000-15; A Great Guitar Or Just Another Weird Number??? (Martin Guitars 000-15)

Member Name: Caveat-Emptor

Product:	Martin Guitars 000-15
Date:	12/07/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well made, great sound, a guitarists dream come true!

Disadvantages: Not very 'fancy' looking considering the hefty price tag

My review of the Martin 000-15
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Introduction
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For those who know their acoustic guitars, the name Martin is always at the very forefront of the Acoustic guitar... I am a huge fan -and although Martin didn't quite invent the acoustic guitar (though they certainly were the first to come up with classic shapes like the dreadnaught) it seems like it... they've been around since the dinosaurs -lol!! Long before Orville Gibson (who founded Gibson guitars) was even born Martin were making their first acoustic guitars... Now that's heritage.


My Opinion
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The first time I held a 000-15 model Martin acoustic in my hands, it was love at first sight - and the sound was outstanding. The most important part of an acoustic guitar is the 'top' (the front where the circular hole is), and the 000-15 resonates like a dream. The one I played most often had a mahogany 'top.

I found the mahogany gave a darker, wormer sound than the usual spruce tops found on so many guitars (I'm not picking favourites -I like both woods), but the sound was noticeably 'thicker' than I expected.

I believe there's a tad more sustain too -again this could be down to the mahogany which also extends around the back and sides of the body; this guitar resonates like a dream!

The neck feels nice, the fretboard is Indian rosewood (pretty common choice for fretboards due to it's hardwearing properties), and the neck joint to the body is a mortise tenon joint (there's that old heritage again -lol!!).

I love the long scale (distance over which the strings resonate - from nut to bridge) which I measured to 25 and a half inches (Martin claim 25.4" -but not according to my tape measure). Due to this scale length there's a lot of tension on the strings (a shorter scale produces less tension when the strings are at an equivalent pitch).

Be aware though that it's a good idea to angle this guitar away from your face when you're tuning up the high B and E strings, just in case they snap (there's a fair bit of force behind a snapped string at this scale length). You don't want that string whipping up into your face/eyes at these kind of speeds... but angle the guitar 45 degrees towards the floor when you tune those high strings and you've nothing to worry about... (Unless you're after one of those cool nicknames that the old Blues guitarists used to get -like blind Willie Johnson, or one eyed Jim -lol!!)

There are no fancy bits of binding around the edges of the 000-15 body or fretboard -which I like because it makes the guitar look like a lean 'mean' gigging machine... though of course in reality it's a super hi quality kick ass giant killer of a guitar... it just looks 'basic'; and all the better for it!


My Verdict
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If I wanted a guitar to pose with the 000-15 wouldn't be it, but as a musician's day in day out tool -it's hard to beat. If you can afford it and you're an acoustic guitar enthusiast then I recommend you get one!!

Hope you found my review helpful and interesting, and good luck with your bargain hunting!!

Best wishes,
Caveat-Emptor

Summary: The working acoustic musician's weapon of choice...