Here’s a rarity in old Martin guitars, especially Dreadnoughts. It’s a 53 year old D-18 that hasn’t had, and doesn’t need, a neck reset! Original finish throughout, original bridge, pickguard, nut, and tuners, all of which are in good shape. It’s been refretted, and the current frets are in good condition. There is finish wear on the top, mostly on either side of the fretboard, but there’s also some denting to the finish below the bridge, perhaps from a bracelet or sleeve buttons (cuff links are another possibility, but who plays a D-18 wearing cuff links?). There is also lots of shirt button wear to the back of the guitar, but not through the finish, plus some deeper scratches that suggest a belt buckle (or several) may have been involved. As usual, the lower side shows similar wear, while the upper (bass) side is in excellent condition, as is the neck (except for some wear to the upper back edge of the headstock). The only crack is about an inch long, at the waist on the lower side, and it has been repaired and is barely noticeable. There is a triangular shaped area on the lower treble bout of the top (1 1/2 ‘’ by 2 ‘’) that looks like it suffered vinyl damage years ago. The lacquer is now hard, but we decided to leave it alone and rubbing it out would involve polishing the original finish around it. This is a flatpicker’s dream guitar, for about what you’d pay for Martin’s “Authentic” model reissue.