A Very Unusual Bird

This very unusual 16 inch-wide, first year, Martin electric thinline guitar weighs just 6.00 lbs. Single-cutaway two inch thick hollow arch-top body with two 'f' sound-holes. One-piece laminated maple top, maple back and sides. One-piece mahogany neck with a nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches, a medium-to-thin profile and a scale length of 25 inches. Brazilian rosewood fretboard with 22 original medium frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. Headstock with "C.F. Martin & Co. / Est. 1833" decal in gold with black trim. The body of the guitar is triple-bound on the top and single-bound on the back. Individual 'single-line' Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons (each one stamped on the underside "D-169400 / PATENT NO". Two original DeArmond Dynasonic pickups with metal trapezoid bezels and outputs of 1.62k and 1.80k. Both pickups with a black plastic spacer. Black lucite pickguard secured by two screws. Four controls (two volume, two tone) on lower treble bout and a three-way pickup selector switch on the treble horn. Guild style black plastic control knobs with 'fluted' sides, white lettering and metal tops. Later pre-compensated height-adjustable ebony bridge on ebony base and Martin "M" cutout tailpiece. Inside the bass 'f' hole the serial number and model number are stamped "181796 / F-55". Also the "Martin & Co" logo is 'branded' on the inside. There is some fine finish checking and a few minor surface marks, The top triple-bindiing has two slight gaps on the waist, but overall this rare bird is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. Housed in a later three-latch, shaped black hardshell case with black plush lining (9.25).

325 F-55's were shipped in 1962 out of a total production run of 665 guitars between late 1961 and 1965.

The two DeArmond pickups give this rare bird a sound very similar to the Gretsch hollow bodies of the fifties.

"The F-55 had the same equipment as the F-65, but it was a single cutaway model. It was first made in 1962"