Which 00 for Living Room Bluegrass Rhythm and Flatpicking

[jljohn]

I've got the D-18 for when I need it, but am thinking about a small bodied guitar for a more comfortable instrument to play and practice on at home. I know that there are a lot of great 00 guitars out there--00-18V, CEO-7, Santa Cruz 00 1929, etc The thing is, the only one I've been able to lay hands on is the CEO-7. I was quite impressed with the CEO-7, but that doesn't mean another comparably priced guitar might not be more impressive. So, I would love your help. What 00 sized guitar might work best for the application I've mentioned?

[teleamp]

I went with a Martin 00-18V and could not be happier. Great size, works great with picks or fingers. And, the sound is really good...

[YamaYairi]

A friend just got a Larrivee 00 size that is an amazing guitar. Very full sound and loud. You can save some money over the Martin and get a really sweet guitar. His is an 03 series with walnut back and sides and a cedar top, it's one of the Custom models.

[RustyAxe]

Martin 00-DB Jeff Tweedy ... mahogany deep body. Nice size, powerful voice.
https://www.martinguitar.com/model/i...ff-tweedy.html

[brencat]

Originally Posted by teleamp

I went with a Martin 00-18V and could not be happier. Great size, works great with picks or fingers. And, the sound is really good...

+1 for the Martin 00-18v

This little guy roars. And the short scale makes it really easy to play too.

I would also check with Jon at MFG about his 00-18v Adi top custom. A few hundred more than the street price of a 00-18v standard, but it might have more horsepower for flatpicking.

Maybe Bix58 will chime in here... He's got one.

[jmooney]

00-15 gets my vote.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by teleamp

I went with a Martin 00-18V and could not be happier. Great size, works great with picks or fingers. And, the sound is really good...

I had one for several years and it was a great guitar. It really defied its size and price in some ways.

Now I'm down to one good 14 fret 000 acoustic and a Little Martin for beater, travel and sharing with kids. I think the reasons for keeping a beater travel guitar should be obvious, and the Santa Cruz short scale won because it has more rosewoood dread tone when you want it and even more versatility than the 00-18V.

I would take the 00-18V to jams and it could be heard, and the SCGC short OM works at bluegrass jams. Not so much with the Little Martin.

[Br1ck]

Hunt down a 00 15 custom twelve fret and you won't be sorry. Big sound in a small guitar and as comfy on a couch as you're going to get.

[djg]

Big fan of SCGC guitars and owner of their OM, but I haven't played the OO-29. On the one hand, it's hard to imagine it wouldn't be terrific; on the other, it's an expensive guitar (a good uptick over the CEO-7 certainly) and I reckon you'd want to try one before taking the plunge.

I will say that I played a CEO-7 for the first time on Friday and the one I played seemed to be a very good guitar for what you have in mind and maybe even more for finger style blues. Definitely had that woody bark to it, and overall a very impressive guitar for the money. Big sound from a small box. Comfy, very playable. Cool guitar. I was tempted.

[Treenewt]

00-18V is an incredible guitar, but so is the CEO-7. I don't think you could go wrong with either.

[Wade Hampton]

They're not currently in production, but the Martin 00-21 is an incredibly projective and powerful guitar design. Rosewood back and sides, 12 fret neck.

Martin may not be making them right now, but Eastman is making a similar guitar. I played a couple of the Eastman Double O's when I visited Mass Street Music in Lawrence, Kansas back in October. One in rosewood and one in mahogany.

They're both great, but the rosewood version in particular is surprisingly powerful. I'd suggest you call the folks at Mass Street and see what they currently have in stock.

http://massstreetmusic.com/

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Tanque Verde]

Don't sleep on a Guild F-20.

[Hey_day]

Originally Posted by Tanque Verde

Don't sleep on a Guild F-20.

I love the guild f20/m20 as great little beast of a guitar. Their nut widths are mighty small to go back and forth with and to me primarily play best with strumming. To me the best two I have found are the ones I own, the greven L00v and Santa Cruz 1929. They are both way bigger and flexible beyond their size or anything comparable. They both have all the vintage aspects a player I'd looking for with all the modern comforts and piece of mind. The nice thing, is if you are used to bigger guitars, the bottom end in both if these will still suit your taste and have less overall compression other small bodies give.