change the conclusion. A photo read is not a certificate that a guitar belonged to a named player.
Results vary. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each guitar depends on its own facts.
