I bought a new 000-15 about thirteen years ago. I bought it because I liked its size and unique voice. I played the heck out of that thing for twelve years. I have a friend who also played it a lot over the same time.
About three or four years ago my friend commented that it sounded better than ever. I had to agree. It became more responsive to touch and less strident, with a smoother(?)/rounder(?) tone, maybe even an expanded tonal range, without giving up its unique voice.
Over time, it developed neck (It has the old M & T neck.) and fret problems. A year ago those problems were affecting playability and sound in a really negative way. I stopped enjoying that guitar.
That's when I bought my 00-18DB. The 18 got all my playing time. My buddy, when visiting, soldiered through playing the old 15, but complained about playability and sound. I considered giving the 15 to my son, but decided to have some work done on it first.
After getting warranty work done on the neck, I had it completely refretted. WOW! Now it plays well and sounds EVEN BETTER! I'm giving it a lot playing time again. My son will have to wait. My buddy wants me to sell it to him. No, I'm keeping it.
I am an "open-up" believer. I've played some very old and wonderful 15's and 17's (all-mahogany). I won't say mine matches that wonderful old sound, but I've also played a bunch of the new ones, and mine doesn't sound like those either after thirteen years of play. I like mine better than the new ones. Those buying new may love their all-mahogany guitars, but they may also have something even better to look forward to.
My three remaining solid wood guitars have become more satisfying as we age together.
opencee
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