I have been playing the guitar for nearly four years now and have wanted to upgrade to something truly special, something which would enhance my playing and something which I could use when possibly recording.

I was initially very interested in all things Gibson. The J200 is the king of all flat tops and comes highly recommended. However, at nearly £3k, is way outside my price bracket. The Gibson Hummingbird, albeit a beautifully constructed guitar was also considered but just didn't do it for me.

Another brand of guitars which I have always been interested in are Martin. I have always been under the impression they make the best acoustics but I was too focused on aesthetics and you are looking at paying over £4k for a Martin with great detail. However, I went to a local store and the bloke in the shop handed me a Martin D15. Well, it completely and utterly blew me away.

I was awestruck by the awesome tone I was getting from this guitar. I had never played a mahogany guitar before and the deep bassy sound which was resonating was stunning. I was instantly hooked. I was sure this guitar would be around £2k due it to being a Martin. Nope, I was shocked to see it was around £1k. Amazing value.

Before I purchased this guitar I wanted to make sure this was the best I could get. I also tried some Taylor guitars which are beautiful but too rich sounding for my liking. I tried the smaller bodied Martin 000-15M which was incredible but I had my eyes on a dreadnaught. With this in mind I purchased the Martin D15M.

With the guitar comes a beautiful Martin case which will protect your instrument. You also get provided with plenty of useful instructions on how to care and maintain your guitar. I must say Martin have fantastic customer support. I can not recommend highly enough.

The guitar itself is just beautiful. The understated appearance of dark mahogany is wonderful. The playability is exceptional with no fret buzz and my guitar has never gone out of tune. The bass is boomy and never tinny. You can play this guitar with delicate fingerpicking or you can simply smash the strings to pieces and this guitar just sounds brilliant.

If I were to buy another guitar I would always look at a Martin first as their craftsmanship and desire to make the instrument as playable as possible is second to none.

I would recommend you buy this guitar if you're looking for a guitar which looks and plays much more than it is worth.