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  #1  
Old 11-18-2011, 05:15 PM
swsman swsman is offline
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Default Martin 000-15M overview

I have owned it for over six months now and figure it is time to write a few words about it.
Before the Martin I had briefly owned Taylor GC4 that I purchased through one of the forum vendors (Tarpman - LA Guitar Sales), it was a well put together instrument but it wasn't for me
Dropped by my local store (Acoustic Music) and traded it on the Martin.
I got to cherry pick and chose best one out of four he had in stock, one being a 00-15M model.
It just felt right and I am happy to say I like it just as much, Martin got this one right for me
Up until today I played it as I bought it, no adjustments were made to the action, truss rod etc. Earlier today I left it with my tech to slot the pin holes, it is getting ebony pins and a setup to bring action a tad lower for my personal preference.

Construction: It is very light, I looked on the inside with the mirror, all seemed to be just as it should be. Tuners are good quality units, nut and saddle are bone, fret work is immaculate, no sharp edges or high frets.
Overall well put together, good quality instrument.
Only thing I wish they did different was use taller/better quality fret material, when the time comes I am planning on going EVO fret route for the entire fretboard.

Sound: Dark and warm is the best I can describe it, it responds well to being fingerpicked or flatpicked, all this with light gauge strings (EJ16), when I play with mediums it becomes a flatpick monster.
Tonally it is a very balanced guitar, with slight emphasis on midrange - to be expected considering it is an all mahogany guitar.
Where it really shines for me is in alternate tunings such as DADGAD, CGDGBD, open G and open C, it is just alive sort to speak, lush and warm, clear - every note rings out clear. Sustains great and with more playtime that would get even better.
Tone is a touchy subject, what works for me doesn't work for another person, i will just say I am very pleased with tonal range this 000 produces - a very versatile instrument.

To sum it up before it gets way too long - we are past the honeymoon stage and is still my #1 guitar, it gets played daily anywhere from 30 min to a couple hours.
Will follow up again in a few months from now, as it stands I am perfectly content even if it was an only guitar that I have.
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2004 Martin D15M
1998 Fernandes Strat
1999 Gretsch MIJ 6120-60
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  #2  
Old 11-18-2011, 05:38 PM
wcap wcap is offline
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I have one of the all gloss ones commissioned by The Podium. It is not a particularly loud guitar, but it has lovely tone. I almost returned it when I realized it was not strong enough voiced to work well with my family's flutes and violins, but I couldn't, in part because it sounded so fabulous in DADGAD tuning. Mine is sounding even better to me with John Pearse new mediums (that have been played for a few weeks). I'm planning on trying Thomastik-Infeld Spectrums (which folks here claim sound great from the very start on their various guitars).

This guitar competes pretty well for my time with my Goodall.

The sound of this guitar has developed some in the two years I've had it (stronger voice that does not get lost in a sound-absorbing room like it used to). Supposedly, based on what a few folks here have said, they take a while to really open up (maybe 5 years or so????). My guitar repair guy says the old ones are supposedly really loud guitars with a lovely sweet tone (He bought one for himself too, and he has access to an amazing assortment of world class guitars. In fact, without knowing it, it turns out I accidentally bought the one he had picked out for himself but had not yet purchased a few years back.). We'll see what happens as the guitar gets played more over the years.

Last edited by wcap; 11-18-2011 at 09:15 PM.
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  #3  
Old 11-18-2011, 06:10 PM
TaylorTele TaylorTele is offline
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Hi I sold a 1937 0-17 a few years back and i kick myself daily for that I really love these solid Mahogany Martins I'm not sure if I want a 000-15sm or the 000-15 reg I would have to try both out I guess ????
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  #4  
Old 11-18-2011, 06:17 PM
swsman swsman is offline
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@ wcap

You summed it up quite nicely yourself.
Give it a go with medium set (13-56), it really has some drive to it, especially flatpicked. I switch between 80/20 or phosphor bronze Martin strings. Have about 4 sets left from my D'addario EJ16 stash, and that is what it is currently strung with.
I am a living room player, so volume is not a must, I do have MiSi Duo soundhole pickup, Dtar Solstice preamp and Marshall AS50D when I want to get loud
I enlarged the end pin hole so it is just a matter of putting the pickup back in - I have been thinking of trying bridgeplate transducer route (JJB Prestige 330) and going dual source again - had this same setup in my CA Ox guitar. We shall see - no rush on any of it.
For what it is and what it costs it is a great value and a professional grade instrument.
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  #5  
Old 11-18-2011, 06:18 PM
Misty44 Misty44 is offline
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I can't say enough good things about the 15s. I have a 2001 000-15S that is a delight to play, an absolute delight - light weight and responsive, with a wonderful broad resonant voice.

Although every guitar will react to different amalgams, brands, and gauges of strings, my 15 Series seems to react more strongly than others. I've dressed it with JP True Mediums, the T-Is, Newtone Double Wounds, and JP Pure Nickles. The T-Is and Double Wounds are rich and warm, the others more out front. I love the diversity.

Have someone play yours while you sit back and listen (I like to close my eyes when I do this to really take it all in) - I find the projected tone vastly different from the one I hear hunched above the hole, especially with the all-mahogany box.

Glad you enjoy yours - your great review doesn't surprise me though!
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  #6  
Old 11-18-2011, 09:22 PM
wcap wcap is offline
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Regarding listening to the projected tone: I love playing mine in our small basement bathroom. Sometimes I also play it in front of a very large aquarium that reflects sound back. There is a lot of lovely sound that comes out of one of these guitars.

What I have noticed is that when playing harmonics on this guitar they are very loud relative to the normal notes (louder in comparison to notes played normally than on my other guitars). My thinking about the tone is that the overtones seem to be highly dominated by the major harmonics. People often say that these all mahogany guitars don't have much in the way of overtones, but I disagree. I think the overtones are strong, creating a lovely chorus of harmonics, but they are simpler and purer sounding, and I think this is part of what makes these guitars so special.

The other thing that attracted me to this guitar (after playing classical guitar exclusively for about 5 years before shopping for my first quality steel string) was the deep richness to the sound, and the nice strong bass. A lot of guitars seem to let me down in that regard.

Last edited by wcap; 11-19-2011 at 09:21 AM.
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  #7  
Old 11-19-2011, 05:24 PM
Idaho John Idaho John is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wcap View Post
Regarding listening to the projected tone: I love playing mine in our small basement bathroom. The best studio in my home as well.

People often say that these all mahogany guitars don't have much in the way of overtones, but I disagree. I think the overtones are strong, creating a lovely chorus of harmonics, but they are simpler and purer sounding, and I think this is part of what makes these guitars so special. Agreed.

The other thing that attracted me to this guitar (after playing classical guitar exclusively for about 5 years before shopping for my first quality steel string) was the deep richness to the sound, and the nice strong bass. A lot of guitars seem to let me down in that regard.
While the sound in terms of volume or perceived volume is almost meek, the guitar has developed more volume over the time it has lived with me. It has become the standard by which my future purchases are measured by. Glad you are enjoying yours!

john
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  #8  
Old 11-19-2011, 09:22 PM
pgilmor pgilmor is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wcap View Post
What I have noticed is that when playing harmonics on this guitar they are very loud relative to the normal notes (louder in comparison to notes played normally than on my other guitars). My thinking about the tone is that the overtones seem to be highly dominated by the major harmonics. People often say that these all mahogany guitars don't have much in the way of overtones, but I disagree. I think the overtones are strong, creating a lovely chorus of harmonics, but they are simpler and purer sounding, and I think this is part of what makes these guitars so special.

The other thing that attracted me to this guitar (after playing classical guitar exclusively for about 5 years before shopping for my first quality steel string) was the deep richness to the sound, and the nice strong bass. A lot of guitars seem to let me down in that regard.
While mine is not a Martin, I would have to agree about everything you just said about an all-mahogany guitar. Mine is only 6 months old or so and I absolutely hear overtones the way you describe. Still a little tight perhaps, due to its youth, but man, the sound!!! I just can't get over it. It really is beyond me how all-mahogany guitars are not the standard rather than the exception, or at least more common than they are. I can even get a pretty good traditional sound out of mine. Talk about versatile.
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  #9  
Old 11-19-2011, 10:26 PM
wcap wcap is offline
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When I was choosing mine I was playing it at The Podium and one of the regulars who comes in there came over to me after a while and commented on how wonderful the sound was - he said he thought I was playing a 12 string at first (partly this was a matter of what I was playing and how I was playing it of course). He said that the guitar playing in the shop rarely catches his attention like that, but he was just mesmerized, and wanted to try the guitar to see if he got sounds anything like that out of it.

He also pointed out a really nice Lowden to me that was on sale and a great deal, and he talked up Lowdens for a bit (he had one or two himself). I spent another hour or two going back and forth between the Lowden and the 000-15, scrutinizing and comparing the sounds really carefully. The Lowden was a great guitar, and it was such a good deal (and such a very nice guitar) that I should have probably bought it, but the Martin had such a clean lovely rich but very clean sound, especially in DADGAD tuning, compared to that Lowden. In DADGAD it seemed the overtones of the Lowden kind of clashed with each other. This was the clincher for me.
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  #10  
Old 11-19-2011, 11:11 PM
swsman swsman is offline
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wcap that is exactly why I like mine so much. I also have a Blueridge BR162 sitka/rosewood combo, while I do like it - Martin is by far better instrument for me when it comes to the alternate tunings, there isn't the clash of the overtones that I get with Blueridge. It is just that warm dry tone and it all rings clear, but lush at the same time. Very rich sounding guitar without feeling muddy.
I have been entertaining the thought of trading off the Blueridge towards a resonator in a mahogany flavor, not that it is a bad instrument by any means, it's just every time I try to warm up to rosewood I end up going back to mahogany.
Besides Martin gets lion share of the play, and unless I play it - rule is it goes bye bye.
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